Blount Home Education Association (BHEA) Blount Home Education Association (BHEA) Blount Home Education Association (BHEA) Blount Home Education Association (BHEA) Blount Home Education Association (BHEA) Blount Home Education Association (BHEA)
 

Membership Renewal for the 2023-2024 Academic Year

An Important Message from our Board of Directors:

Welcome back, returning BHEA Family!
We are so grateful for the opportunity to "do life" with you! You are now an experienced member of a volunteer,  parent-led group, and we want you to know that your contribution of time and energy is of a paramount importance to the success of BHEA in its ongoing mission to support and encourage homeschooling families in Blount County and surrounding areas. BHEA has operated continuously for over 35 years, and has been successful solely because of the desire of our member parents to build community and opportunities around their own children, their friends' children, and their willingness to work together to make it all happen. Unlike a school, with paid employees, we are powered by the love of our children and our passion to help them succeed. 

Please carefully consider the activities and benefits that your own family has enjoyed over the past year or years.
Which of those can you offer your assistance to make happen in the upcoming year? Contact the Activities Coordinator at [email protected] to volunteer. 

Do you and your kids love the Enrichment Program? 
Parents who have been members of BHEA for at least 2 years and have participated in BHEA's Enrichment program for at least 1 year are eligible to apply to serve on the Enrichment Team. Click here to apply.

Do you have an administrative gift? Do you have ideas for how to improve BHEA? Become part of BHEA's leadership team!
Parents who have been members of BHEA for at least 3 years are eligible to apply to serve on the BHEA Board of Directors. Click here to apply. 

We thank you for prayerfully considering ways to serve in the next academic year and we are grateful for each and every one of you. 

BHEA Board of Directors

Susan Barlow, Membership Coordinator
Jennifer Thompson, Enrichment Coordinator
Jamie Davis, Treasurer
Karen Metcalf, Academic Advancement Coordinator
Dana Rose, Communications Coordinator
Kaycie Smith, Middle School Events Coordinator
Patti Smith, Activities/Calendar Coordinator
Jessica Fall, High School Events Coordinator

Now it is time to renew! 

Our annual family membership year is actually 13 months long and lasts from June 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

Membership renewal is a simple 2-step process. Completing these steps will renew your BHEA membership.

Step 1 - Update your profile. 

Click on "Profile" in the top menu. It is important to update your information as follows for the new academic year before renewing your membership, so that you may sign your children up for age-specific activities and receive relevant information for parents of each age group in your household. 

  • Update any contact information and update your children's grade levels.

  • Note how each of your children are registered to be educated for the upcoming year. We require that all member families have at least one child who is legally registered to homeschool. If all of the children in your family will be educated in any other way, including public school at home or with a private school which does not have a homeschool umbrella program, you may not be eligible to renew in this academic year. Please contact the membership coordinator with any questions about this requirement.

  • Update all of the "sections" that will be appropriate for your family in the upcoming academic year. These may have changed from last year. For example, you may now need to select “junior” or “senior,” or uncheck “kindergartener.”

  • Update your forum preferences. You may wish to add "Homeschooling High School" or "What's Happening Around Town," for example. The forums are another way our members can have direct contact with any other members who have selected a given forum.

  • Opt in to the Membership Directory. If you previously opted out of listing in the membership directory, we encourage you to seriously consider changing that designation. This is viewable only by BHEA members, is password protected, and is incredibly helpful for member-to-member communication.

  • Update your graduating child's status. To update your children from "senior" to BHEA alumni after graduation, choose "BHEA alum" under grade. (Whether or not they walked in BHEA's Graduation Ceremony.) If you have graduated from BHEA or are a parent of a child who has graduated from BHEA (and have no other children still being homeschooled), you may renew each year for FREE as an alumni. If there are specific ways that you would like to consider supporting the mission of BHEA by teaching, organizing alumni events, or otherwise sharing your expertise, please contact [email protected]. We hope you and your graduating children stay connected via our BHEA Alumni Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BHEAalumni/. We value your wisdom and experience!

  • Be sure to click "update" to save your changes! After editing your profile, click "update" and then select "Renew BHEA Membership" to come back to this page and complete the next step. Note: You may edit your profile at any time throughout the year by selecting "profile" at the top of your page.

Step 2 - Pay.

The Family Membership renewal fee is $30 for the 2023-24 academic year. This will cover your whole household* through June 30, 2024. This fee is neither pro-rated nor refundable. See the "Shopping Cart" below to pay this fee. Please make sure your invoice shows 'Qty 1' (meaning one family) for $30 before you submit payment. If it shows anything else, please adjust the quantity to '1.' Leave the '0' below that, just as it is.

*Extended family members living in a different household must join separately. 

  • After setting the quantities correctly, press 'Pay Now.' This will take you to an invoice, where you can pay with your PayPal account or a debit or credit card. 

  • When you have updated the forms and submitted your payment, your membership will be automatically renewed. Your PayPal receipt is your confirmation of renewal.

Please note that: 

  • Payment of the Membership Renewal fee confirms your agreement with the BHEA Handbook.

  • Registering for the Enrichment Program is a separate step. You will need to complete the Enrichment Program Registration Form and pay the Enrichment Program Registration Fee. However, signups for sessions will stay open through the summer. If any of your preferred sessions fill up before you sign up, please take advantage of the Waiting List option. Occasionally, we can shift rooms for a session that has received more interest than we anticipated when making room assignments. 

If you have any technical questions or need help with the website, please email [email protected]. If you have specific membership questions or problems, please email our membership coordinator at [email protected]. 

You will be forced to log in, if you have not done so already, and redirected to PayPal. Here, you can pay the $30 Membership Renewal Fee (this applies to all joining fees or renewals received after 8/31/23). Proceed to the $30 payment box and make sure the quanitity is set to '1'. If you experience any problems or would like to be invoiced in a different way, please send an email to [email protected]. 

 

 

 

Thank you! We look forward to sharing another year with our BHEA family!