The Willow Glen Middle School and High School Foundation—a nonprofit foundation made up of parents, students and community leaders—held its third annual phone-a-thon Feb. 6 and 7. The drive raised a calculated $16,325 in pledges and matching funds, only slightly less than the $17,000 it raised in 2002.

The goal for the 2003 phone-a-thon was to raise $15,000 in contributions, according to foundation President Pam English. Final figures will be available at the foundation's March 5 meeting, said foundation Treasurer Peter Cocotas.

A handful of volunteers filed into the Peak Travel Group offices on Lincoln Avenue after business hours to call parents and prior donors.

The foundation's annual fundraising drive starts in November, when mailers are sent to prospective donors, encouraging donations by mail or telling them to expect a phone call the following February.

In the past the phone-a-thon has had up to 50 volunteers making calls during the two-night project, but this year saw the lowest turnout ever. English feels that the low number could be attributed to the fact that the high school's mother/son dance was on Wednesday night and a new student recruitment open house the following night. English said that she wished the phone-a-thon could have been held another time but mailers sent out in November already listed the phone-a-thon's dates.

English's daughter Kim, a junior at Willow Glen High School, made calls Thursday evening. It was her first time working the phones at the phone-a-thon, and she said it was awkward to read from a prepared script that coached her through the first part of the call.

"It's a little odd," Kim said, "but you get used to it pretty quickly."

High school junior Cassie Alvarado came to appreciate what the foundation's fundraising accomplished when it allowed for the purchase of new stage lights and a sound system for the two schools' theater last year.

When she sang in the high school's recent production of A Night of Theatre, the sound and lighting was "so much better," she said.

Alvarado said she isn't comfortable speaking to strangers but her friend Kim English convinced her to help out.

High school senior Sharon Finkle participated in the fundraiser as well. She was in a race against her father to see who could collect the most confirmed pledges.

On the first night she got $410 in confirmed pledges, compared to about half as many pledges as her father, after both making the same amount of calls, she noted.

She admitted that maybe her success came from telling people she was a student, but she had to work at getting comfortable when it came to calling up strangers for money.

"I had to call my mom and practice with her," Finkle said. "I'd be nervous and panic, but pretty soon I didn't need the script."

The foundation was formed in July 2000 to develop financial sources that would help students of Willow Glen middle and high schools reach a higher level of academic achievement.

Among other initiatives, the foundation has established scholarships for B-average students who also do community service work, sponsored after-school programs at the middle school and created an annual career fair at the high school.

For more information about the Willow Glen Middle School and High School Foundation, write to Box 8096, San Jose, 95155-8096, call 408.275.0161, email info@willowglenfoundation.org or visit www.willowglenfoundation.org.