Tumwater PTO: 2021 in Review
WHAT A YEAR! As we wrap up 2021, let's take a look at the awesome accomplishments of Tumwater PTO, made possible by YOU-- the dedicated & generous community of Tumwater Middle School.
Here's a round-up of 2021:
Incorporated Our Organization/Applied for 501(c)(3) Status: Thanks to a small group of committed volunteers, the Tumwater Parent Teacher Organization was officially incorporated in the State of Oregon and filed the massive Form 1023 with the IRS. This work included drafting bylaws, identifying officers, and multiple filings. Shout out to parent Rachel Arnold for her heavy lifting through this process.
Set-up Internal Processes and Infrastructure: Your PTO Board members spent last summer figuring out all the exciting details, like treasury software, insurance, volunteer software, reimbursement and grant procedures, and preliminary budgets. Hannah Wood Donohue (President), Kelly Kinzer, (VP), Eva Novick (Secretary), Heather Vonk (Treasurer), Jyothi Murala and Kristi Nelson (Volunteer Coordinators) and Peng Ge (Member at Large) are committed to making this year a success.
Launched Website and Social Media: Huge thanks to parents Melissa Manos (logo) and Laxmi Karumbu (website) for their contributions to our initial launch last August.
Raised Nearly $35,000 Through Our Inaugural Rising Tides Campaign: The commitment and generosity of this community was overwhelming! A sincere thank you to every single Rising Tide donor (over 250!) and especially to parents Kelly Kinzer and Ava Palmquist for being the wind in this campaign's sails.
Held Two Well-Attended Community Meetings: With an average attendance of 53 parents, our meetings are off to an amazing start. Huge thanks to those that give up their most precious commodity -- their time -- to attend. We'll see you all again on 2/10/22.
Spread the Love to our TMS Staff/Community: From a pre-service breakfast to "Winter's Night In" gift bags (and apples and pies in between), our Staff Appreciation team of Breanna Smith, Cherie Peck, and Cindy Pierce knocked it out of the park this fall. Thank you to every donor who answered the call to make magic for our staff. Another shout out to the generous parents who quickly filled our Holiday Outreach sign-up.
Fulfilled Four Community Grant Requests: We are thrilled to have already approved $8157 in funding for four grant requests: TMS Onstage, Night Sky project (8th grade), Wind Turbines (7th grade), Book Club Books (all grades).
Completed our First Successful 8th Grade Send-off Fundraiser: Huge shout out to chairs Amber Ferschweiler, Sarah Sullivan, and their team of 8th grade parents for braving the cold, frigid rain and successfully raising over $1400 in our first ever pie sale.
Initiated Student Enrichment & Welcome Committees: So many opportunities are being made available to our students, thanks to the parents who've stepped into leadership positions, including Melissa Manos (Art Lit), STEM Fair (Poulami Mitra), OBOB (Vandana Kapoor) & Jessica Baker (Welcome Activities). Look for more volunteering info in 2022!
It is the combined effort of so many that has lifted this organization from nothing into something special. None of this would be possible without the commitment & generosity of the TMS community.
Thank you to all who have contributed to our success in 2021 and we look forward to raising these Rapids even further in 2022.