2024 Basket Raffle Fundraiser SUCCESS - Thank You to the Holliston Community!

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THANK YOU!  The Basket Raffle Extravaganza was a HUGE success!  While we did not reach our lofty goal of $30K, we did reach our realistic goal of $15K, actually we raised over $18K!!

Thank you for communicating, collecting, putting baskets together, dropping them off, and promoting!  Thank you for purchasing raffle tickets too!

Winners:

  • Barbie - Cynthia Bishop

  • Nerf Basket - Stephanie Vale

  • Taste of Massachusetts - Ashley DeRoy

  • LEGO - Julio Montero

  • Let's Get Physical - Laura Durham

  • High Tech -Jason Adamson

  • Crafty Corner - Maura Sweeney

  • Oh the Places You Will Go - Jennifer Roland

  • Sports Maniac - Melinda Lohan

  • French Experience - Ellen Portal

  • Pot O' Gold - Michelle Isen Smith

Special thanks to our local businesses who provided snacks and treats for the live celebration at Upper Town Hall:

*Candy Cottage

*Corner Market

*Rushford & Sons Brewhouse

*Sweetie's Candy Bus

These funds go directly back to our students, teachers, and staff through grants of supplies and curricular enrichment materials, assemblies with outside speakers like CHALLENGE DAY, field trips, donation towards All Night Graduation Party, annual scholarship for a graduating senior,  light breakfasts, snacks, and treats for teachers and staff on Professional Days, and Wellness Centers for educators. We also grant funds to each school annually to supplement the Parent to Parent program, Outdoor Learning Alliance projects, and social emotional education, to name a few.

Thank you,

Jen Peterson and Stacey Raffi

Basket Raffle Co-Chairs


Spirit Wear Fundraiser - Coming Soon!

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Already thinking about holiday gifts? We’ve got you covered!

The Holliston Spirit Wear store is planned to launch on October 20th through November 15th. A change for this year is that SEPAC branded items will also be available through the Spirit Wear store!

Sample images - actual designs will be available in the spirit wear store on october 20th - stay tuned!

We’ll send an email as soon as the store is open. The store is open to all - please feel free to send the link to family and friends to stock up on their Holliston gear!

Email pto.funds.holliston@gmail.com with any questions.

Community Impact: Color Run & Staff Back to School Breakfast

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Through this Blog series, we’ll be highlighting the community’s impact on different PTO-sponsored events. Read what your contributions made possible for the Color Run and Staff Back to School Breakfast.

First Ever Kids Color Run Fundraiser - August 27, 2023

This year the PTO kicked off the school year with the Color Run - a fundraiser where participants in PreK through 5th grade run, skip, walk or roll through colored powder, turning the runners into a messy rainbow of color. What’s a better way to kick off the school year than making a mess outside in the sunshine with your friends? 

This event drew over 150 runners and raised over $1200 for the Holliston PTO! Fundraisers are a critical component of the PTO’s ability to fund programs that support our schools and students such as Parent to Parent, Culture Connection, Mindshare, Grants, Social Events (dances, carnivals, field days), and so much more. 

The equally critical component to the PTO’s ability to operate is the VOLUNTEERS! None of our events or programs would be possible without the amazing members of the HPS community who choose to offer their time and talents to make these events a reality. Twenty volunteers offered up their Sunday morning to throw color, check in participants, sell snacks, and make sure fun was had by all. 

This new fundraiser was the idea of the newly established Fundraising Committee in June of 2023. In just 2 short months of planning, the Color Run was made a reality. Many thanks to Lindsay Galvin for initiating the planning, and Lucy Weinburg and May Ramos who went above and beyond to make it all happen! From setting up the race registration website, to booking the Kona ice truck, to making Color Run T-Shirts and coordinating with the many involved parties - this team did a fantastic job in a short period of time.

We especially thank the administration for allowing us to hold this event on school grounds, and to Mr. Keim for saving the day with the speaker and microphone!

Thank you to everyone who participated, planned, and supported the Color Run. The money raised will go towards funding 2023-2024 school year programs.

Volunteers*:

Amanda Furlong

Anna Mensing

Barbara Ryan

Beth Leach

Brenda Elwell

Eliza Watt

Emma Elizabeth Scott

Evie Thibault

Hiatt Mueller 

Jacalyn Judd

Jess Scalzo

Jimmy Ryan

Katie DellaRocca

Kyle Raffi 

Lindsay Galvin

May Ramos

Melissa Hutchinson

Micah Watt

Mirembe Reed

Nadeeka Thiththagalla Gamage

Pooja Gupta

Preetha Rao

Sarah Kane

Stacey Raffi

*We apologize if we missed anyone - this list is from the sign up genius as of 8/25/13

Staff Back to School Breakfast - August 28, 2023

For several years the PTO has been hosting the Staff Back to School Breakfast on the first day of school for employees. This breakfast is held at the high school where all of the district staff have an initial meeting at the start of the school year. Sarah Rotz has been organizing this warm welcome for over 10 years with the help of many dedicated volunteers.

This year, $990 was donated from the community to fund the catering and purchase of other supplies. In addition, over 20 community members purchased items at the grocery store and delivered to the homes of the breakfast organizers, who then had to set up at 6AM on a Monday (that’s dedication!).

Thank you to the amazing HPS community for your generous donations and time spent working together to give the HPS staff a great start to the 2023-2024 school year!

Do you have an idea for a fundraiser or PTO initiative? Or are you looking to get involved in existing programs? Please let us know - we’d love to involve as many HPS community members as possible! Whether you want to volunteer at one event, make a donation, or join a committee or hold a PTO position - there are options to work with anyone’s schedule or bandwidth. 

Volunteers*:

Barbara Ryan

Catie Ehret

Joy Green

Kaela Doss

Karen DiModica

Karla Alfred
Kerry Peterson

Pooja Gupta 

Sarah Rotz

Stacey Raffi

*We apologize if we missed anyone - this list is from the sign up genius as of 8/28/13