Community centric fundraising means having events priced at a point that is inclusive (or at least not off putting) of the communities where I serve and my kids attend school while bringing together people from across diverse backgrounds with common interests in our kids and education. This grassroots campaign depends on people showing up in solidarity and community – little by little we are doing it!

We had a good turnout for our ice skating party pre-campaign fundraiser at the Cupertino Ice Center on December 2nd. We’re building some community, raising some money, having some fun. Ice skaters ranged from my Alaskan treasurer who probably skated before he could walk to lots of kids trying ice skating for the first time who acknowledged they probably would never have tried it if they hadn’t been invited to this party*. Monki Banana’s sales of Mexican bread and champurrado gave the non-skaters something warm and delicious to enjoy while supporting the campaign and a small business.

Special thanks to Nancy Poon from the Cupertino Ice Center for coordinating this event. She and the awesome instructors at the Ice Center were great at helping everyone from high schoolers to preschoolers to get the hang of it. Nancy and I served together years ago on the board of directors for Cupertino Co-Op Nursery School. Even though our kids are bigger now, we still believe in educating the whole child and that our systems do best when they serve ALL children well.

*Imagine what our world would look like if we made the intentional effort to invite people to the class, school, meeting, job, party, or community that they previously didn’t know existed or thought they wouldn’t belong at or hadn’t envisioned themselves being a part of….