Great Schools Need Great Customers to Shop Now

Have you been putting off that scheduled maintenance for your Prius? Keeping  your teen at bay as she pleas for a new pair of Uggs? Depriving yourself of some rich chocolate cake? 

Don't hold back this week. If you've got to spend money anyway, now is the time to do it.

The Great Schools Week campaign kicked off its weeklong fundraiser Monday, aimed at supporting the Cupertino Union School District schools, which serve students from several cities, including Los Altos. Eating and shopping locally earns high grades until Friday. Los Altos, Cupertino, Sunnyvale and San Jose businesses team up with a local educational foundation to raise money to support Cupertino Union School District.

"Of course we want to support our schools," said Leslie Cheverini, owner of Adventure Toys on Main Street, which is donating 5 percent of its sales. "We wouldn't be here for 25 years, otherwise, and they've supported us."

 at Loyola Corners,  and in south Los Altos, and  downtown are among the Los Altos businesses supporting the Great Schools campaign. 

South Los Altos students attend and Cupertino Middle School.

During the five-day event sponsored by the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation (CEEF), local businesses will donate a portion of their retail sales to pay for classroom programs. 

The arrangement is a win-win situation for schools struggling with funding and local businesses looking for exposure and additional business. CEEF andvolunteers hope that in the future, the Great Schools Week can become an annual event, so schools always have a safety net.

"I have a 16-year-old and 18-year-old who both went through the Los Altos School District," said Tracy Ross, owner of Cafe Vitale, a 6-month old restaurant that is donating 15 percent of its proceeds. "We went through Measure A, and all the fundraising efforts were near and dear to my heart as a parent."

Now that her kids are near-grown and the district in which her restaurant is located needs help, she's trying to do her part. "It's important and vital that we support our schools, "she said.

CEEF, an independent nonprofit organization, has been a source of support for the Cupertino school district budget since its founding in 1984 to counter the impact of Proposition 13.

Leslie Desaeyere, enjoying a bite while her children participated in an art class nearby, had already gotten word through a mother's group email. "I wish Mountain View schools did this," she said. 

More than 120 local businesses are expected to participate with varying schedules and percentages—from 5-50 percent—of proceeds going toward CEEF. A full list of participating businesses with those details can be found on the Great Schools website. 

Some, such as , require you print out the "Golden Ticket" from the CEEF website to direct the money to the schools fund. Five percent of Allied Autoworks proceeds go to Great Schools.

"It's the only way for us to know that people are coming here because of the Great Schools Week," said Amanda Aberg, a co-owner of Allied Autoworks, which has a location across from Woodland Acres and at Loyola Corners. Aberg has a son in the school district and another about to enter kindergarten, and has supported other CUSD fundraisers.

Others, such as Footwear, Etc., which is donating 5 percent of the week's sales to CEEF, don't require any printouts. "For us, it's just a way to help the school district," said Avi Safar, regional manager of the 10-store California chain based in Sunnyvale. Its three stores in downtown Los Altos, Cupertino and Sunnyvale are participating.

Great Schools Week was modeled after last year’s Community Day, part of the “Their Future is Now” campaign, which raised more than $2.5 million. The school district credits that effort with saving the jobs of 115 kindergarten-through-eighth-grade teachers, restoring a 20-to-1 ratio in class sizes in grades one through three, and preventing teacher reshuffling in K-8 classrooms across the district.

Minh Ngo, CEEF's executive director, said simply, “It’s just a very straightforward way for businesses to support education in their community.”

CEEF extended this year’s event to a five-day week, allowing customers more time to explore all the local participating businesses.

“Last year, the event was a tremendous success,” Ngo said. "Businesses saw a significant increase in sales on the day of the events, and we had restaurants running out of food and places with long waits. People couldn’t get to everything, because it was only a one-day event.”

This year’s fundraising will be more far-reaching in scope than last year. The uncertainty around the state budget, with a referendum on tax extensions needed to stave off any budget cuts, is the chief concern, Ngo said.

Local parents were a main impetus in organizing this wider event, amid funding cuts trickling down to the city level.

“I don’t think this event would happen without parent volunteers,” said Karen Rizkalla, lead parent volunteer coordinator for Great Schools Week. Rizkalla has been actively involved in school fundraising since last year. “The parents are really the primary ones doing all the work on the ground to explain the events to local businesses and the importance of it to the community and our children.”

Some volunteers have planned breakfast meetings at participating restaurants and organized activities for families. 

“You can’t sit on the sidelines and let the state dictate the quality of our schools," she said. "We need to fight back—in whatever way that we can do it, that’s what we’ll do.”