Day 53 ❦ Give in a way that multiplies

Day 53 ❦ Give in a way that multiplies

The Gift: 4 Sumner School Cookbooks

I am currently active on my children’s Parent Teacher Council...something that would make people who knew me pre-kids laugh. Me, on the PTC or PTA! One thing I learned when I moved from Boulder to rural Minnesota was that one passionate, committed person could really make a difference. In a larger community like Boulder or Baltimore - it is still possible to have an impact, but it is far more difficult. I learned this because when we moved to Austin, we moved into a school district with a high level of poverty and the elementary school continues to have a high percentage of free and reduced lunch participants (65% in 2011).

Arriving in town the day before my oldest was going to start kindergarten I was astonished to see that her elementary school was surrounded by asphalt and had no playground equipment...well...that needed to change, and the sooner the better.

So I got active in the major fund-raising arm of the elementary school and shortly after I set my mind on putting in a playground, we had raised the $34,000 to make it so. Today, almost 18 years later it is so much fun to drive by and see children playing on the fruits of our labor.
During the playground focused years, the PTC developed a strong fund-raising mechanism and began using those funds to support significant programs for the school.

When my younger daughter arrived at the elementary school 11 years later, there was still a lot to be done and the PTC decided to expand the playground equipment - requiring an additional $25,000...so I dug in and we raised the funds.

One of the most fun and effective fund-raisers we conducted was for families to submit recipes and to put together a cookbook. I submitted some of our family favorites and when the books were published, I did what most other contributing cooks did and purchased a case of the cookbooks which I am now enjoying giving away as gifts. I love it when a gift can give several times over - this one gives a minimum of 4 times and that is just so satisfying, even if I can only count is as one gift for this exercise.

❦ Give in a way that multiplies