March 1, 2012
A Heart-felt Thanks
Well, we’ve done it, or rather YOU’VE done it!
The Co-op’s Have A Heart FUNraiser was successful by all
accounts thanks to you -- our families, teachers, friends, alumni, sponsors and
most particularly our talented FUNraising Committee. Thank you all so much for your support and
hard work on this year’s fundraising event.
We had the highest participation level ever measured with nearly
100%!!! As they say in Mrs. Lee and Mrs.
Barton’s 3-day-3s, give yourself a silent cheer! (Well, okay, stand up and just shout yippy!
Or whatever else floats your boat!)
On a more serious note, I am so grateful to our wonderful
Director Molly Gareis and all of our talented teachers who trusted the
FUNraising Committee as it branched out and designed a completely different
event than the school has traditionally held.
We needed a change of pace and to redirect, if even only
temporarily.
We recognize that in these tough economic times, businesses
and families alike cannot realistically contribute to every solicitation
received; we appreciate the moral support equally as well as the financial
support. We are especially grateful to
our sponsors, donating businesses and families for this event. We would not have been as successful without
your support. To our event sponors: Anonymous
(2), The Blue Heron Restaurant, Colonial Sports, Cooke’s Gardens, Johnny
Timbers, Pediatric Associates of Williamsburg, Second Street Bistro & Executive
Chef Chris Long, WilliamsburgFamilies.com, Williamsburg Event Rentals,
and to our event donors: Bake Spot Cookies & Cupcakes by Anna
Jourdane, Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Berret's Taphouse & Grill,
Bill O'Donovan of the Virginia Gazette,
Body Balance, The Butler Family, Busch Gardens/Water Country, The Cheese Shop, Children's
Museum of Richmond, Disney World, Ferguson Center for the Arts, First Colony
Pool, Ford's Colony Golf Club, Golf Galaxy, Goodyear, Indigo Park Pool, Hampton
Roads Iceplex, Indigo Park Pool, James City County Williamsburg Community
Center, Keurig, Kiln Creek Golf Club, Kingsmill Golf Club, Kingswood Pool, The
Kueser Family, La Tienda & the Harris Families, The Long Family, Molly
Gareis, Norfolk Admirals, Norfolk Botanical Gardens, Opus Nine Steakhouse, Paige
& Norman Jacobs, Pinch of Thyme Catering by Marie Homer, Rockhound
Charters, RockRidge River Retreat, The Schell Family, Stonehouse Golf Club,
Target, The Spa at Colonial Williamsburg, Two Rivers Golf Club, The Waddell
Family, Williamsburg Aquatic Club, Williamsburg National Golf Course, The
Wright Family & Gary Robertson, The Wubbles Family, Yardworks of
Williamsburg, Ye Old Buggy Bathe, and Zina's Produce.
We thank you from the bottom or our hearts!
I know that is a long list, but I would especially like to
tease out a few familes for their live auction and event contributions:
Y
The Schell Family of Cooke’s Gardens not only
loaned landscaping materials (which were transformed by our snow storm during set
up, so you may have missed them) and zillions of lights which transformed the
space into a delightful, twinkly party hall.
They also donated their mountain retreat house, RockRidge River Retreat
House.
Y
The Butler Family donated two rounds of lawn care
during the live auction and will also be hanging the new signs on the
playground for the How Far to My House and the Playhouse on the playground.
Y
The Wright Family donated a lovely painting from
local artist Gary Robertson (and proud Co-op grandfather) to the live auction.
Y
The Waddell Family and Kueser Family (alumni)
graciously donated Golf packages from Two Rivers and Kingsmill, respectively.
Y
The Harris Families (alumni) of La Tienda doubled
their offering of a weekend stay at their Chickahominy River Cabin. A getaway without going too far.
Y
The Peretti-Hull Family were generous sponsors
of the event as Johnny Timbers and WilliamsburgFamilies.com.
Y
And of course, Executive Chef Chris Long and
Stacey Long absolutely out did themselves yet again with the best food.
Y
And last but not least, a thank you to our host
families for going above and beyond in your sponsorship: the Anderson Family, the
Axtell Family, the Barton Family, the Berquist Family, the Day Family, the
Ferguson Family, the Gregory/Lavin Family, the Hull Family, the Rhyne/Parker
Family, the Schulmine Family, the Wawersik Family and the Zickel Family.
Thank you all so much for your generosity!
A special thanks to alumni father and auctioneer Rick
Overy of Compass Wealth Strategies and his auctioneering associate Aaron
Williams of Williams Landscaping for keeping the momentum moving during
the live auction component of the evening.
Thanks to all the husbands and other family members who
tended bar (and helped with set up and clean up) and did their part in keeping
us in high spirits!
While the school’s families, teachers and alumni played a
vital role in donating time, energy and materials as well as attending the
event, I am most grateful for the time, talent, and humility of our FUNraising
Chair Lauri Wawersik and her committee: Ann Armstrong, Loralee Clark, Amy Day,
Melissa Ferguson, Allison Gaschen, Lisa Iannuzzelli, Betsy Lavin, Quan Nim,
Alison Peabody, Sonya Peretti-Hull, Deirdre Roesch, Megan Rhyne, Stacey Long
and Jennifer White. These women not
only worked creatively and tirelessly but they worked in such a mutually
respectful manner which truly embodied the Co-op spirit. When you see them, thank and congratulate
them. I greatly admired how each
committee member used their particular set of skills – from editing, to
designing, to rallying, pitching in to fill in any gaps, delegating, crafting, brainstorming,
soliciting, organizing, supporting – the list seems endless. I can’t say enough good things about them. Without a doubt, they brought out the FUN in fundraising. Thank you ladies!
One final plug for the event wrap up -- we are conducting a survey to provide
feedback on ideas, timing, etc. in order to decide which direction we take next
year. Please take a moment to fill out
the survey through the link sent to you by Quan Nim. If you didn’t receive it, just send her a
quick note at: qcnimx@gmail.com. Even if you were unable to attend the event,
your feedback is so important to us!
Just 8 questions (9 if you want to write general comments).
As Co-op parents you know the spirit of fun is essential to
learning and in the end, succeeding. We
are a school that believes children learn best through play. We offer the unique opportunity for parents
(and families) to play an active role in their child’s early educational
experience and to form the often overlooked, but essential relationships with
other parents. We are a community that
is an expansion of our own individual family.
A hearty thanks for all of your support. Co-opers, you are a great family!
Susan B. Zickel
WPCP Board President
