An excellent education is one of the keys to our children’s future success.

DECEMBER 2011

Each of us, as parents, strives to ensure our children will receive an outstanding education. Because the Walnut Creek Education Foundation K-12 (WCEF K-12) works closely with the Walnut Creek School District (WCSD) and Las Lomas High School in the Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD) to identify funding needs, donations to WCEF directly support excellence in our children’s education. When you make a tax-deductible donation to WCEF, you directly support your children's education and help equip them for a successful future!

THANK YOU to all the parents, businesses, teachers, administrators and community members who have already donated to WCEF this year. Your donation exemplifies your commitment to ensuring an exceptional education for our students. A special thank you to the Walnut Creek School District Teachers Association for their recent donation of $2,500 to WCEF. Click here to see photos of the check presentation.

To those who have not yet donated to WCEF this year, please consider an end-of-year tax deductible donation. We have currently raised $654,274 and need to raise $95,726 to reach our goal of $750,000 for this school year. Your donation to WCEF will directly support excellence in your child’s education and help prepare your child for success in the 21st century.

Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday!

Mary Vanderpan
WCEF President

Please click here to read the 2010-2011 WCEF Annual Report. We are so grateful to our families, businesses, and community members who share their time, talent and treasure to support all our students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade.

The Walnut Creek Education Foundation K-12 (WCEF K-12) is the recipient of a $200,000 one-time grant from a Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund for the purchase of technology at Las Lomas High School. WCEF President, Mary Vanderpan, is honored that WCEF was chosen to be the steward of these funds and commented, "This opportunity makes it possible for WCEF to enhance the technology resources available to our LLHS students far beyond what we are able to do with our continuing fundraising efforts."

Read more about how this grant is being used at Las Lomas

SAVE THE DATE:
Thursday, May 3, 2012

Music and education are a winning combination. Be entertained with music from an array of legendary, award-winning artists, local Bay area talent and some of Las Lomas's finest!

Please join our WCEF community on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 7:30 PM at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek for WCEF’s premier concert event "Play It Forward!," a benefit concert for the students of the Walnut Creek School District and Las Lomas High School. WCEF would like to thank Unity Music Foundation for their partnership in bringing this great evening to life.

• The evening will feature the amazing sounds of vocalist Jamie Davis. Davis brings a repertoire from Cole Porter to Stevie Wonder to Charles Mingus. He exhibits flexibility and sexy sophistication in his effortless delivery. Davis has been described as a fine wine that has stood the test of time, constantly innovating jazz classics, "rolling out" the blues and performing with one foot in the past and the other in "today".
• Other artists include Scotty Barnhart, a two-time Grammy award winning jazz trumpeter. He is an internationally acclaimed jazz trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator, and author, now in his seventeenth year as a featured soloist with the legendary Count Basie Orchestra.
• Greg Errico will be performing on the drums. As a founding member of the Sly & the Family Stone, Errico’s innovative use of the hi hat and bass drum helped bring about fusion of jazz and rock. In 1993, Greg was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2001 he received the R&B Foundation "Pioneer Award".

Stay tuned! We will be adding additional performers to this already exceptional list in the coming weeks.

Tickets will be available February 1, 2012 at the Lesher Center ticket office in Walnut Creek. 925.943.SHOW.

Please continue to check our website for updated information.

This fall, WCEF participated in a number of community building events that raised funds for our student’s education. Your participation is the key and we thank you for coming out for these great events.

• In August we had a two-day back to school shopping party at Sports Basement where we earned $648.
• The Walnut Creek Downtown Business Association’s Fall Wine Walk in September raised $4375.
• Also in September, the Whole Foods Shopping Day raised $5470.
• Our fourth annual "Taste for Education" hosted by Wine Thieves at The Gardens at Heather Farm in October raised $3658.
• On Thanksgiving Day, Walnut Creek Sports and Fitness organized the 19th Annual Turkey Trot which benefited both WCEF and PEAK education foundations which serve all Walnut Creek schools. Over 4,500 runners and 200 volunteers took part in this inspirational event to promote healthy lifestyles. Last year we earned $12,500 from WCSF and this year we are hopeful to raise even more.
• Our Sports Basement shopping party in early December was a great success, raising $251.95.

Click here to see the photos from this great event and the businesses that supported WCEF in our first holiday boutique.

WCEF is grateful for your continued show of support by participating in our fundraising events throughout the year.

Events ongoing and upcoming

Annual Tree Lot Honey Bear Trees is once again donating 20% of your purchase to WCEF. The Tree lot is located at the corner of Deer Hill Rd. and Pleasant Hill Rd. across from Acalanes High School in Lafayette. Open 7 days a week, 9:00am to 9:00pm, 11/23/11 to 12/23/11 – click here for flyer

Kelly Moore Paints promotion goes on throughout the year – purchase your house paint at the Walnut Creek store and receive a 25-30% discount and 10% goes back to WCEF. Click here for flyer

Save the date for Play It Forward!, A Benefit Concert for the Foundation at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Thursday, May 3, 2012.

This year WCEF has begun a new program designed to benefit our students and support our local businesses. Distributed via email on the First Friday of every month, WCEF has created an e-newsletter that features local businesses, many parent–owned, who support WCEF and all our students with their ads in our First Friday newsletter. Many of these businesses feature exclusive savings to our community and give-backs to WCEF.

Now you can promote your company’s products or services directly to every Walnut Creek School District and Las Lomas High School family –and feel good knowing that you are helping our students at the same time!

We encourage our families to support these local businesses that are supporting our schools! To see our current month’s First Friday publication, click here.

Contact Liz Davis at eadavisus@yahoo.com for more information or to reserve your spot in the next edition.