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Annual Tools for School luncheon collects money for school supplies
At the fourth annual Tools For School fundraiser, the Golden State Division raised $35,035 to provide hundreds of Bay Area children necessities for a successful start to the school year.
This year’s eventthemed “Flower Power” and held in the Omni Hotel’s elegant ballroomfeatured San Francisco’s celebrated floral designer Jun Piñon of Piñon Design. He designed an interactive floral demonstration, creating arrangements that he later auctioned off to luncheon guests.
“Flower Power will be in high gear as I inspire guests to discover how simple and therapeutic floral design can be while helping our city’s children gain the tools and supplies that are necessary to start the new school year in a most positive way,” Piñon said.
The three-course lunch followed a silent auction that raised $14, 635; 52 tickets brought in $5,200; a silver table sold for $2,500; six bronze tables sold for $1,250 each; and attendees donated $5,215all of which paid for the back-to-school distribution at the Army’s Family Service Center in San Francisco.
“We hear stories all the time about children who don’t attend the first two weeks of school because they are embarrassed that they don’t have new school supplies like the other kids,” said Claire Dunmore, family services director in San Francisco. “It is crucial that children attend school, and we find that if a child has a few new items to show off, the first few days of class are just a little bit more palatable and easier to navigate.”