Yerba Buena Fundraiser
As I tinker with my new blog, I have received the sum total of two comments (both of which I tagged as SPAM), leaving me to wonder if a tree falls in the forest whether it makes a sound? Eventually, I trust someone will read my blog. I know I can at least count on my mom and my social media coach KurtyD. Until WOTW is ready for prime time, this post is an example of something going on in my life that I would be compelled to share with thousands of followers if I had them. When my son entered kindergarten, I dove headfirst into the Yerba Buena Elementary School Parent Faculty Association by volunteering to chair its publicity committee. Although the job mainly consists of supplying the local paper with photos of the kids doing interesting things and calendar of events listings for book fairs and the annual Halloween carnival, the 40th Anniversary Festival and Fundraiser next weekend is much more important. As public education has suffered severe funding cutbacks, I have learned firsthand the increasing pressure being put on parents to pick up the shortfall. In addition to being asked for a $300 booster payment at the beginning of the year, there are countless fundraisers throughout the year and teachers routinely ask for donations for specific items. The pains of public education can be felt everywhere -- and we live in a good district! I can't imagine what issues parents in the poorest parts of Los Angeles and elsewhere must be dealing with. What I do know, is that Yerba Buena must make up a huge budget shortfall each year to pay for music, sports, computer and education programs. And next weekend we're hosting an auction fundraiser in conjunction with the school's 40th anniversary celebration. It's going to be a great evening full of music, fun and games like Jell-O relay and Hotwheels races, hula hoop competitions and dancing to music from the past four decades. After a live auction we'll be watching classic cartoons like The Jetsons, Flintstones and Scooby-Doo under the stars. Should be fun! While all of the festivities are geared for YB families and alumni, a wider swath of our community can help by participating in the online auction, which is now open. Come one come all to our family festival next weekend, but more importantly, please bid on some of these items and pass this information along to anyone you know who would care, especially residents of the Conejo Valley.