Letter: Festival support appreciated

Browns Valley Elementary PTA would like to thank the community for the tremendous outpouring of support at our Harvest Festival on Oct. 16. We had more than1,000 attendees, serving 637-plus spaghetti dinners.

In the midst of vast budget cuts and the rise in unemployment, it was amazing to see the support from our local and neighboring communities- including Yuba, Sutter, Butte and Yolo counties.

Thanks to the generous donations of YSDI who provided and prepared the spaghetti dinner; Starbucks for serving coffee; Sara Lee for donating garlic bread and WinCo./Sam's/Cash & Carry/Sierra Oaks/Chevron donated supplies, allowing us to carry forward with our dinner. Over 60 local businesses contributed to the silent auction, 20 vendors were supportive; farmers from surrounding counties supplied pumpkins; parents, teachers and volunteers pitched in with time, talent and donations; and we even had a few local firefighters who joined us to show their support. A special thanks and recognition to the individuals who went beyond the call and gave so generously — they helped push us over our goal.

Everyone had a really good time; providing a platform that linked parents, students, teachers and the community together in a way that we haven't been able to do for a very long time. What an amazing outpour - when we asked for assistance to help support our children's educational activities, the community came through.

Thank you so much. We appreciate your support.

Starla Bennett

Browns Valley Elementary PTA