Category Archives: Fund Raising

The Genesee Hill Auction is Back!!

Auction, Fund Raising

This year we are offering our first ever hybrid auction event! This auction will be truly unique, as all of the live auction items will be available to both those who are in-person and remote. Also, the silent auction will be held online so anyone can participate. In-person tickets are limited, so are likely to sell out quickly! Get all the details below to be ready for tickets sales on Tuesday:

Auction theme: Seattle Glam…Come as you are

When: Saturday, March 12, 2022 6:00-9:30 pm

Where: Brockey Center at South Seattle College and Online

How: Ticket sales will begin on Tuesday, February 15th at 7 pm, via this link. 

Ticket prices:

In-Person: $85/person, $170/couple

Remote: We are asking each virtual participant to make a $25 suggested donation to help offset the cost of the broadcasting and software.

How do you participate?

In-Person: 

  • We will be selling tickets up to 50% of the venue capacity (around 100 tickets available), 6 people per table. You can purchase 6 tickets together to reserve a whole table or individual/couple tickets to be placed at random.
  • There will be heavy appetizers and a Dessert Dash with no formal dinner.
  • The dessert dash is one of the highlights of the auction! If you are inspired to donate a purchased or homemade sweet treat to contribute to our excellent spread, we invite you to sign up here!
  • Proof of vaccination is required for all guests. Boosters and testing within 72 hours are strongly encouraged. Participants will need to upload a copy of their vaccination card in advance.
  • Masks requirements will follow state regulations.
  • Color-coded wristbands will be provided to indicate interaction comfort level.
  • The silent auction will be done online, prior to the event. A small amount of silent auction items may be held for the event and will still be available online as well.
  • Live auction will be held as normal with remote guests able to participate online.
  • Sadly there will be no dancing due to Covid restrictions, but we’ll have plenty of time to mingle.
  • And last, but not least, come ready to support Genesee Hill with a fun evening of food, drinks and bidding! 

Remote:

  • Organize a watch party with your friends and family to tune in to the live broadcast and auction together, or participate on your own.
  • The silent auction will be done online, prior to the event. A small amount of silent auction items may be held for the event and will still be available online as well.
  • Live auction will be held in real time with remote participants bidding through app or website.
  • If you purchase a virtual participant ticket, you will receive an invitation on 3/12 with a link to join the event. Dress up and make it a fun evening your own way!

Silent Auction:

  • The silent auction will be held online, and anyone is welcome to participate in it, regardless of attendance at the auction.
  • The silent auction will go live on March 5.
  • To participate in the silent auction, register your information here. Everyone who has registered will receive an invite to participate in the silent auction.
  • This is the first year the silent auction items will be 100% online, so make sure to tell your friends and family about it since folks can participate from anywhere.

Start talking to your Genesee Hill friends about forming tables for the in-person event or plan a watch party with your pod to enjoy remotely. Either way, get excited to support our amazing school! The auction may look different this year, but it will still have the fun, exciting auction items, and community building that we all love!

Dine Out for Genesee Hill at Lady Jaye on Sunday January 23, 2:00 to 7:30 pm

Jan. 23 Dine Out at Lady Jaye

Events, Fund Raising, Restaurant of the Month

Our January Dine-Out event will feature Lady Jaye in the Alaska Junction on Sunday January 23, from 2pm to 7:30pm (the general store opens at 10am). 20% of all sales on this day will go to Genesee Hill, including takeout orders, dine in, gift cards, drinks and the Lady Jaye special Take and Bake. Lady Jaye makes everything super easy with their excellent online ordering system.

Would you like to dine in? Make sure to book your spot early. There is a heated patio if you don’t feel like going inside. The capacity is limited and Lady Jaye does have to turn people away. Click here to reserve a table and here to see the menu and order some of their delicious items!

Dine-Out details:

  • When: January 23, 2–7:30pm. Includes walk-ins and pickups. Online ordering/reservations strongly recommended.
  • Tables can be reserved here.
  • 40 Take and Bake meals feeding up to 4 people will be available for pick-up for $50 each. Order meals here until January 21. There are two options:
  1. Dry Aged Beef & Tomato Ragu Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese, Parmesan Cheese
  2. Garlic Veggie & Tomato Ragu Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese, Parmesan Cheese
  • Try their one of a kind, specially made, Genesee Hill special to-go cocktail or one of Lady Jaye’s other awesome to-go cocktails with your take-out order.
  • The General Store opens at 10am, offering tasty items for your kitchen such as wagyu beef, local prime beef & pork, house rubs, and meat accoutrements. Stop by while you are shopping at the Alaska Junction Farmer’s Market.
  • Gift cards can be purchased that day with 20% going to the school.

We hope you’ll support our school and a local business while enjoying this delectable food. Invite all your friends too!

Support Direct Give Nov. 1-15!

Events, Fund Raising

We are excited to kick off our annual Direct Give campaign for this 2021-22 school year! This is one of the biggest PTA fundraisers of the year, so let’s make it count!

A green lawn filled with pink plastic flamingos

You’ve probably heard of flocking…this year we have outFOXing! Instead of flocking someone’s lawn with flamingos, you can outFOX your friends/neighbors by surprising them with a small Genesee yard sign. The more you donate, the more signs you can pick up.  Write notes on your signs and place them at your friend’s or neighbor’s houses or businesses, or even at the school. Your signs will share support for the school throughout the community too!

How to participate: Give online here between Nov. 1 and 15, then pick up your signs in-person at the Dakota Homestead (corner of 50th Ave SW and Dakota) at designated times throughout the campaign. Remember to request a matching gift if your employer offers it!

Orange and white sign with Fox logo and text "You have a friend at Genesee Hill Elementary"

Sign pick-up times:

  • Thurs. Nov. 4th – 2:15-2:45pm
  • Tues. Nov. 9th – 2:15-2:45 pm
  • Sat. Nov. 13th – 10:00-10:30am
  • Wed. Nov. 17th – 1:00-1:30 pm

Direct Give Donation Levels:

  • 2 signs for $50
  • 5 signs for $100
  • 12 signs for $250
  • 25 signs for $500+

Look for these signs around the neighborhood starting next week!

Why give to Direct Give? PTA funding allows GHE to be a more inclusive and equitable school where every child thrives and every family is valued by providing:

  •     School supplies for ALL students
  •     Access to technology in the classroom
  •     Professional development for staff
  •     Library and text books
  •     Key specialists (reading specialist, math specialist, counselor), Tutors & Monitors (CHAMPPS)

Your generous donations make this happen! Thank you — we can’t wait to see your support all over our West Seattle neighborhood!

Please email our fundraising chairs at fundraising@geneseehillpta.org with any questions.

Mission Cantina logo

Dine-Out at Mission Cantina Oct. 19 & 20

Events, Fund Raising, Restaurant of the Month,

Get ready for our October Dine-Out for Genesee Hill- Mission Cantina! Help support our school and one of our great neighborhood businesses!

Mission Cantina will generously donate 20% of ALL sales that the restaurant makes on those days, for their full hours of 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm.  No need for a special code or link!  This includes all food, alcohol, gift cards, and Mission Cantina’s “Whole Enchilada” take and bake kit.

• Mission Cantina, 2325 California Ave SW – (206-937-8220)
• October 19th & 20th – 4 pm-10 pm for pickup or dine-in.
• Due to the size of our school, Mission has asked us to break the days up by grade level. Tuesday, October 19th is kindergarten to second grade. Wednesday, October 20th is third to fifth grade.
• All to-go orders need to be placed the day before pickup because of the volume of orders.
• We are encouraging families to work with the restaurant directly rather than use 3rd party apps such as Grubhub and Ubereats to help the staff get more of the funds from tips and orders.  
• Payment is taken at pickup for all to-go orders.

“The Whole Enchilada” Take and Bake Kit

This delicious kit feeds 4-5 for ONLY $60 plus tax (Gratuity not included). Order in advance for this awesome deal until Sunday, Oct. 17. Please call Mission to reserve your dinners for pick-up on one of the two days, with payment at pick up. One kit includes:

  • Chips and fire-roasted tomato salsa
  • Four child sized black bean and cheese enchiladas 
  • Six enchiladas – two sweet potato, two carnitas and two chicken and green chili 
  • Spanish red rice and black beans
  • Monterey Jack cheese and three different enchilada sauces – roja, verde, and creamy chipotle
  • Adult beverages can be added when picking up. Unfortunately they cannot do modifications or substitutions for enchiladas.
  • **Pre-orders for the enchilada kits need to be made by Sunday, October 17th.

Enjoy a “date-night” with your loved one, dine-in with the entire family, or grab take-out! Avoid the rush by buying a gift card to use on another day! It all helps our school!

Email questions to fundraising@geneseehillpta.org.

GHE Virtual Book Fair

Events, Fund Raising,

Calling all readers! Genesee Hill PTA is partnering with the local bookstore Paper Boat Booksellers to offer a virtual book fair. The fair started June 1st and will run through  June 14th, and Genesee Hill Elementary will receive a credit of 25% of all sales to spend on books for the school library. From reticent readers to bold bibliophiles – all are welcome to fill up on books for the summer! Check out the fair here.

If you’re looking for ideas for books to buy, SPS created this fantastic summer reading list with options for each grade. Also, the book fair has wonderful librarian-curated lists for different categories. Enjoy!

The Fine Print:

  • All purchases on Bookshop will be shipped from the wholesaler’s warehouse directly to the purchasers (or to gift recipients). There is not an option for in-store pickup. Please allow 7-10 days for shipping for books in stock.
  • There is a shipping charge for all purchases, but Bookshop also discounts most books between 8-10%, which covers much of the shipping costs.


Virtual Move-A-Thon

Events, Fund Raising, Move-A-Thon (MAT)

The Move-A-Thon activities will be virtual this year, but you still get your chance to earn the infamous plastic feet throughout the week. Activities will be released on June 1st, with the FINISH LINE on Friday, June 4th at the Genesee Hill playground from 4-6 pm! Masked participants can pick up their earned ‘feet’ along with ice cream for participation. If your grade earns the most feet, your whole grade will earn a Pajama Day at school – thanks Principal Kischner! RSVP here for the Finish Line Event.

Here’s how it will work! On Tuesday, June 1, an all-school email will kick things off by sharing the checklist for earning plastic feet. The activities for earning feet will include running for a certain number of blocks, riding something with wheels for a certain number of blocks, and exercises you can do anywhere, like push ups, squats and jumping jacks. Do the activities at home or in a park with friends. Track your earned feet on the checklist with a maximum of 10 feet possible! Gather pledges as you go and direct friends and family to donate on our Move-A-Thon donation page. Let’s get moving!

The PTA has donated $8,000 to the school for supplies for every child. This ensures that each child is able to start school and maintain the year with fresh supplies. We hope to raise the funds for supplies with the Move-A-Thon this year. You might even see our very own Genesee Hill Fox at the Finish Line doing a workout to earn those feet… will you beat the Fox?? 

THE FINE PRINT

Earning Feet  

Because we are doing virtual activities, this years feet earning is all honor system! Bring your checklist to the “Finish Line” tables on Friday, June 4th, 4-6pm to show our volunteers how many you’ve earned. If you forget your checklist, we will have extra printed for you to fill out. Make sure you ask Friends and Family to donate as well to cheer you on! The grade with the most participation earns an extra Pajama Day at school.

Activities

Students have all week to complete any of the challenges on any day.if you are unable to run, bike, do pushups – Substitute any of the activities for 15 minutes of your own preferred method of movement to earn a foot. The goal is move your body for fun.

Finish Line – Friday June 4th, 4-6pm

Masks required for playground entry. Please stay 6‘ apart from your classmates while on campus. All tables and lines will be spaced out 6’ from other students and tables. There will be separate Group A (AM), Group B (PM) and Group C (Remote) lines to separate cohorts. Feet and pre-packaged ice cream will be handed out by parent volunteers with masks, gloves and sanitizer. If you cannot make the Finish Line at the time listed, please contact Amanda Baker at bakerdesigner@gmail.com for alternate distribution.


May 23 Dine Out at Lady Jaye

Events, Fund Raising

Our May Dine-Out event will feature Lady Jaye in Alaska Junction on Sunday May 23, from 2 – 7:30 PM.  Genesee Hill will receive 20% of all sales on this day. This includes takeout orders, dine in, gift cards, drinks and the Lady Jaye special Take and Bake. Lady Jaye makes everything super easy with their excellent online ordering system.

Their seating reservations opened on May 1st!   Make sure you book your spot early.   The times and availability are limited and they do have to turn people away. Click here to reserve a table and here to see the menu and order some of their delicious items!

Key Details for May’s Dine out

  • Event Date and Time- May 23rd 2pm-7:30pm.  This includes walk-ins and pickups.  They STRONGLY recommend placing all orders and reservations online. All orders need to be made by 7:30 pm.
  • They have limited seating. Tables can be reserved here starting May 1st. Patio reservations (6 outdoor tables) availability: 2pm, 3:30pm, 5:30pm and 7:30pm.
  • Take and Bake Option – There will only be 50 of these items available for pick up on May 23rd.  Order here starting May 10th.  There will be two options.  Both options feed up to 4 people for $60.00
    1. Braised brisket over roasted garlic mac & cheese topped with buttermilk biscuit breadcrumbs
    2. Three cheese roasted garlic mac & cheese with smoked Vashon Island tofu burnt ends
  • Lady Jaye has a lovely list of to-go cocktails.  The pricing varies from $25-35 and each is equivalent to 3-4 drinks.
  • The Lady Jaye General Store has tasty items for your kitchen such as their house rubs, local raw honeycomb, and farm-made caramel sauce. Add a couple onto your take-out order!
  • Gift cards can be purchased that day and 20% will go to the school.

We hope you’ll support our school and a local business while enjoying this delectable food. Invite all your friends too!


Direct Give Raffle Prizes

Fund Raising,

When we were brainstorming Direct Give for this school year we were hesitant to approach local businesses because we know many of them have had a financially devastating year due to COVID.  We decided to go for it – but approached them with a different strategy then in years past.  Specifically we:

  • Sought out smaller donation increments. For example, instead of requesting a larger $100 donation, we requested four $25 vouchers with minimum order amount or gift cards. This will hopefully bring more families into their business where they would likely end up spending additional money.
  • Committed to market their business to our school community.  We love being able to highlight local businesses that continue to keep making our West Seattle community so special.

With all that said, we ended up with a tremendous response from our business community.  We hope that you will support these businesses the same way that these businesses are supporting our community. 

Here is the full list of received donations:

A special thank you goes to Neil Strohbusch and Jodi Lansky for doing all of the procurement for these items!

2021 Direct Give

Fund Raising

First off, we are very fortunate to have an amazingly supportive community and we should all be proud of this!  Genesee Hill Elementary parents, staff, and students have proven time and time again that we are all focused on the betterment of and support for each other.  

The PTA and Genesee Hill Administration are tasked with making sure the necessary programs are in place for our kids to be successful.  Many of our in-person programs are not being funded this year and that has drastically reduced the overall PTA budget.  However, we still need to raise an additional $60K of funds to support the programs our kids are benefiting from virtually that unfortunately are not funded by our school district and the State of Washington.  For example: providing school supplies for all students, allowing our staff access to professional development, purchasing library and textbooks, and providing specialists (beyond what the District accounts for) to further support our kids in math, reading, art, and social/emotional health.

To help meet this need we will be running our Direct Give campaign: February 23rd through March 11th.  Here is the plan for this years campaign:

  • Give: Pick an amount that your family is comfortable with then head over to the Direct Give link.

DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT!  During the month of February your donation is generously being matched 1 to 1, dollar for dollar – up to $26,000!  $10 becomes $20.  $100 becomes $200.  $1000 becomes $2000.  Extra special thank you to the Genesee Hill families that contributed to make this opportunity available!

Donate
  • Receive a Yard Sign:  With a minimum of a $50 donation, you will receive a yard sign delivered to your doorstep.  There is a spot for your family to be creative and create something fun for kids to find.  Draw, paint, attach something – the sky is the limit!  Once done, put the sign out in your yard for Genesee Hill kids to discover.

  • Get Entered into a Raffle:  We are hosting three raffles every Friday throughout the campaign.  Think: gift cards and coupons to local restaurants, bottles of wine, etc.  Give early to increase your chances of winning.  Raffle winners will be posted each Friday on our PTA Facebook page.

  • Participate in the Scavenger Hunt: All Genesee Hill kids are invited to look for Yard Signs as they pop up in the neighborhood.  See this blog post for more details!

Share in the fun at #ghedirectgive

Note:  Yard signs are available for the first 300 families who donate or up until Thursday, March 11th.  All yard signs and any raffle winnings will be delivered to the local West Seattle address provided at time of donation in the Kindful link.