We've been very busy this month here at OCP! First we had our annual yard sale fundraiser, which was very kindly held at our president's house. A hero team of OCP volunteers congregated at 6am to carry the many, many boxes and sacks of donations into the front yard, nourishing themselves with baked goods and coffee, and later some fizzy, fruity stuff and the most incredible homemade pizza known to man.
Our team leader had pre-sold hundreds of dollars worth of stuff online even before the yard sale began, and after a day of bartering and brokering deals our team had raised over a thousand dollars for our school. Well done guys!
Just days before the yard sale, Teacher Jenn and our president went to Burbank City Council to thank them for all their support, and to let them know what an awesome community OCP is, and all the good stuff we are doing. They reported a very successful meeting with lots of goodwill and warm fuzzy feelings. Thanks both, and thanks Burbank Parks and Rec!
Then it was time for our relaunch at Holiday in the Park! We signed onto this event very late, when the opportunity arose. The board decided that we'd use this year as a trial, with the goals of the evening being two-fold: advertising for the school and community spirit. Lots of our families were excited to get involved. We decided to have a little bake sale to cover our costs and pull the community together - and if it raised some extra funds, that would be great.
Our families REALLY stepped up. They baked Rice Krispies Santas rolled in coconut flakes, s'mores cookies, Christmas crack, vegan and gluten free cookies and pies and cupcakes and brittle, gingerbread mice and persimmon bread (disclaimer: I'm still not 100% sure what persimmon is) and more. They crafted Christmas tree ornaments to sell, sourced everything we needed, walked over big urns from Moby's Coffee and Tea (who kindly donated coffee to us - thank you very much, Moby's!), promoted our stall on social media, redesigned and printed banners and flyers, organized a coloring table, came early to set up, stayed late to pack out (which the police had to help us out with, thanks to an unruly canopy) and showed up to man the stall and buy stuff and much more.
It was a fantastic night. We chatted with lots of alumni, and began to form a plan for having a more consistent relationship with them in future; we chatted with people with younger kids looking for preschools in the next year or so; we chatted with people in the community who were interested in supporting local non-profits, who wanted to try some delicious vegan and gluten-free snacks, who were very excited about buying authentic Welsh cakes from a stall in Southern California; and (maybe most importantly) we chatted with one another. It was a huge success, and I can't wait to see what OCP does next year with the event! (It will definitely involve expanding to hot cocoa, and maybe even fudge).
So, community spirit and advertising, check. As for fundraising... well, we more than covered our costs. We made six hundred and forty two dollars! (the final FINAL count). Well done everyone! I'm so proud of us all :)
Back in school, the kids were busy making hilarious birds out of drinks cups, straws and gloves (to blow up into a fantastical display) and decorating with feathers, painting stones, working in the outdoor kitchen making pumpkin pies (anyone else's kid drenched in flour at every pick up? I love it), and figuring out some of the thornier games within the ever-expanding Cat World. Happy holidays, everyone!
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