Aspen community to fundraise for public education

Community members will gather next week for the largest Aspen public education fundraising event of the year.

The Aspen Education Foundation (AEF) will host its annual fundraising event — Flamingo 2024, Shimmer and Shine — at The St. Regis Aspen Resort on Dec. 7 to help finance additional programs and resources for the city’s public schools. The night will begin at 6 p.m. on the upstairs bar of the resort, before moving to the ballroom for a dinner, live auction, paddle raise, and more beginning at 7:45 p.m.

“We fund the programs and the positions that raise the bar, that take it to the next level,” AEF Executive Director Cynthia Chase said. 

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Aspen public schools already do a great job because they employ incredible teachers and administrators, Chase added. 

But the funding from the foundation — directed toward the three schools in the Aspen School District (ASD), the Aspen Community School, and the Aspen Cottage pre-school — allows the schools to bring on positions and programs that they wouldn’t be able to afford with state funding.

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Chase said the foundation funds mental health counselors, college counseling, outdoor education, STEM, and robotics and aeronautics. It also funds the Aspen School District IB program, placing ASD among an international network of over 5,000 other IB world schools.

The event next week is crucial for the foundation’s annual fundraising efforts. 

“We are heavily weighted toward this event. I’d say 75% to 90% of our annual budget comes from this event and this night,” AEF President Paul Sohn said, adding, “Having a strong public school strengthens the whole community.”

Founded in 1991, the nonprofit has raised a total of $19 million for Aspen public education. Last year they raised over $1.4 million in the Flamingo event alone.

Chase credits their previous fundraising success to the community belief in public education.

“It’s because of the parents … and grandparents,” she said, “and people who live in Aspen who have never had kids in the district but recognize that a strong public school is everything to the town.”

She hopes to hit $2 million in this year’s event. After the fundraiser, the money gets put to immediate use by the schools. 

Molly Gilmore, AEF vice president and organizer of Flamingo, said the foundation is extremely effective with the use of their funding.

“I’ve worked at several nonprofits throughout my years, and AEF has an immediate impact in a way that I’ve never seen,” Gilmore said.

The program to which an individual decides to donate will be bolstered with additional resources by the very next season, she said. 

The Aspen School District IB Diploma Program has benefited hugely from foundation funding, IB Coordinator Eileen Knapp said. The foundation funds student participation in the IB Diploma program, which requires a fee, and helps train IB teachers by sending them out of state for training workshops, or by bringing IB certified trainers to do in-house training.

“Having teachers teaching inquiry-based learning, in an international curriculum — trained — is pretty amazing,” she said. 

Gilmore said this year’s fundraising event will feature live music by local highschoolers and their parents, as well as by Wyclef Jean, a member of the Fugees band. They will auction off five to six items in the live auction, and will finish with the paddle raise, where audience members are encouraged to donate what they can.

They will also honor Snowmass Mayor Alyssa Shenk with the Community Impact Award for her ongoing contribution to Aspen public education, Gilmore added. 

Tickets to the event are sold out, but those wishing to donate can also contribute to an online silent auction on the Aspen Education Foundation website, and can choose where they’d like to allocate their money. The silent auction will open after the festivities at midnight on Dec. 8. and will remain open for seven days.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.