Foundation raises big bucks at glittering gala

Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, November 25, 2025

At its first-ever gala auction, the Vashon Schools Foundation raised $335,000 to bolster a wide range of needs in Vashon’s public schools, including staffing, academic and family engagement services, arts education, social-emotional support, science programming and more.

The glittering, prom-themed event, held on Nov. 15 at Open Space for Arts & Community, brought together families, educators and community members for an evening of dining, dancing and highly competitive giving.

Nicole Donnelly Martin, the foundation’s gala chair, described the bidding as highly spirited, with people leaping to their feet to vie for some of the auction’s biggest items. The gala’s top-selling experience — a dinner for 10 in a private home prepared by a local chef — sold twice to bring in more than $14,000, she said.

At other times throughout the night, Donnelly Martin said, attendees gave simply for the thrill of it — with the gala’s high-energy “raise the paddle” segments raising $169,360 of the auction’s total take.

The night was more than a successful one-off fundraiser, according to Donnelly Martin.

“What happened in that room represents a sea change for our district,” she said. “It’s clear this community stands firmly behind our public schools. These numbers show that there is deep, sustained private support for public education on Vashon.”

Next up for the foundation? Sitting down with Vashon Island School District leaders to make a plan for where the money is needed most — including positions and programs that directly serve students every day.

“In a state funding environment that does not fully cover student needs, community generosity continues to play a vital role in ensuring Vashon students have access to robust, well-rounded educational opportunities,” Donnelly Martin said.

Growing financial impact

The Vashon Schools Foundation was founded in 2010 under the tenure of former Superintendent Michael Soltman, when a budget shortfall threatened the jobs of educators and significant funds were raised to restore those positions.

But in more recent years, the foundation had stepped away from salary support to primarily focus on enrichment programming, raising about $150,000 annually to do so, said Donnelly Martin.

Last year, that changed, after former Superintendent Slade McSheehy proposed curing a budget shortfall by cutting staff positions including that of Brandi Greenidge, a school nurse and track coach, and other staff members including a middle school counselor and reading and math specialists who worked with at-risk children at Chautauqua Elementary School.

Shifting to provide funds to save some of those positions, the foundation raised about $220,000 in 2024, with $88,000 of that sum disbursed during the 2024-25 school year to fund some of those staffing positions.

The rest, foundation representatives explained in a February presentation to the Vashon School Board, was earmarked for the district’s 2025-26 school year budget for programs including StudentLink; Vashon Youth & Family Services counseling and resource connection programs; artist residencies (reaching 1,100 students) through a partnership with Vashon Center for the Arts; Vashon Nature Center’s Scientists in Schools programs (reaching 41% of all district students); and social-emotional support programs delivered for students in grades 5-12 via the district’s partnership with Journeymen.

Now, with the success of this year’s gala and ongoing community giving, the foundation is on track to more than double its annual impact, said Donnelly Martin and other foundation leaders.

“We are absolutely blown away by the response and so grateful to this community,” said Betsey Gleb, co-president of the foundation. “Vashon has a long history of taking care of one another, and this night proved it. We don’t just talk about community here — we build it, together, for our kids.”

The foundation, said Donnelly Martin, is now expanding its impact in several key ways — by providing direct academic support for students including paraeducator support at McMurray Middle School and Chautauqua, and a spring math course at Vashon High School to help students meet grade-level standards.

In September, foundation funding also helped the district hire a second family engagement coordinator, Richard Rivas-Gutierrez, who now works in the district’s new Family Engagement Center to provide comprehensive support to families across the district.

“All of this is made possible by community generosity,” said Donnelly Martin, recalling the energy she witnessed at the gala. “Whether attendees bid in the live, silent or online auctions; raised their paddles; volunteered; sponsored the evening; or simply showed up with enthusiasm, each played a meaningful role in this year’s success.”

Building on the excitement and momentum of this year’s event, the foundation has already set the date for next year’s gala — Nov. 14, 2026.

School nurse Brandi Greenidge, whose job was restored by funding raised by the foundation in 2024, said she already has the event on her calendar for next year.

This year, Greenidge was invited to the podium at the gala, where she delivered a heartfelt and emotional thank-you to community donors for saving her job.

“Donation by donation, you ensured that I could continue my work writing individual health plans, conducting health screenings, conducting vaccination clinics, supporting student health needs, training staff and coaches, and coaching track,” she told the cheering crowd. “You showed that you not only believe it is important to have nurses, but that you also cared about me.”

Interim Superintendent Jo Moccia, who was also in attendance at the gala, described the night as a great party with an even greater purpose.

“It was amazing,” she said. “We had a wonderful evening and this community’s generosity will help our students so much.”

To find out more and donate to Vashon Schools Foundation, visit vashonschoolsfoundation.org. Community members are also encouraged to check whether their employers offer matching gifts to further amplify the impact of their contributions.