Parents volunteering for last weekend’s Tres Pinos Trail Ride, a
fund-raiser to help the rural school in the small community,
thought they would meet their goal of $25,000 for the entire event,
which featured a trail ride, dinner and auction, but no one knew
they could double it.
Parents volunteering for last weekend’s Tres Pinos Trail Ride, a fund-raiser to help the rural school in the small community, thought they would meet their goal of $25,000 for the entire event, which featured a trail ride, dinner and auction, but no one knew they could double it.
“We’ll net somewhere between $50,000 and $55,000, which is phenomenal,” said Marie Hoffman, a mother and member of the non-profit Tres Pinos e3 foundation. “It was all due to the community support we received. We had people not only donate raffle and auction items but everything else as well like the beverages. We thought we’d make our $25,000 goal but this was completely unexpected.”
According to Leslie Schwabacher, vice president of the foundation, the event went well for the first attempt ever and the turnout was better than expected. The auction alone raised $29,000 and tickets for the event sold for as much as $150 with a trail ride included or $75 for just dinner, entertainment and the auction.
The Tres Pinos e3 foundation raises money to supplement the rural school’s small budget in an effort to provide a big education in a little classroom. In the past, e3 support funded classes such as a fine arts program, a Spanish class and a theater production at the end of this year. Schwabacher said proceeds from the trail ride will be used to start a music program at the school, among other needs.
Tres Pinos school operates on a budget of about $700,000 annually and, according to Tres Pinos Principal Luciano Medeiros, the money raised by the foundation will make a significant difference in what the school can offer to students.
“We have 130 or so kids but we don’t have enough money to spread it out,” Medeiros said. “Their fund-raising adds the programs we cannot afford to put together. We have enough money to keep our system running, but we can’t afford the other classes parents would like to see.”
The foundation controls how their fund-raising dollars are spent, Medeiros said. The school petitions the foundation to fund requests.
“We have to ask them and they choose what to fund so we won’t see $50,000 in our budget, but we will see continued support of our extra programs,” he said.
Last Saturday’s fund-raiser was easily the foundation’s most successful venture, but certainly not the first, Hoffman said. In the past, they have raised thousands through Valentine Day bulb sales, community rummage sales and selling student-made greeting cards.
Hoffman said the foundation will definitely hold a trail ride fund-raiser again, but it probably will not become an annual event.
“We have to catch our breath first, but this is something we’ll do again soon,” she said. “Maybe not next year, but soon.”
