Message from the President …
A gracious Willow Glen greeting to you all! I am extremely pleased to report that we’ve had another fabulous year supporting Willow Glen Schools. The Foundation raised over $50,000 so far, and added many, many new members this year. Our fundraising efforts have been more successful than ever! A full report appears on Page 2.
We kicked off the year by welcoming our second Branch of the Foundation: Parents for a Great Education (PAGE). Natalie Snyder represents PAGE on the Executive Board, and both she and Cheryl Heiman serve on the Board. In support of their vision (see Page 3), PAGE members have done a marvelous job of recruiting Tutor/Mentors for our first full year of HOSTS (Helping One Student To Succeed) at the High School, and are currently recruiting Middle School Math Tutors. They have also been raising money by selling the darling “Willow Glen� t-shirts you may have seen at the Community Carnival and Craft Fair, or at Vicky’s store, Bella James.
The Music Boosters were incredibly energetic this year, under the direction of Debbie McCormick and Darla Arndt. The Crab Feed was a spectacular success! See their report on Page 3 for more details.
I am happy to announce that we have just added a third Branch: Robotics Boosters. Brent Chinn has graciously offered to join us on the Executive Board next year. Cheers to Brent! This is a natural for the Foundation, as we have always supported these great programs, and look forward to helping them grow.
OLD FAVORITES
Our fifth annual Wine Tasting and Auction at the Garden Theater was a great success, raising a record $25,000. Three cheers to David Heiman, Barbara Bremner, and Beth Martinez for their amazing dedication and all their hard work.
I hope that you noticed that we decided to take a break from the Phon-a-thon this year. Our “Call-to-Action� letters to the parents of students, alumni, and past supporters of the Foundation went out in April, instead of December. I know that you gave generously. We thank all of your for your support.
We continue to support the Robotics program, again under the direction of Teacher Gay Kunz at the High School.This year, we received additional large contributions from a team parent, and from Lockheed Martin. And we once again funded the Middle School Botball team. This year’s team went undefeated until the final round — and the majority of their opponents were high school teams! Kudos to Teacher Dennis McCarthy and his team.
We also continue to support the College and Career Center. This year’s Career Day was a fabulous success! We’ve changed the format to be more interactive for the students, and were thrilled to welcome the largest group of career professionals ever, including numerous Alumni. See Page 2 for a full report.
I am happy to announce that the Foundation is funding the purchase of almost $10,000 in new books for the Middle School library.
We end the year by giving scholarships to deserving seniors. This year, we are awarding scholarships to five students, up from three in previous years. This summer, several students will attend a leadership camp at Stanford, courtesy of the Foundation.
We also say goodbye this year to two of our most cherished members: Mike Warner, our Treasurer; and Karen Campbell, our Allocations Chair. It gives me goosebumps to think of their dedication to our Willow Glen students. Mike was extremely diligent about guiding us in managing our resources wisely. We will miss his wisdom terribly. Karen created a new process for considering allocation requests, and led her Allocations Committee exceedingly well. Her professionalism is something to which we can all aspire. Thank you to both of you. I can’t quite imagine the Board without you.
I encourage you all to attend a Foundation meeting — the first Wednesday evening of every month, 7:00-9:00 in the Media Center — and to join us on the Board. Yes, our Treasurer and Allocations Chair positions are open, as well as our Fundraising Chair.
Kim Guptill
President
Willow Glen Middle School and High School Foundation
The entire Newsletter is available for download in PDF … 2007 Newsletter
