Local with Lisa: Havens Poker Night

The 15th Annual Havens Poker Night is coming up and I am happy to be the platinum sponsor this year. It is the largest fundraiser for Havens Elementary School in Piedmont. I spoke to TJ Won, one of the organizers and Anne Dolid who is the principal of Havens Elementary.

Tell me about Poker Night. What can we expect?

We’re really excited. It’s poker, it’s friends, it’s community, it’s food and it’s for the kids. That’s the focal point and the core focus of what we want to do here.

How much money does this event raise? How much did you raise last year and who can come to this event?

So last year we raised about $34,000 and it’s for everyone, you know, across the Piedmont community. It’s for Havens, but we want to be really inviting to the entire community to come out and raise funds for the kids.

Why is this an important fundraiser for Havens?

So this is the only fundraiser that happens in PUSD that is dedicated for Havens specifically.

How has money from this event been used in the past, and how do you plan on using the money this year?

For years that have been lean, we’ve been able to use poker night funds to support professional development initiatives. These picnic tables that we’re sitting at right here, our school garden, the turf field, the big blue blocks that the kids love to play with all came out of poker night. This year we have some very, very old technical equipment in the office. So anybody who has kindergarteners or first graders and get those cute little star word cutouts, that machine is no longer really working and our laminator is probably from the 1960s. So those are two more expensive items that we’re looking to replace and modernize. We are also looking to repave the blacktop and add some additional features to the blacktop, additional basketball hoops, additional volleyball courts, along with just repaving it across the board.

The 15th Annual Havens Poker Night is Friday, January 20th.

Contact me

Who should I interview next for Local with Lisa? If you have a suggestion I’d like to hear it! Or if you’d like to talk about real estate and want to know your home’s current market value, I’m happy to provide you a complimentary assessment. Get in touch!

For more Local with Lisa, click here.