Kiddo!, MV Lumber Yard Team Up on Donation Drive

Like vital nonprofit organizations all over the globe during the COVID-19 crisis, Kiddo!, the Mill Valley Schools Community Foundation, which funds art, music, dance, drama, poetry, teacher grants and PE, has seen its usual stalwart fundraising engine hit turbulence.

Kiddo!’s 2020-21 campaign goal is to raise $2.5 million funding, with more than 90 percent of those funds used to pay teacher salaries and specialists for all of the Mill Valley School District’s arts education programs and physical education. To date, Kiddo has only raised 23 percent of these funds.

“Each year we start from $0.00, and each year, thanks to contributions from parents, grandparents, businesses, and members of our community, Kiddo! has been able to provide funding in support of teachers and quality educational programs in the arts and other areas for each child in the Mill Valley School District,” Kiddo! Executive Director Bill Lampl wrote in an appeal to MVSD families and Kiddo! supporters. “The impacts of COVID-19 on public education are undeniable. Local businesses are suffering. Furloughs and layoffs are affecting many families. Many of our parents and business partners will not be able to support our students in the same capacity as in past years. The potential loss of these funds makes your donation even more crucial.”

Despite the 2020-21 school year opening with distance learning, MVSD’s Kiddo!-funded teachers and specialists will be keeping children engaged in new and innovative ways. There will be individualized art kits for all K-5 and MVMS art elective students to ensure every child has tools and resources to participate at home, including art teachers’ new K-5 websites.

“For 38 years, we have put our children first and come together as a community to support Kiddo! so that every child in the Mill Valley School District has the opportunity to receive a well-rounded education, including the arts,” Lampl added.

In an effort to rejuvenate the fundraising cycle, Kiddo! has teamed up with the folks at the historic Mill Valley Lumber Yard on a donation drive that supports #ShopMV efforts by entering anyone who makes a Kiddo! donation by Sept. 30 into a drawing to win one of the following prizes:

• Fun Day for Four Package: Enjoy a relaxing day of e-bike rentals from Mad Dogs and Englishmen followed by a VIP reserved table (for lunch or dinner) at Watershed restaurant ($540 combined value)
• Aviator Nation– $100 gift card
• Bloomingayles– floral arrangement ($125 value)
• BŌL Cafe– $100 family gift card; good for 10 BŌLS
• The Edit– stylish clutch and belt ($321 value)
• FarmHouseUrban– two hours of home design consultation with owner, Serena Armstrong ($450 value)
• Flour Craft Bakery– $40 gift card
• Lulu Designs– Prayer Necklace- 16″ yellow bronze pendant with 14k gold fill cable chain ($92 value)
• Makers Market– $50 gift card
• Mill Valley Studio– family photo session ($450 value)
• Once Around– $100 gift card
• V. Mimiaga Art Studio– ” Sunflowers,” original painting by Victoria Mimiaga,16″x16″ ($1200 value)

DONATE TO KIDDO! HERE.

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