George Washington Elementary donates $1,000 to Sonoma County school

With all of the damage caused by the fires in Napa and Sonoma counties, one elementary school in Lodi decided to help out a Sonoma elementary school however they could.

George Washington Elementary has donated $1,000 raised during their Harvest Festival last Friday to Dunbar Elementary School in Glen Ellen, according to Principal Dan Faith.

“The Parent-Teacher Club and Student Leadership came up with the idea to give these kids some help. We raised about $2,000 with our Harvest Festival, and we’re going to send half to the school. Our current student president has a cousin that went to Dunbar, where part of the school was burned and many families lost their homes,” Faith said.

Parent-Teacher Club president Sheena Landman and vice president Amanda Ashe came up with the idea on short notice while planning the Harvest Festival one day, with Landman explaining that the opportunity presented itself at just the right time.

“We do the Harvest Festival every year. We were planning it when Principal Faith came on the announcements and asked for ideas to help people who were affected by the fires. Amber and I were in the library and I said, ‘Hey, let’s donate half of the Harvest Festival proceeds to a school,’” Landman said.

Dunbar Elementary was chosen by sixth-grade class president Shelby Terra and her mother, Michelle, as Shelby has a relative who attends the school. After learning that the school had been damaged by the fire, Shelby suggested that George Washington send the money to help them recover.

Dunbar Elementary plans to use the money to help fund their Restorative Cultural Collaborative, a program that provides trauma support to children who have experienced events such as losing their homes to a fire, Dunbar Elementary School Principal Jillian Beall explained to Faith.

“Though the past few weeks have been trying, it has been heartwarming to see the outpouring of support from our community. We are incredibly appreciative to the George Washington Elementary School community for their generous support for our students and our school as we look to support our students socially and emotionally throughout this time,” Beall said.

COURTESY PHOTOGRAPH George Washington Elementary School faculty, staff and students pose in the school’s library with a check for $1,000 that will be donated to Dunbar Elementary School in Glen Ellen, Sonoma County. Back row, from left: Community Liaison Bertha Castro,...