As we slip into summer (and the middle of the JSEF fundraising year) only one thing is certain - and that’s that nothing is certain. It’s summer alright, but gone are the days spent frolicking in the pool, towing the kids across the state to Disneyland, and all the other mid-year rituals we’re accustomed to. Most notably in Crockett - gone is the Sugartown Festival. It comes as no surprise that the festival was canceled this year, so we were prepared to discuss at this month’s board meeting how we were going to recoup the losses of our second biggest fundraising event of the year.
In a year where all school districts are facing enormous budget cuts, our little district needs the support of our towns even more than ever. We were determined to think outside the box and come up with a way to keep our connection with our beloved community and raise some money while doing it. Enter the JSEF Virtual Lemonade Stand. The lemonade stand will be virtual and so will the lemonade, but you’ll be able to purchase a “cup” or a “barrel” or two if you’re so inclined, and in return you’ll get that good feeling of doing your part, helping out and building our community up. It doesn’t feel quite as good as a sip of our ice-cold spiked lemonade, but it’s darn near close. Visit our stand online at www.johnswettef.org/lemonade. To sweeten the pitcher, the Crockett Community Foundation (CCF) is generously offering matching funds through its fundraising assistance program. We hope to “see” you there.
Then comes the question of what our fund distribution will look like. Should we shift our current focus from supporting technology and the arts to an area with more immediate needs? How can we support the district in making sure the most vulnerable in our community have equal access to equipment and services they’ve never needed before distance learning was a household word? To take the guesswork out of the picture, we invited Superintendant Charles Miller to our meeting to talk about what he expects the year will look like and where we can help fill in gaps in the budget. Mr. Miller filled us in on some of the progress the district had made (visit jsusd.org for the full update). He promised to think about the role we can play and to return to our next meeting with a clearer picture (site-specific plans are just getting underway). By the way, did we mention we voted to change the night of our monthly board meetings from Mondays to Tuesdays? Not to bury the lead, but there you have it.
More than ever we need new faces with innovative ideas about supporting our local schools. And remember, instead of going to the district office, you can simply plug in online on the third Tuesday of each month. Get your GoToMeeting link by emailing our President, Emma Sutton at emma.jsef@gmail.com. Our next meeting will start at 7:00 on Tuesday, July 21st. Or visit us on our website at www.johnsswettef.org if you just want to scope us out from afar.