The Century Club fundraiser: thank you!
We did it. We did it! We reached our goal of 100 people each donating $100! We’ve got a celebration party planned that I’d like to tell you about, but more on that later. First I want to say THANK YOU.
Thanks to everyone who contributed, to everyone who forwarded these messages to friends and family, and everyone who offered positive energy, encouragement, and enthusiasm. If we’re going to build something extraordinary together, it’s going to happen because everyone contributes what they can. Everything, from making a major donation to posting something positive about PSCS on your Facebook status, it all adds up. It all matters.
Here it is, the 2011 Century Club:
Jen Moon
Christian Gschwend
Anonymous
Anonymous
Laura Widman
Steve Widman
Ann Josefczyk
Anonymous
Anonymous
Taelore Rhoden and Perri Rhoden
David & Julie Spangler
Lena McCullough
Chloe Shaw
Steve Morton
Melinda Shaw
Andy Smallman
Steve Miranda
Stacia Snapp
Peter & Deb Kahn
Michael & Debi Murphy
Anonymous
Deb Schaack & Jutta Schneider
Dave Thrasher
Anonymous
Anonymous
Doug Forbes
Ron Rabin
Michele Egan
Rosalind Schuessler
Kim Haber & Eddie Montag
Juliene Gschwend
Steve Arnold
Laurie Bauman
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Abbey & Anthony Maschmedt
Adrienne Karpov & Ed Miles
Sara Brown
Paul Martin & Sandie Grummann
Mary Martin
Kristin Jakobsen
Eleanor Goodall & Paul Hill
Linda Stevenson
Peter Stevenson
Andy Martin
Judy Blair
Anavadya & Kolin Taylor
Jacqueline & Michael Stein
Jen Graves
Mike Rotskoff
Kaitlin Spangler
Joe Turk
Kathe Rutsala
Gloria Thiele
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous
Curt & Mayela Hill
Heidi Fivash
Vivian Vassall
Anonymous
Sue Williams
Ellis Reyes
Steve Griggs & Doris Kogan
Debra & Bradley Music
Adam Feuer & Lena McCullough
Jon Elizondo & Grace Bell
Larry Dohrs and Wiworn Kesavatana
Alex Allred
Brenda Miranda
Joe Miranda
Nina Miranda
Sam Miranda
Shari Miranda
Carib Smallman
Al Smallman
Malcolm & Lara Hooper
Kathleen Green
Chris Lassen
Jenn Johnson
Sheri Pewitt
Vanessa Riley
Betsey Bell
Julie & Michael McKelvey
Steve & Tiffany Thiele
Sara Keogh
Karen O’Connell
Tina Dawson
Trey Gunn
Marja Brandon & Rob Drake
Cathy Short
Debbie & Mike Bontatibus
Doug Baugh
Sheri Pewitt
Julie Charles
Lyn Lambert
Michael Coffey
Thorly James
Mary Felstiner
I want to express gratitude to two board members in particular, Judy Blair and Vivian Vassall, for their leadership on this campaign. In addition, I’d like to acknowledge our lead donors for their generosity and inspiration. Thank you to William & Suzanne Wittmann, Duncan Moore & Stacey Watson, Alex Cho Snyder, Michael Chui, Simon Weinstein, Kristine Forbes, Mark Southworth, Eric Menninga & Karen Cowgill, Susan & Larry Morris, and Greg Morris.
Finally, I want to thank our board president, Dana Bettinger, who offered an extraordinary matching challenge of $10,000. In turn, Dana wants to thank you. Here are her words:
I feel fortunate to have grown up in a family where philanthropy was just a part of life. No one made a big deal about it, but we always understood that we were lucky to be able to live life the way we did, and that it was important to support the things that mattered. In high school and college, I started to be politically active and I started volunteering; I held up signs, and I traveled some very long distances to attend major rallies and marches in Washington D.C. Often, my friends and family members came with me.
That was also the time when I started getting asked for money on a regular basis (funny how those things go hand in hand, right?) and although I began with donations of only ten or twenty dollars, I went ahead and said yes to some of the people who were asking. Yes, because I was young, but I thought that I could probably forsake a dinner or two at the local pizza place now and then. Yes, because I wanted to support the organizations that were doing the work that I thought was important in the world. Yes, because I could.
Although some people debate whether Margaret Mead ever actually said it, I have always loved what is frequently repeated as one of her most famous quotes: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Today, I am still fortunate, because as the president of PSCS’s Board of Trustees, I get to be part of a group of thoughtful, committed, passionate people who truly believe that we can change the world.
I’m absolutely delighted that so many of you have stepped up to meet this challenge in such a generous way, and I hope that even more of you will be inspired to help us change the world as we continue to progress through this year. It is an incredibly exciting time to be a member of the PSCS community, as we head into our first formal strategic plan and determine what the future holds for us—and none of it would be possible without all of you.
* * *
Now, let’s celebrate! But in honor the extraordinary amount of work ahead of us, I’m calling this a work party. On Wednesday, Oct 17 at 7 p.m., we’re gathering at PSCS’s International District campus to connect with Barbara Green, the strategic planning consultant hired by the Board of Trustees. Barbara will give you an overview of the strategic planning process, and then engage you in a series of activities designed to collect data needed to build a strategic plan.
In short, we need your input. We need your ideas.
Please make every effort to attend this event. We hope that it will be an evening of celebration, of reconnecting with friends, and taking the next step in the process of building something extraordinary together.
If you can, please RSVP to steve@pscs.org and let me know if you think you’ll be attending. It’s going to be a big, big day for PSCS.
In community,
Steve Miranda
Development Director
Puget Sound Community School