2018 - OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
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Message from our Chair
Richard Cohn
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Hello Hart District families and friends and welcome back to the 2018 - 2019 school year!
The new school year has begun and the 2017-2018 school year is in the books; I'm extremely proud that it was an amazing year for your WiSH Education Foundation and for our kids.
Thanks to the amazing support of our families, friends and community, WiSH has been able to provide more materials and critical funds directly into schools than ever before. Through a wide variety of fantastic events like the Library fundraiser, Cocktails on the Roof, AutoNation car raffle, our inaugural
Wine on the Roof, Dine on the Roof,
and through amazing partnerships such as the SCV Charity Chili Cook-off, the Songwriter Salute Concert series (this year celebrated the music of Tom Petty), Burrito Bowl, Dancing with our Stars and more, we have been able to bring much needed support to our funding focus of
STEAM
(
S
cience,
T
echnology,
E
ngineering,
A
rts &
M
ath) directly to the kids.
The new school year brings new classrooms, new schools, new friends, new adventures and new opportunities! New opportunities to learn, grow, challenge and participate...not only for students, but this is a time of new opportunities for parents, families and friends as well!
New opportunities are out there for you to participate more in our schools and community...get involved, get outside your comfort zone, volunteer, attend events; and a shameless request to give also from your pocket to WiSH. Just $5 or $10 from every family in the district will bring life-changing materials, musical instruments, books, equipment, programs and technology into the hands of our students. What's good for our kids is good for our community...and our future! Visit
wishscv.org
to donate and find out more about our activities, events and how you can participate - through volunteering or financially.
Thank you to everyone who has begun or continued to support WiSH and our Hart District schools. I also want to thank our wonderful Board and amazing group of volunteers who make it all possible.
Wishing everyone an amazing rest of the year and all the best!
Richard Cohn
Chair, WiSH Education Foundation
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Focus on WiSH
Vice Chair, Lynne Secrest
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2018 has been a busy time not only for WiSH fundraising events but WiSH has provided funds directly to the classrooms to support a variety of STEAM related programs. As Rich shared above, this year’s focus is Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM). It is important to know that government tax funding doesn’t meet the demands for programs that support the development of our students. Every Fall our
amazing teachers
, many of whom personally give funds in addition to the many hours preparing and working in our classrooms, submit
“WiSH Lists”
to help prepare our students for their academic, professional and technical futures. How do we fulfill the
“WiSH Lists”
we receive?
We know SCV is THE place to live and/or work and we also know you, your friends, neighbors and your employers have many wonderful non-profits in the SCV to choose from to support. We believe that kids are important so as a result,
WiSH works tirelessly in 3 primary ways to raise funds to support
“WiSH List”
programs for the 23,000+ students in the Wm. S. Hart School District.
- GRANT REQUESTS: Each year we submit grant requests to local and global companies and professional sports teams including Boston Scientific, Nordstrom, Smart & Final, Union Bank, California Credit Union, LA Clippers, LA Dodgers, and others. The grants and donations we receive help but do not meet all the funding needs.
- GET THE WORD OUT: WiSH Board members and dedicated volunteers attend many of the local community events to get the WiSH name better known in the community. In May WiSH hosted the Women and Girls in Business evening at College of the Canyons where 3 local women shared their backgrounds, what they do and how they also give back to our community. This free event was the first of its kind in our area created and hosted by Hart High student Liz Masterson who wanted her school group, Women in Business, to learn more about women who work in different types of jobs. Hopefully, folks like you who believe in our educational programs will log into our website at wishscv.org and make a tax-deductible donation – we especially appreciate those of you who make monthly donations via PayPal or credit cards. Every dollar helps!
- FUNDRAISING EVENTS: WiSH has become known for hosting many of THE BEST and innovative SCV events including those listed below. So if you want to have fun, meet new people and get something tangible for your donation, check the updated events listing on our website and buy tickets!
2018 Fundraising Events
WiSH and
AutoNation
gave away a beautiful brand new car to one lucky person who purchased a Sweepstakes Ticket in March of this year. Winning a brand new car – doesn’t get much better than that! What was also exciting, is one of our own teachers, Mike Coombe from Bowman High School, won the car! Tickets were only $25 – will you be the lucky winner at next year’s WiSH Upon a Car?
In May we launched a new fundraiser called
Wine on the Roof
which was held atop the Westfield Town Center Macy's parking garage. Hosted under the stars in a "rooftop garden party" setting, our guests were treated to a one of a kind special sit-down 9 course dinner, with each course paired with delicious wine. Beautiful and eco-friendly place settings, lighting, live music, photo opportunities and more combined to make an evening that our guests will not soon forget. WiSH teamed up with Steve Lemley as our co-host for this unique, never-before-seen event. Lemley is a well-respected SCV winemaker that co-owns the SCV Custom Crush Services. Lemley curated our wines from his local facility that houses wines from over twenty different wineries – many made their debut that evening. In addition, we had winemakers seated throughout the event to allow for interesting and knowledgeable discourse. Amazing, local restaurants and their chefs provided the incredible, multi-course meal that was paired exclusively for our guests. We made sure to have pescatarian and vegetarian courses in the mix, as well. This event sold out quickly so mark your calendar for May 16, 2019 for our 2
nd
annual Wine on the Roof fundraiser. Updated event information can be found on our website.
June 30
th
was HOT! Yes it was hot outside but WiSH hosted an even hotter musical tribute to the late Tom Petty. SCV’s own DFS3 (
David Fernandez Songwriter Salute Series
) delivered an incredible evening of Tom’s music. This was DFS3’s 10
th
annual cover concert. The concert included over 40 musicians playing in groups and all together highlighting the BEST of Tom Petty. We look forward to next year’s tribute and wonder what entertainer will be selected to be covered next summer.
On August 14th we hosted the
SCV Burrito Bowl
at the Westfield Mall roundabout outside the Cheesecake Factory – if you haven’t been before please come next year! This event is a fundraiser for the football and cheer teams for our High Schools. Great fun! WiSH benefits from selling raffle tickets the night of the event.
Last month on the top of the Westfield parking garage outside Macy's WiSH hosted the 4th annual
Cocktails on the Roof
which was another big success! 40+ local restaurants, many of which are probably your favorites, served a signature cocktail or mocktail plus delicious food. We had the best DJ in the SCV and nearly 500 people danced until we closed at 11pm. Whew, what a fun night! Looking forward to next year’s event.
Thank you to all of you who have supported the students of the Wm. S. Hart High School District by attending one or more of our events!
Thank you,
Lynne Secrest, Board of Directors Vice Chair
661.755.5933
Proud Board Member of WiSH Education Foundation
Please make a difference in local education by clicking below
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Cocktails on the Roof a GREAT SUCCESS!
COTR18 was again a sold out event as patrons celebrated atop the transformed Westfield Valencia Town Center parking garage in September. With over forty tents serving signature cocktails and amazing food, inventive lounges and lighting, our fabulous DJ and dancing, and incredible silent auction offering at-home socials and dinners from our participant restaurants, it was a party not to be missed. Thanks to you, WiSH raised over $40,000 during the evening! Congratulations goes to
Claim Jumper Restaurant, winner of the favorite cocktails voting, for their "Grilled Pineapple Margarita," which is now on their featured menu!
The new date for COTR18 is set for September 6, 2019!
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A great time was had by all at the annual Cocktails on the Roof in September.
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WiSH was proud to again be the sponsor of the Burrito Bowl, held at Westfield Valencia Town Center that pits five linemen from each of the six football teams as they race to eat a four foot burrito! Sales from raffle tickets go to each of the six teams as well as and cheer squads and any school group that sells tickets. This year,
Hart High School was the winner by breaking the record!
CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR NEXT YEAR'S BURRITO BOWL DATE!
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Last year's winner, Michael Coombe, walked away with a brand new vehicle for his family. This year is your chance! With a $25 donation to WiSH, you earn the opportunity to win a brand new vehicle, courtesy of
AutoNation! Donation tickets will go on sale in January 2019 and there is no limit to the number you can purchase. Stay posted!
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Mark Your Calendars - May 16, 2019!
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It's coming back! Our first
Wine on the Roof was a smashing success and was held in early May 2018 atop the Westfield Valencia Town Center parking garage.
Nine courses from amazing local chefs paired with wines cured specifically for the event made the evening a one of a kind opportunity for our guests.
The new WOTR19 date has been set for Thursday, May 16, 2019!
Check www.WiSHscv.org for updates, information and tickets.
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We've had a great start to this academic year!
- WiSH donated $50k to our school libraries to be disbursed as invoices come in from the district.
- In addition, funding was provided for classroom needs for the guitar program at Sierra Vista. Guitar and History teacher Michael Copenhaver, spoke passionately about teaching music at the Tom Petty Tribute. The funds bought guitar polish, tuners, classroom books, and a classroom speaker system.
- Ten graphic arts tablets were purchased for Canyon High.
- Using a donation from Boston Scientific employees, an additional defibrillator was purchased for Canyon High.
- Athletic trainers in the William S. Hart Union High School District received crucial concussion testing software through another generous donation from Boston Scientific.
- WiSH also gave needed items to our District's Special Education department.
It is our pleasure to make a difference for the 23,000+ students of the Hart District – won’t you please join us by making a donation
HERE. Even $5 will add up to big impact. Thank you.
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WiSH turned SIX YEARS OLD this year! Though new nonprofits face an uphill battle to raise funds and continue to make a lasting impact, we’ve come a long way since our start in 2012. We have multiple events throughout the year that are enjoyed by you and other members of our community and we’ve made a significant impact with additional programs within our Wm. S. Hart district schools! We want you to know that we are
YOUR COMMUNITY EDUCATION FOUNDATION.
As Rich and Lynne both said above we thank and appreciate everyone who donates time to volunteer at our events, those of you who attend and support our events and everyone who makes financial donations to WiSH. If you are interested in supporting WiSH or would like more information about the partnership we have within our Hart District Schools please contact me at
WiSH@hartdistrict.org.
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With much appreciation to our greater community,
Amy Daniels
Executive Director
Wm. S. Hart Education Foundation
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Contact Us
24343 Magic Mountain Parkway
Valencia, CA 91355
661.799.WiSH (9474)
Amy Daniels
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