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SEF phonathon fundraiser reaches $290,000, and hopes to find more

ByMichele Tjin

Not bad for one day's work. Saratoga Education Foundation organizers are pleased that last month's phonathon yielded $290,000 in pledges for the district's four schools.

SEF held its annual phonathon fundraiser in January, during which volunteers call parents in the Saratoga Union School District soliciting donations to SEF's campaign to raise money for the 2007-08 school year. While the total fell short of the goal of $330,000, SEF leaders are confident that with pledges that will trickle in, they will top their objective.

"This is fabulous. I'm thrilled," said Terrie Creamer, president of SEF.

Organizers expect a boost to come from families who were undecided as to how much to give at the time of the phonathon or from those who were not home when volunteers called.

"It was a fantastic response from the parent community," said Lane Weiss, superintendent.

Last year's phonathon brought in only about $198,000 in pledges, but donations ultimately generated $316,000, Creamer said.

SEF leaders made a few changes last month, such as shortening the calling period by three hours.

"We started later in the day. I don't know if that was a factor," Creamer said.

There was also more advertising for the event, including a video that was emailed to parents over the district's listserv. Students acted out scenarios of what would happen if current programs made available by SEF were eliminated. The video received a good response from parents, Creamer said.

"It's a great way to communicate with parents," she said.

She urges residents to send in donations by the end of February so the foundation can plan adequately for next year. The district staff has already met with SEF leaders to brainstorm on how to spend the funds. Weiss will formally make the requests in a grant proposal in April.

"Our main focus is to enhance the quality of programs we do offer," he said.

SEF funds typically pay for visual and theater art, music and PE programs in the elementary schools, along with librarian assistants and science enrichment offered by staff from the Lawrence Hall of Science. One new area that SEF is paying for this year is a counselor to deal with emotional issues at the elementary level.

"There is interest to expand this," Weiss said.

At Redwood Middle School, the funds provide a year of science in sixth grade, which gives students three full years of science at Redwood, exceeding the state requirement for middle school. Funds also provide for an art aide, a library media specialist and two counselors to teach social and emotional literacy.

The district appreciates the parents' level of interest and enthusiasm, Weiss said.

"These are folks who volunteer their time and their money to make Saratoga schools the best possible," he said. "They work hard on behalf of our kids."