We Care About Our Mayor Fundraiser Update

This fall, our PTO learned that one of our fellow Laramie Montessori School families was going through a rough time: mounting medical bills, and the possible loss of their home because of them. Our hearts went out to them, and we wanted to help. We thought that because the mother of this family is also the mayor of Laramie that perhaps others in our community would also want to help. So we put on the We Care About Our Mayor fundraiser carnival. Thanks to the help of so many of you, the carnival was a wild success, and we raised about $5,000 to help the Summerville family.

However, for a variety of reasons, the Summerville family has decided that they cannot accept the money that was raised for them. We respect their decision and are not going to try to pressure them otherwise. Because of the nature of the way donations were made at the carnival, it's impossible to get money back to the people that donated it, so that $5,000 is coming back to the PTO.

Before we make a decision about what to do with the money, we would like to get the input of those who attended the carnival and made donations. If you would like to weigh in on what the PTO does with the money raised, please fill out the form below. All answers are anonymous. A decision will be made by the PTO executive board at our meeting on February 14th.

We are considering several options. One, of course, is just to keep all the money at the school to benefit our students and teachers. The money would be used for field trips, teacher trainings, and classroom supplies. We're also considering giving the money to the school district to help with programs that benefit students district-wide, such as the program that sends backpacks with food home over the weekends. We could give the money to a community non-profit organization, such as the Interfaith food pantry. Finally, because the money raised was given to help with medical bills, we are considering giving it to Laramie Junior High's Hapi-ness 5K fundraiser, which raises money every year for a local family dealing with expensive medical issues.