It’s important to take a moment before gearing up for the end of the year (and all the rush and madness that comes along with it) to reflect on this past year and all that we’ve accomplished. I do so with a lens of gratitude and a sense of pride in our community.
This year did not start off in the usual way and FOABE was unsure what our fundraising could look like, or whether we’d be able to raise the funds needed to keep our cherished Specials teachers at our school. We were lamenting the loss of our first fundraiser of the year as the PRIDE parade was cancelled. We knew that if students couldn’t meet, in-person, at the school, we wouldn’t be able to have our Birney Night Out events. We were unsure how we could make many of our annual traditions work.
…then our community started to show up…
Twiggs Coffeehouse offered a space for Ms. Mindy to set up a farm stand with the produce from our garden to raise donations to help us in our goals.
Kairoa Brewing Company offered to make two limited edition beers from ingredients grown at Birney with 50% of the proceeds going back to Birney. They further offered to help us reboot Family Dinner Nights with Takeaway dinners.
Our Fall Fundraiser went completely online and was a great success!
Beerfish offered another takeaway event for our families.
Families supported the school through “Give A Latte”, one-time donations, shopping through Amazon Smile, Farm Fresh to You and Boon Supply.
As we continue to add to our farm stands, grow our partnerships for Family Dinner Nights and passive fundraisers, we look forward to Big Give and Run for the Green later this school year.
I am so grateful for a truly amazing community where people show up and show up strong to support and encourage the great things happening at Birney. Sure, it’s been a very challenging year on so many levels, but at every turn, our parents, staff and community partners have used their gifts to ensure that our commitment to every Birney Bee is upheld. Birney will continue to shape and inspire our students to grow in this world and persevere through uncertainty and I am proud that we can all be a part of seeing that mission through. We have a long way to go to meet our fundraising goal this year, but I am so thankful for the support we have received and the progress that we have made on our way to meeting that goal.
Thank YOU!!!