Dear School Community,
The recent and evolving news regarding COVID-19 has impacted all of us in our business and personal lives. Various counties across the Bay Area have called for preventative measures in the community to reduce the spread of the virus through social distancing measures. This impacts how we meet, collaborate and celebrate. Concern for the health and safety of our community requires us to reschedule the date of and revise the plan for the Gala.
Our 20th Anniversary Gala is now rescheduled for Saturday, September 19, 2020, at the same location, Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, CA. Rescheduling our event, rather than canceling, allows GISSV to retain the investments made in securing our venue, caterer, and auctioneer. We realize that there are people anticipating a move out of the area before, or have plans on, the rescheduled date. For those who cannot attend, we will provide an option of refunding ticket purchase(s) or donating the cost to GISSV. Those who can attend in September will be able to carry over their ticket purchase for the revised date. This also applies to meal selections and tables of 10 seats. An email with further information will be sent to ticket purchasers. A plan will also be developed to generate new ticket sales from people who had not purchased tickets and new families joining GISSV in August.
In the spirit of flexibility and accommodation, we will have a small-scale, online auction for the entire community before the end of this school year (exact timeframe TBD). The online auction will include all of the student artwork that was created this year, as well as auction items that need to be sold before the summer. All proceeds will go towards the cause of optimizing the safety and well-being of courtyard facilities on Easy Street in MV and Diamond Street in SF.
More than 210 tickets were sold for the Gala. This is a positive demonstration within our community to celebrate and raise funds for GISSV. We value the work of everyone involved in making this another event to remember. In particular, the time spent developing and now recalibrating our plan by the Gala Committee consisting of parent volunteers, Administration staff, and Board is greatly appreciated. Special thanks to Mariko Fritz-Krockow, Carol Hink, Mareike Joedicke, and Katja Koehler for all of their time and energy invested in this year's event. We also appreciate the support given by teachers, students, and parents in creating fantastic artwork to be auctioned. Our collective commitment and proactive work on addressing the revised plan will provide a foundation for success, not only for the Gala but for the community spirit of GISSV.
As previously stated, an email will be sent to all individuals who have purchased, or received donated tickets for the Gala with more information. Any questions or concerns can be sent to gala@gissv.org. Your patience and understanding are appreciated as we work through details.
Thank you,