Co-op’s
Annual FUNraiser &
What
Is This FUNraiser Craze All About, Anyway?
Mark
your calendars and line-up your sitter so you can come join the best parents
and teachers on Saturday, March 23, 2013 for Co-op's 2nd annual FUNraiser, The
Co-op Spring Fling: Where The Love of Learning Blooms!
Once
again there of are lots great items and you all make the best company for a
date night! We have a photo booth
available for fun & funky pics and exquisite food provided once again by
Co-op Dad and 2nd Street Bistro Executive Chef Chris Long. New and old favorite items offered to raise
money for the school from a locals basket (local eggs, produce, fruit, honey)
to dinner for 6 at 2nd Street (one of our most popular repeat
items!), 4 day passes to Disney in Florida, an iPad, and much, much more!
Through
the years, the team of Co-op's Auction or FUNraiser volunteers work tirelessly
to put on a fun event as well as raise money for the school. Is this
really necessary? Well, yes and no. I thought I'd take a few
minutes to remind us all, new and old-timers alike, why we even bother to have
a fundraiser.
The
money that is raised from this event each year supports our scholarship fund,
which provides full to partial financial assistance to many of our school's
families. Year after year the Board
discusses raising tuition. We could easily alleviate the need for a
fundraiser by raising tuition enough to cover all costs, and greatly reducing
our scholarship fund or eliminating it. However,
we might easily price ourselves out of the market and out of the reach of many
of our wonderful families. We are the
most inexpensive preschool in town, but we count your time at the school and your
time with your child as priceless. These
are crucial years that you will not get back.
Through our philosophy of learning through play, the skill and direction
of our teachers, and the dedication of our parents, we feel that parental --
family -- support is key to our children's growth and to our school community's
well being. We are a non-profit school
and our income for supplies, teacher salaries, rent from St. Martin’s, etc,
comes through tuition. That is our
single source of income. Co-op has
always walked that delicate balance between making ends meet and providing for
our “family.” Things always have a way
of working out for the best.
On
a more personal note, when our own family first came to Co-op, we would have
been unable to attend if it had not been for the school’s financial aid. We have now been at the school for eight
years, the first three of which were enabled by partial scholarships. We were a single-income family with two (and
later three) kids and we were transitioning into a new job and career field.
Co-op was a saving grace for us -- for the enrichment of our children,
making friends, the development for ourselves as parents (learning and
practicing patience and those gems of parental tips from playground chatter and
our fabulous teachers), for a social network in a new place, and a myriad of
other ways I could mention, but which you all as Co-op parents already know
deep in your hearts. Both my husband and
I cherished the time we had in class with each of our children, even when it
meant re-arranging schedules so our other children could be watched.
Many
things at Co-op change over the years -- teachers, class offerings &
spaces, and even events. We are the
farthest thing from a static environment, because we are a living, breathing,
active place. Despite all the changes
large and small, the core of Co-op remains steadfast: encouraging and engaging
our children in life-long learning, teaching them to explore and discover and
make decisions, and empowering our children and ourselves to learn and develop
in a community. We ask much of our families in time and resources in a
societal environment where it is easier to pick up and drop off and go on to
the next part of the day’s busy schedule without having much human
interaction. But think of what would be
missed! Because we each believe in
the message of Co-op, we gladly give what we can. The FUNraiser,
despite all of the hard work and effort is not-only a money raising event, but
an opportunity for us parents -- families both immediate and extended, current
and alumni -- to come together and celebrate our hard work, dedication, and the
magic that these years offer (even though it may not seem like magic when naps
are missed or three-year-old determination is pitted against parental
schedules.). Even if you cannot contribute items, there are many ways to
help and participate (look for the stock the bar note in March) and if nothing
else, we hope to see you at this wonderful event.
So
now that you're geared up, here is another way to help -- put on your thinking
caps:
The
FUNraising Committee has been diligently working since the beginning of the
school year to get ready for this event.
Now that it is just two months away, we'd love a little help from
you! Please take a moment to think about
any special skills or contacts you may have that you would be willing to put to
work for Co-op's benefit! We are looking for business sponsorships and
specialty items for the event. Some ideas include (but aren't limited
to):
- Weekend getaway at a beach
house, mountain cabin, ski lodge, etc.
- Contacts with travel agents or travel points
to go towards hotel or airline
accommodations
(we have 4 single day Disney passes!)
- Tickets to a Williamsburg or
area event (concerts, plays, movies, etc,)
- Passes to local parks --
Busch Gardens, Water Country, Great Wolf
Lodge, etc.
- Spa connections (manicure, massage, etc.)
- Sailing or trips of any kind
- Behind the scenes tours
- Kitchen/cooking classes
- Skill lessons (language
instruction, organization/home decoration,
sports, summer
or weekend sport or activity camps, craft how-tos,
building/construction
ability)
- Contacts with a local jeweler
Whatever
ideas you have please contact Lauri Wawersik: lwawers1@gmail.com to see if we
can add that to this year's event/theme.
The
sky or rather your imagination is the limit!
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