The fabulous Farragut Fan Club succeeded again with the event at Royal/T that put a smile on everyone’s face and plenty of funding into the school’s pockets. The annual Artworks! fundraiser netted $34,000 for arts programming at the school, more than last year’s net revenue of $33,000. Funds raised this year will provide all Farragut students in the next school year with an expansion of visual, music and theater arts programming.
The Fan Club reorganized its annual Artworks! fundraiser into three events: a free Community Arts Day celebration on March 19, an online auction, and a gala at Royal/T Artspace on April 16 . “We really tried to broaden our funding and arts awareness outreach efforts this year by giving the different components of the Artworks! event their own personalities,” says Christine Johnson, Artworks! 2011 Chairperson. “We had a spectacular group of volunteer parents blazing a new trail for Artworks! this year, and we received a positive response from Farragut families about the different experiences we offered to them,” she added. “We had to think of new ways to bring in new donors since we cannot keep depending on parents to pay for everything. A benefit of the online auction was that we had bidders from as far away as Florida, Connecticut and Hawaii helping us raise money for our school.”
The culmination of the Artworks! fundraising efforts was the Gala at Royal/T, a night out with a silent and live auction, a delicious buffet dinner with amazing desserts and dancing. Among the nearly 200 guests were Janice Pober, Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Social Responsibility for Sony Pictures Entertainment, Patricia Jaffe, Superintendent of CCUSD, Principal Eileen Carroll, Vice Mayor Mehaul O’Leary and Council Member and Farragut parent Scott Malsin.
Also in attendance were Martha and Sol Sigall, long time Culver City residents and Farragut supporters. A highlight of the evening was the celebration of Martha Sigall’s 94th birthday with MC Mike King leading the singing, and Farragut parent Karen Marx presenting the cake. Martha is a former Warner Bros. cell animator, and as she has for several years, she donated one of her priceless original Porky Pig cells for the auction. Susan Hancock of Royal/T donated the space for the event, Joxer Daly’s donated the alcoholic beverages, Culver City Flower Shop donated flowers, and numerous bakeries including Lonzo’s and Semi Sweet Bakery supplied the guests with their delicious baked goods.
Johnson adds, “A huge thank you goes out to all the generous families and businesses in the community that supported Artworks! this year especially our sponsors including Royal/T Artspace, Joxer Daly’s, Culver Center Flower Shop, Sony Pictures Entertainment, UPS Store in Raintree Plaza, El Rincon Criollo Restaurant, Indigo Payments, Netwood Communications, Lonzo’s Bakery, Jackson Market and Deli, Fast Signs of Culver City, Martin Feinberg, and Walters Electric.
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