Canyon School Fundraisers

URBAN PEASANT AUCTION

Saturday, April 20th, 2013, 6-10pm, Moraga Barn

Hello Canyon Families –

We need your help! If you have been waiting all year to find a chance to volunteer for the school, the time is now! We are actively searching for items for our annual online and live auction. To raise desperately needed money for our kids’ school, we want to find amazing items to auction off. We need every family’s help procuring these items.

This year we have decided to nix the class baskets, but instead we’re hoping that each family will procure at least ONE auction item, plus ONE bottle of wine valued at $20 or more.

Think about what YOU would bid on — a restaurant gift certificate, a contractor consultation, a museum membership, a home-cooked meal, a monthly dessert item…. and then find a way to get this item donated. Perhaps you can create it yourself, or you can ask friends, relatives, neighbors. Talk to the manager at your favorite cafe, shop, movie theater. Ask the CATSS Auction Team for help coming up with ideas. We can help with paperwork, too. (Ask Kelly Matthews or Nina Rea.)

Like last year, our auction theme is Urban Peasant, so use that concept for inspiration — do you know an artisan, a bread baker, a furniture maker, an herbalist, a bike repairperson who could donate services or a product to the auction?

Here are more ideas:

• Special Talents or Hobbies: What’s your passion? Is there something you love, do well, and would feel confident teaching others? Build a themed package around your favorite thing to do (ex: knitting, biking, sewing, cooking, wine tasting, sports, skills, etc.).
• Unique tours: Do you have access to somewhere exclusive, fun, or hip? Who could forget last year’s Pixar tour and dinner with a famous screenwriter? These types of unique, rare experiences are the “hot potatoes” of all auctions.
• Unused Timeshares/ Vacation rentals: Fun, fun! Maybe there are unused opportunities within your extended family?
• Career: What do you do for a living? Your trained professional skill may be just what someone else might need or want (ex: photographer, landscaper, building contractor, interior designer, chef, computer/tech genius, personal trainer…).
• Daily Life Resources: Don’t forget to ask around! Do you love your hair stylist? They might like a tax-deductible write-off too! Other places to ask: gym, nail/ beauty salon, local grocery store, favorite restaurants (big hits last year)…any place that knows your face!
• Host an Event or Party: Anyone willing to offer their home for a themed dinner? Ready to organize a Mom or Dad’s night out? A guided camping trip or survival trip?

Donations must be complete and received by April 8. See the donation form online.

Thank you for all that you do!

Sierra/CATSS

We love our donors!

Canyon parent, Kelly Mathews, created a fantastic Pinterest page to thank the generous donors of Canyon Elementary School’s 2013 Urban Peasant Auction!

eScrip Information

Safeway 10% Goes Back to Schools program is running from August 8 through September 11, 2012. This year only certain products are eligible — they’ll be marked with a school bus tag.

For current eScrip members the contribution is automatic when you use your club card.

For non-member redemption you need to follow these steps:

• Visit a Safeway again between 9/15 and 9/25 to get a redemption code. It will be printed at the bottom of your receipt.
• Go to eScrip.com
• Click “enter receipts” — must be done by 9/28.
• Search for our school (Canyon Association) or search by Zip Code (94516)
• Click “Accept”
• Enter the redemption code

Laura Jung will enter the codes in for you, if you’d like: just leave them in the Newton mailbox.

Better yet, consider signing up for eScrip! It’s free, easy, and it’s free money for our school. Simply go to eScrip.com to sign up, select Canyon Association and enter you Safeway Club card and credit/debit cards. If you don’t know your Safeway card number you can get it by calling 1-877-723-3929.

DINNER AND LIVE AUCTION

The 2012 Event Program Cover

Each year, the not-to-be missed Springtime event is the School Dinner and Live Auction – The 2012 Urban Peasant Dinner and Auction took place on April 28th, at the Moraga Barn, in Moraga.

The weather was beautiful and the bidding was fierce! We raised over $26,000 on our Auctions and ticket sales raised over $15,000 in our raffle. View the Urban Peasant Auction Committee follow-up message and auction images.

The two annual events prior to the Urban Peasant Auction, called “Spaghettata,” saw unbelievable weather, fabulous food & wine, wonderful donations, and bidders with attitude – This was Spaghettata!

Almost 25K in Auction and Ticket sales were made in 2011! Twenty Five Thousand Dollars for our small ambitious school. Highlight auction item “DREAM TEAM” went for $7,000.00! That was a big deal! The event wouldn’t have been a success without our awesome donors for their gracious offerings of services, items, and physical labor SOLD! to benefit Canyon School.

This is no ordinary calendar—it’s an art piece that ‘stars’ our children! Beautiful to look at and functional too—never miss an important school date again. One hundred percent of the purchase price goes to the school. Thanks to the ever-generous Asher Family for printing and Susie Grant for design.

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