Berkley Schools Benefit Bets on Students' Future

Are you feeling lucky?

Then head to the Berkley Education Foundation fundraiser Off to the Races on Saturday to bet on the horses – and students in the .

A $30 ticket will get you into the event at Silver Garden of Southfield, along with dinner. There also will be a cash bar, silent auction and horse racing. Sponsors will pay $25 to have a horse carry their name and participants will bet on equines in 12 pre-recorded races.

"We hire a professional race caller that comes all the way from Pittsburgh," said Sue McAlpine, the foundation's  director. "He will say, 'Amici's is coming around the corner! It's by a nose!' "

"You really think you're at the races," chimed in Mary Jo Israel, the Berkley School Board liaison to the foundation, the district's volunteer-run fundraising arm.

Prizes at the casual, adults-only event will include gift certificates from local businesses such as , the and .

"Every dollar that we raise goes back to the district," Israel said.

During the evening, there also will be a silent auction in which bidders can win the chance to watch a Pistons game in a suite for 15 donated by the Palace of Auburn Hills, an electric guitar and amplifier donated by , gift cards from area restaurants, jewelry made by local jewelers and other goodies.

Off to the Races raised approximately $14,000 in 2010, its first year, McAlpine said. The foundation used the money to distribute $500 mini-grants to each school in the district, she said.

Schools used the funds for a variety of projects, McAlpine said, including:

• used its grant to buy books for its eighth-grade class and library.
• is taking a busload of students to colleges to check out the campuses. "They're doing it early in their high school career so they have an idea of what they're working toward," McAlpine said.
• got new computer software.

"We want to maintain and enhance all the programming that the kids have currently," McAlpine said.

That has been a challenge as the district struggles to cope with declining state funding, Israel said.

"The state doesn't have a handle on its budget, which is affecting the district's funding. Last year, the state cut approximately $150 per student after the budget was finished," she said. "It's not just if your kid's in the schools, it's about your property value. You won't attract people to live here if your school district isn't healthy."

That's a notion that resonates with eyewear consultant Lisa Gilbert, who opened last year and plans to donate to Off to the Races.

She and her husband moved to Huntington Woods about a year and a half ago from Bloomfield Township. "I was unfamiliar with how loyal and strong of a community Berkley is. It's impressive," said Gilbert, whose son is a sophomore at .

"Anything you can do to raise money and raise awareness for the school district is a good idea," she said.

Space is limited. Call 248-837-8018 or e-mail berkleyfoundation@berkleyschools.org to make a reservation. Tickets are available at school offices and at the . If you can't attend Off to the Races, but would like to make a donation, you can contribute to the foundation's ongoing fundraising effort, Dollars for the District.