10/25/2024 -
SchoolsRule Sonoma County, a fundraising initiative for local public school students run by the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE), raised $179,000 in donations Thursday evening during an event held at Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa.
The event kicked off the second year of fundraising for SchoolsRule, a program launched by Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Amie Carter last November. She told the business and community leaders from throughout the region who attended Thursday’s event of the urgent need to support local schools at a time when many are seeing shrinking budgets.
“Schools are making some difficult decisions,” Carter said. “But fun classroom projects and field trips should not be on the table. That’s where SchoolsRule Sonoma County fills in that gap.”
Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) led the fundraising portion of the evening. He emphasized the benefits of the initiative being housed by SCOE, which does not use donations to cover operational costs. Every dollar raised for SchoolsRule supports educational opportunities for Sonoma County students.
“SchoolsRule is a game-changer here in Sonoma County,” McGuire said. “They’re bringing in all of the education foundations together for one important cause — our kids.”
Redwood Credit Union, Sonoma Clean Power, Kaiser Permanente, and Exchange Bank were among the local businesses who committed their support to SchoolsRule. In addition, The Press Democrat and parent company Sonoma Media Investments made an in-kind donation of $25,000 in advertising and marketing as part of a three-year, $75,000 commitment to SchoolsRule.
Matt Martin, the senior vice president of community & government relations for Redwood Credit Union, said the positive social impact generated by SchoolsRule Sonoma County motivated the credit union’s support.
“We are boldly saying yes to every kid in Sonoma County,” Martin said. “ … If we do this right, years from now, the kids that we are supporting through this collaboration are going to be sitting in this room leading the way for the next generation.”
Thursday’s fundraiser came a month after SchoolsRule celebrated its first distribution, where public school districts and education foundations throughout the region combined received nearly $136,400. Donations are dispersed on a per-student-basis to education foundations and districts who then direct funding to classrooms along several priority areas: literacy; student well-being; agriculture and hospitality; and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.)
Members of two local education foundations that are recipients of SchoolsRule, Cesar Chavez Language Academy Education Foundation and The Education Foundation of Cotati & Rohnert Park, also spoke during Thursday’s event. In addition to serving as a fundraiser for public school students, SchoolsRule regularly meets with local education foundations to bolster their capacity to fundraise in their communities.
"In almost 20 years of service, your donation is the largest single cash donation we have ever received,” said Dan Blanquie, president of the Education Foundation of Cotati & Rohnert Park, which received more than $13,000 from SchoolsRule last month. “Your hard work and diligence is already being fruitful."
SchoolsRule Sonoma County is modeled after SchoolsRule-Marin, which has raised more than $7.6 million for Marin’s public school students since 2012. Other donors for SchoolsRule Sonoma County include Friedman's Home Improvement; Sutter Health; Chandi Hospitality Group; Edwards, Stevens & Tucker, LLP; Rebich Construction Inc.; F3 Law; Level Body Pilates; and Wright Contracting. Learn more about SchoolsRule Sonoma County at this link.
