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EASTON, Conn. What do you get for the kid who has everything? How about a ride to school in an Easton fire truck? What about an upgrade to a sought-after spot in the senior parking lot at Joel Barlow High School? Those are just some of items up for grabs at an Internet auction benefiting the Easton Learning Foundation.
The items up for bid are supplied by residents and town and school officials to help raise money for two new mobile iPad classrooms for students at Helen Keller Middle School and Samuel Staples Elementary School. The Easton Learning Foundation hopes to raise $45,000 to cover the cost of the programs. The money will go toward supplying the products for the program and for training staff at the two schools.
Founded in 2004, the Easton Learning Foundation tries to enrich the towns commitment to quality education and lifelong learning. It does so by raising money for innovative and educational projects within the schools. All the programs it funds cannot be covered under the school budget.
The items up for bid run the gamut for gift ideas. They can be fun, like a fire truck ride to school, or more academic, like tutoring programs. Some of the fun items are gift baskets for boys or girls, a Kate Spade handbag, jewelry and wine. There is even an auction item that will give your high school child a free tardy pass at Barlow.
Then there are the sought-after auction items such as a three-hour college admission counseling session, a two-week summer rowing camp at the Saugatuck Rowing Club and a college admissions test preparation package.
Bernadette Waterman, president of the Easton Learning Foundation, said Thursday that having fun items up for bid is a great way to get the community to realize the work the organization does. The public can really help us out by donating to the auction. Wwe really want people to see how much our programs help morale and inspire teachers to be the best they can be.
Waterman said limited school budgets mean teachers all over the country can sometimes feel that they cant access certain programs. But with local programs like the Learning Foundation, Waterman said she hopes Eastons teachers feel like the possibilities are limitless. Its not like these teachers arent ambitious, they are. They just need financial support and that is what we are here to do, she said.
The auction ends Friday, Dec. 9, at noon but will continue as a silent auction Saturday night at a fundraiser at the Aspetuck Valley Country Club. The only items that will not continue beyond noon Friday are tickets to the high school and middle school graduations, an excused tardy pass and an upgrade to the senior parking lot. All other auction items can be bid on Saturday night in person.
Tickets for the event can be purchased online, or at the door, for $80. The fundraiser will run from 7 to 11 p.m. For more information on the auction or the event, visit the Easton Learning Foundation website.
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