Wicker Park's Pritzker School fund raiser is example of fabulous collaboration

"Playthings" was the theme of the third annual fund raiser put on by Friends of Pritzker School (FOP). "I think this is fabulous, "  said A. N. Pritzker School's Principal, Dr. Reese. "I am so fortunate to have a group of parents  who work so diligently to put on this type of event. It just shows you the type of things you can accomplish if you have the parents, teachers and administration working together."

Everything from a hand crafted elephant and mouse to intriguing hand crafted board games and a purchased bicycle were part of the fifty items up for the silent auction. This year teachers participated by offering play times for auction. One teacher offered a baseball game while another offered a picnic and others came up with more fun events.

Another teacher, Yara Conway, just returned from maternity leave. But, before her return she took her newborn with her as she went from store to store looking for businesses that would display some of the auction items prior to the event.

The generosity of many people involved in the event is amazing. Some do not have children or do not have them in Pritzker. Amanda Love is one of the latter people.

She is an artist who has donated items for all three years and was in charge of the drop off party this year. All the artists not only get a free ticket to attend the event but they have their own party when they drop off their item(s). "Seeing other people's work is half the fun," said one of them. Schuyler Smith has no children but he donated the handmade elephant and mouse toys. By day he runs the model shop at Studio Gang Architects.

And then there is Heather Strong. The leader of this event, for the second year, she has no children at Pritzker, though next fall she will have one enrolled. This year she also planned and organized FOP's first Community Art Project installation. The result was the huge three dimensional sign that promoted the event. That put her in a unique position of being able to include students with the fund raiser. "That has been great. I think we will be able to include more students each year. This year student council members made blocks which we have for sale. They get a vote for each sale. The votes will determine where the proceeds of the fund raiser will go." They raised approximately $200.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the event in its new location too. Held in the Wicker Park Art Center, it was a very different space from Wesley Kimler's studio where the last two events were held.

With more than 125 people at the event, the winning combination of parents, teachers, administration, students and community raised approximately $6,500 for projects at the school. So far, these events have funded  a playground and a science lab. Pritzker is only one of two schools in the city that offers fine and performing arts as well as a regionally gifted program. In addition they are a neighborhood school that has forty students in a pre-school program. Their total enrollment this year is 643 with sixty-five staff members.

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