A Letter from Your Auction Team

With Grateful Hearts We Move Forward to Support QAE
A team of parent volunteers have been working tirelessly over the past several months to bring our largest fundraiser, the annual Queen Anne Elementary Auction, to life. This year's "2020 Vision" Auction promised to be lots of fun; hosted in a new venue complete with a photo booth, a large selection of silent auction items to bid on including class baskets, teacher parties, student art, and photos, and a DJ for the after-party. We have an amazing selection of items that a group of more than 10 parent volunteers collected and numerous families have generously donated many special items including vacation getaways, sports and concert tickets, and hosted special events.

While recent developments have put a damper on our fun plans, all of this work is not lost. We have an opportunity to pull together as a community in new ways and, dare we say, an opportunity to support Queen Anne Elementary in ways we have not done before. And in this spirit, we are now asking all of you to join in the effort to make this fundraising opportunity a success, despite our change in plans.

Here is our game plan and timeline for our new, Virtual Auction, fittingly our "2020 Vision":

• Thursday, March 12th at 12pm is the new date and time when the online auction will close.  Bid now!!  Several items have been added, including a $500 gift card to Canlis we were initially reserving for the auction event!  The bulk of our procurement is here and currently available for bidding.  There's something for everyone...kids camps, wine tastings, a boat cruise, and plenty of gift cards to many of the local businesses who have so generously donated to our school.
  
• Friday, March 13th from 7:30am-4pm visit QAE during drop-off, pick-up or throughout the day to check out the large selection of silent auction items that will be available for bidding beginning online Friday at noon.  Items in the silent auction include various unique packages and baskets, class art, table succulent gardens, and dessert dash gift cards.  When you visit QAE on Friday, enter your name for an opportunity to win 1 of 5 prizes to be announced throughout the Virtual Live Auction on Friday evening.  The first prize, a bottle of Fidelitas wine, will be announced at the start of the Live event and will be hand delivered that evening for the winner to enjoy during their virtual auction (winner must live on Queen Anne for delivery).
  
• Friday, March 13th from 7-10pm join QAE's first annual "VIRTUAL LIVE AUCTION" where bidding in your pajamas is strongly encouraged!  Via our online site, we will be featuring 12 items ranging from vacation packages to unique QAE experiences. These items will be bid on in real time.  Stay tuned to your child's orange folder and the auction site for item details and the schedule of events, as items will be available only for a short window of time.  You need to tune in to play...yet no babysitter nor tux rental is required.
  
• Sunday, 3/15 at 6pm the silent auction will close.

Here's what we need YOU TO DO:

• SHARE our online auction with friends and family who want to support our school!  The online bidding site is open to everyone and there are many, many items that would interest Seattleites and extended family alike! Online bidding remains open thru Thursday, 3/12 at 12:00pm.
  
• VISIT school during Friday, 3/13 from 7:30am-4:00pm to see all of our silent auction items including the class art that our QAE Explorers have worked so hard to create and share.  During the silent auction exhibition you can enter to win 1 of 5 prizes to be announced during the Live Virtual Auction Friday evening, no entry fee required!
  
• BID, BID, BID!  For each Live Auction bid you enter (including multiple bids on the same item), you have an opportunity to win a Robert Ramsey Magnum (must be bidding during virtual Live Auction to enter, winner announced Monday, 3/16).  We were hoping to raise $120,000 during the auction event, which accounts for more than 50% of our 2019-2020 PTSA budget.  We are currently paying unexpected cancellation fees to vendors totaling $7,500, which brings our total need up to $127,500.  Without this money, we will have to reassess PTSA financial commitments for the remainder of the year and for next school year too.  These funds bridge the gap between what district funding provides and what our community strives to achieve.  Funding supports student enrichment activities, reading interventionists, tutors and in-class assistants, technology and educational tools, professional development and planning time, as well as our dedicated school counselor and social-emotional learning program.
  
• STAY CONNECTED for communication from our team as we strive to keep you informed virtually!  We will be posting and sharing information via Facebook (both the PTSA and Community pages), the Rocket Reader, Seesaw and orange folders.  Check in with your friends and fellow parents to make sure we are getting the word out to our community!

Please also note that all ticket purchases to Friday's event will be converted to donations and our online system will generate new receipts that specify this donation as 100% tax deductible.

Thank you for your support during these uncertain times.  While these change to our school auction were unexpected, our QAE community has an opportunity to make this event a smashing success...even in the face of adversity. It is not lost on us that this month's theme for our QAE Explorers is flexibility!  It has been a great pleasure to represent our school and a joy to work with a large team of parent volunteers to make this event a success. We very much appreciate your continued support and your renewed commitment to making our "2020 Vision" Virtual Auction a reality.

Sincerely,
Mary Rae & Jenn Lovin, QAE parents and QAE Auction Team Leads 
auction@qaeptsa.org