PTO hosts fundraiser Saturday
There’s still a little time to get your tickets and support the Beach Elementary Parent Teacher Organization.
The PTO has set its annual fundraiser for Saturday, Feb. 24.
This year’s Vegas-style theme, High Rollin’ on the Beach, will pit attendees against their own luck: guests can take a chance on poker, virtual horse races, roulette, black jack and many other Vegas-style games.
The fundraiser will be held from 6 to 10 p.m.at the Woman’s Club, 175 Sterling Ave.
Seats are limited as the venue is limited to 200 attendees. General admission tickets are $50, and there are four VIP tables left.
A VIP table is $600 and fits eight people; it includes two bottles of champagne, access to the VIP lounge and a dedicated cocktail waitress, said Kristen Love, PTO co-president.
“All ticket-holders get appetizers and desserts,” she said.
The PTO hired a professional casino company, so poker players will be in good hands and Vegas show-girls will add to the night’s authenticity.
“We have a DJ, there will be dancing,” she said. “They know what they’re doing,”
The event will include silent and live auctions as well as raffle items to include gift certificates to many local restaurants and hotels, weekend getaways, dinners and more, along with many other baskets generously donated by local businesses. Raffle tickets are obtained with gaming winnings.
“You get to bid based on your gaming winnings,” Love said. “We’ve got a lot.”
Prizes range anywhere from $400 to $1,000 in value. Some coveted items include a dinner cruise for eight; a framed print by News-Press photographer and beach resident Andrew West; a personalized shopping experience and shopping day with Vivi’s Boutique, and one of the fire department’s famed firehouse dinner for six people.
“We’ve also got other big weekend getaways on the beach,” Love said.
The event has several levels of sponsorship from local partners:
$5000 Ace Sponsors, Fort Myers Beach Kiwanis and TPI FMB; $2500 King Sponsor, The Dog House;
$1500 Queen Sponsors, Diversified Yacht Services and Fiesta Tents; and $500 Jack Sponsors, Chris-Tel Construction, Veronique Pascual, and Lahaina Realty.
Corporate sponsorship opportunities are still available. Corporate sponsors will receive VIP access plus event advertising and speaking opportunities. For more information on sponsorship or to purchase tickets, go to highrollinonthebeach.eventsmart.com or contact Kristen Love at 719-761-6237 or email HighRollin@fmbpto.org.
As the only PTO fundraiser dedicated solely to the Fort Myers Beach Elementary, the event’s goal is to raise enough to sustain and grow the enrichment, technology and educational needs of the beach children.
One of the PTO’s biggest expenses are running the after-school clubs, since the school doesn’t receive funding to provide after-school groups. Participation in the after-school clubs is free to the students. Although it’s not well-known, 86 percent of the students come from families that are economically disadvantaged. Besides providing enrichment, the clubs help to provide a safe place for students of working parents to stay after school.
“The kids don’t have really many opportunities because they don’t have the afterschool programs that many other schools have,” Orlandini said in a previous article. “We wanted our kids to have the same enrichment opportunities.”?
The PTO also helps write grants for teachers to get classroom equipment; they help out with school field trips; and they get sponsors to donate to school needs. At the end of the year, the PTO helps to put on the annual student carnival.?The wood dolphin sculpture that used to sit outside the school had to be removed, so the PTO raised the funds to replace it with a new one.
One week a year, the PTO turns Teacher Appreciation Day into a week-long event to highlight their gratitude for the work of the beach’s teachers.
During that week, PTO families “sponsor” breakfasts and lunches for the teachers; other families will bring in goodies for them.
“We try to do a lot for our teachers so they don’t have to do so much on their own,” Orlandini said.