Dear PSCCC Alum Families:
We are thrilled to announce that our annual Gala and Silent Auction will be held on Saturday, March 21, at the Ambassador of Lichtenstein’s Residence at the United Nations in midtown! Full details will follow shortly with ticket information for the Gala. For now, please block your calendars for the evening (from 8pm onwards), book your babysitters, and dust off your dancing shoes for what should be a very fun evening.
We want to make sure you know that the Gala and Silent Auction are the primary source of fundraising for PSCCC annually. Furthermore, the proceeds are used to directly support our Tuition Assistance program for the following school year. The Tuition Assistance program is so critical in supporting the diversity within PSCCC, and we cannot overstate the importance of broad participation in this fundraising drive. Our goal this year is to make the event accessible for all parents, alumni and friends, while still raising substantial funds for the school. We are aiming to control the costs of the event this year so that almost all of the ticket costs goes directly to the Tuition Assistance program, starting with the very generous donation of a free, and quite spectacular, venue! We will announce ticket pricing once the Gala Committee has had a chance to meet on the topic.
The success of the fundraiser depends not only on all of us buying tickets to the Gala, but even more heavily on the success of our Silent Auction. To that point, we are writing to ask you to donate or solicit a donation for inclusion in this year’s auction. If you don’t think you have anything people would bid for, consider asking a friend or family member who might. Also, if your children take classes regularly anywhere, consider asking that organization to donate classes. Many will. We’re a creative community, so let’s be creative with our donations!
A sample of potential auction items:
Weekends at upstate vacation homes (yours or someone else’s!)
Dinner for two at local restaurants
VIP race days at Belmont Park
Passes to classes/lessons that you or your children regularly attend (yoga, cooking, chess?)
A discount on your own professional services (e.g. $100 off tax preparation for 2015)
Please note we are using a new online tool this year for managing submissions with a goal of greatly reducing the complexity of managing the auction for the Auction Committee. We have prepared a letter for prospective business owners for you to use as needed, as well as instructions for the online donation form that you will need to fill out for each item donated. ALL ONLINE DONATION FORMS MUST BE COMPLETELY FILLED OUT BY FEBRUARY 1, 2015 for your item to be included – if you have questions please contact current parent Alex Freidus (freidus@gmail.com). Also we ask that all donations have a monetary value of at least $50. Last year the average auction item brought in $200, so keep that in mind!
We are looking forward to making the Gala and Silent Auction our best fundraising event ever, but we need your help to make that happen. Please start by getting your donations forms completed no later than February 1. We will be in touch shortly with ticket and event information for the Gala so that we can plan an amazing evening for all of us to celebrate our treasured school, our children and our friendships.
Thank you,
Martha and the Fundraising, Auction and Gala Committees
PS If you can’t download the forms from this email, please click the link to the website (at the top of this email). The forms should be posted there. If that doesn’t work, just email Martha. Thanks so much!