My dear friend and fellow Jersey gal here in Hawai'i Kai, MaryJean Bresnan, is president of the Friends of Koko Head. Have you ever had a conversation with MaryJean? If she ever takes a breath, you can jump in. This girl has that fast Jersey-talkin' thing goin' ON! I've been in Hawai'i since 1981 and lost that Jersey speedspeak ages ago. But MaryJean hasn't taken a breath yet. She's got energy.

And that's what you need when you run the school's parent group with a primary mission of raising funds. I used to be a Friends board member but now I'm on the School Community Council. Fundraising is not my forte. My sixth-grader, now at Niu, was loaded with tickets to sell pizza, sausage and something else. Ethically, I cannot ask someone to buy something I wouldn't buy myself. We returned the tickets. Give me something healthier to push!

Through our years at Koko Head, the parent board had gone through all kinds of fundraising efforts. But one year this dynamic mom, Lisa Herkenrath, turned us on our heads with an unconventional idea: $10 spaghetti dinners combined with a silent auction. That was a few years ago. Lisa was with us that one year, but it was successful enough that we've done it for a few years now with success.

MaryJean recruited a guy who has a steak-shrimp plate-lunch tent to do the 500 meals. The afternoon of the dinner, only 290 were sold. That night? SOLD OUT. Each of the classes constructed gift baskets for the silent auction. Baskets were designed for movie nights, pets, spa treatments, you name it. Other items donated by nearby businesses, such as Assaggio's Restaurant, Yummy's BBQ and other area establishments, got moms like me writing checks to buy tickets for chances to win. Tickets sold for a donation of $10 each were put in a bin and drawn to award 10 $100 prizes, two $500 prizes and one $3,000 prize. We all held our breaths waiting for our names to be called! It's so anticlimactic when the grand prize winner isn't even there!

I have no idea what I'm going to do with the giant, larger-than-life sticker of an international soccer star my younger daughter won. But at least I can say we didn't go home empty-handed. And neither did the Friends of Koko Head, which cleared $17,000 after all the prizes were distributed.
Not bad for a one-night event, dontcha think? But the planning went on for months. Kudos to the Friends of Koko Head and to all school parent groups that raise funds to employ physical education teachers for Hawai'i's elementary schools. Mahalo for also funding music, arts and Hawaiiana programs so our keiki have a well-rounded education.
There's something the state knows: Hawai'i's parents will step up and will rally their communities to keep schools running. But that's really no way to fund the future.
Paula Gillingham Bender has lived in Hawai'i since 1981 and resides in Hawai'i Kai with her husband and two daughters. Read her blog at www.eastoahuinsider.honadvblogs.com.