Save the date! The 31st Annual Fall Auction is set for Saturday, November 5 at the Sequoyah Country Club.

The fall auction is Joaquin Miller PTA’s biggest fundraiser of the year. It includes a buffet dinner, no-host bar, and Silent and Live Auctions featuring items ranging from dinners at fine restaurants to merchandise, handmade treasures and more. The money we raise goes towards programs that all our children enjoy: the library, computer lab, physical education instruction and much more.

There are lots of ways you can join the fun –

• Come to the Auction. It’s our most festive fundraiser of the year! We’ve made it easy to purchase your tickets online when you make your one-stop payment for PTA dues and fees. Save the date and book the babysitter now!
• Make a donation. Help us get the ball rolling with a donation. Download PDF donation form »
• Own a business? Donate a gift certificate.
• Love to cook? Offer to make a dessert a month.
• Solicit a donation. Have a favorite restaurant, hardware store, stylist? There is a list of the businesses we solicit in the office — take a look, if your favorite business isn’t there, take a donor packet and ask them yourself. Have questions? Call Wendy Spander, External Solicitations, JMSAuction@gmail.com.
• Solicit advertising from your local service providers. Local businesses highlight their services to potential clients — over 350 JM families — and help support local public school education. For more information, contact jm_advertising@yahoogroups.com.
• Volunteer to help. An event this big takes a lot of work, and we need help before, during and afterwards to make it a big success. Fill out the form sent home in the opening day packet or call volunteer coordinator Marcia Riley (336-1242) or email her at mgriley@berkeley.edu.
• Buy a raffle ticket! Every little bit helps, and every student who sells tickets gets entered in a drawing for prizes.

We continue to be very excited that the Fall Auction has gone high-tech! We have an online catalog at http://joaquinmiller.maestroweb.com/. Now you can:

• Browse through the items that will be up for bid on the Online Auction which starts at 4:00 pm on October 31st (and see photographs of many of them).
• Make your donations online.
• Create a wish list of items you don’t want to miss.
• Email other Joaquin Miller parents about dinners and events you want to bid on together.

Want to know more about the auction? Click on the Contact Us link to the right and send an email to the auction co-chairs, Deb Mauer and Wendy Peter.