More than 200 Hearst parents, teachers, staff and community members filled the Wilson High School atrium on April 9th to bid on everything from a week of summer camp to dinner out at local restaurants to a week-long vacation at vacation homes owned by Hearst parents.
The annual event netted the school about $45,500.
“The auction is one of the largest fundraisers for the PTA, on par with our annual fund drive (the “Owl Fund”),” said Hearst PTA Co-President Liz Stuart. “Those funds are used to pay for classroom supplies, field trips, and after-school enrichment activities for students, including tutoring.”
Among the most popular items were silent auction items donated by the staff and faculty of Hearst, such as pancakes with Principal Jen Thomas or taking in a Washington Nationals game with Hunter Coleman, Hearst’s PE teacher.
Parents of some lucky Hearst girls cobbled together $2,000 for their kids to have a “lock-in” sleepover with auction co-chair and pre-K teacher Denise Dawkins, Kindergarten teacher Beth Prince, first-grade teachers Ashley Boyle and Sarah Schiers, Special Education teacher Shareen Beech, and Reading Specialist Janna Walker.
Additionally, through a “paddle raise” at the end of the live auction, Hearst was able to raise more than $6,000 to enhance the school’s Kennedy Center partnership to bring even more Kennedy Center artists into the school. Currently, five classrooms get a Kennedy Center artist in their room and 10 classrooms get field trips.
“Hearst Elementary parents, teachers and students thank the local business community for their tremendous support in both in-kind auction items and certificates,” said Adrienne Allen, co-chair of the auction. “Each donation contributed to our overall revenue raised in support of our school.”
In-kind contributions came from Whole Foods, Brookville Market, DJ Civil, the Beer Institute and Cakes by Erveina (Hearst Parent). Cathedral Commons, located just blocks from Hearst, also made a $500 cash contribution to the auction.
Hearst’s next community event will be a spring fair held on the school grounds on Saturday, May 21st, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be games, a bounce house/slide, a 25-foot rock climbing wall with three levels suitable for a wide age range, a craft table, a face painter and an adult and child Zumba class. For food, the fair will have hot dogs, popcorn and snow cones.
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