(1st two photos courtesy Machel Spence)
One last round of scenes from weekend fundraisers – two on behalf of local schools. Above, Becca Cressell from the self-contained autism program at Pathfinder K-8 received the annual “Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way” award (she’s shown with principal David Dockendorf) during the school’s “Pathfunder” auction event Saturday night at South Seattle Community College. The school website says the award is given each year to “a teacher, staff member or adult volunteer in the Pathfinder K-8 community who does an outstanding job of helping our children learn and develop … through dedication, innovative thinking, creativity and honoring the differences, strengths and uniqueness of each child.” (The award was created in honor of a former Pathfinder student who was helped there to work through the challenges of Asperger Syndrome.) Auction items included adventures and art:

(In the right background is a creation donated by Machel, who is a Pathfinder parent; you can take a closer look here.) We’re checking on fundraiser results. (UPDATE: Auction chair Sharon tells WSB, “We had a sold-out event, raising over $50,000. Over 100 people volunteered in one form or another. We more than met our goal of raising money for our Fund-A-Need – buying more books for our classroom libraries. It was a great night!”)

Friday night, Gatewood Elementary gathered for “Bids for Kids” at The Hall at Fauntleroy – with a superheroes theme:

(Photo courtesy Gail Ann Photography)
From left in the photo, it’s PTA vice president Nicole “Gator Girl” Sipila, principal Rhonda Claytor, and PTA president Mary Howland. Photographer Gail Ann quotes the principal as saying, “Our fundamental beliefs at Gatewood are that class size should be as small as possible, that children should have a variety of learning experience…this event is a crucial part of providing the funding to make these ideas continue to be an effective learning tool and a reality at Gatewood.” (You can see Gail Ann’s gallery from the gala by going here.) Auction chair Anita Schumacher tells WSB that the auction “grossed just over $60,000. The night was a blast with a lot of costumes to liven up the night.” Still ways to contribute – she’ll be cataloguing the few remaining auction items still up for grabs – keep an eye on the auction website for that. (And if you have a school event coming up, please make sure we know about it! Thanks!)