Friends of Marquez
Friends is organized and run by parent volunteers who coordinate the raising and spending of almost $500,000 annually.
In 1983, parents at Marquez organized a non-profit corporation, Friends of Marquez, to raise money for class size reduction, art, music, drama, physical education, computers, a librarian, teacher’s assistants and many other extras that enhance our school. Friends is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and donations to it are tax deductible.
Friends generally meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month while school is in session in the teacher’s lounge at 8:30 am. Everyone is welcome!
The single best and most cost-effective way to give to Friends is through the Annual Giving Fund starting at the beginning of the year and continuing all year long. This is the single largest fundraiser and critical to the support of all our programs. Donations to Friends are generally tax deductible. Consult with your tax advisor. Find out if your company matches your contribution to Friends. See this year’s brochure:
Circle of Giving 2009 Brochure Cover
Circle of Giving 2009 Brochure Inside
The other major fundraiser is the Spring Auction, consisting of both a live and a silent auction as well as dinner and entertainment.
There are several additional ways to earn money for Marquez, without changing your spending:
- Register your Ralphs club card and Marquez automatically gets 4-5% on all your purchases (contact Myra Tzung);
- Purchase gift cards for dozens of retailers, including Gelson’s, Whole Foods, Amazon, Robeks, Gap and many more and Marquez gets back up to 33% (contact Julie Schleichkorn) ;
- Register your credit cards at www.eScrip.com and Marquez gets a percentage of all your purchases when you use those credit cards at Vons, Bristol Farms, Big 5, Payless, Pep Boys, etc.;
- Order new magazines for fun summer reading or renew your subscriptions thru QSP Readers Digest and Marquez gets up to 40%.
The Spring Auction Sounds Great!
Auction themes have included Midnight in Marrakesh, Casablanca Casino Night and Mardi Gras. It is a great way to meet other Marquez parents, have fun & raise money for our school. An enormous amount of preparation and planning goes into this hip, chic, event. We hope that you can join our principal and the teachers and all your friends. The auction committee is looking for volunteers. Please come to the next Friends of Marquez meeting if you are interested.
