Rock The Auction For Walgrove Elementary!

I was recently in a conversation where a fancy mother was talking about how they lived in an area that would have her children go to a local Venice school, but the school's programs weren't enough for her/them, so they have them in a private school in Santa Monica. They could walk to the Venice school, but instead endure a morning and evening traffic commute, and put all their resources into a school that doesn't need it. Public schools NEED it. Venice schools NEED it. If all the parents with means ignore that, what is going to happen to the public schools - the very foundation of our nation and world's future? It's extra sad ... and then you get an Education Secretary in Betsy DeVos that is actually dumber than a box of rocks, and you realize it's up to all of us. And I'm not even a parent. We HAVE TO CARE.

Well, SOME Venice parents ARE doing something about it. The great community of parents and friends of Walgrove Elementary fund pretty much everything extra themselves, through their fundraising efforts. Their big one, the Walgrove "We Rock The Auction" annual silent auction fundraiser is on NOW through this Friday, with a zillion things that you can bid on to help out our local kids. They can have the same cool programs that the fancy schools have, right here in our own neighborhood, the kids of our own neighbors. That's how communities - and then countries - thrive again.

The items range all over the place, from gift cards to awesome local merchants like Burro, to classes of all sorts of kinds, to restaurant deals, theater passes, cool art, clothes, cupcakes, and just about anything you can think of. You can get more for your money AND assist Walgrove in making sure our Venice kids have the very best opportunities for fun and learning that we can give them. Education is obviously super needed in this country, and it's well beyond time to improve on it all. Because it's getting embarrassing.

But not at Walgrove! These kids - all through efforts like this auction ON JUST UNTIL THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 16!! - get to do cool stuff like "Studio Lab", an innovative program that does things like having kids do Basquiat forgery paintings. I want in on that myself! They fund the teachers' aides. The physical education program. The P.S. Arts program. The musical theater program - this year putting on Annie! The Walgrove Wildlands and edible garden - where they are creating a monarch butterfly rest stop! Campus beautification and teacher appreciation are also funded by the Friends of Walgrove, and really, it's endless. NONE of those things would be in place without the help of parents, friends, and members of the local community. How awful would that be? The schools always need something, and our government is not funding our public schools even close to enough, so it's up to them. And us. We who care about the future of this country, and our future leaders.

Please think about it ... and then go HERE and bid on something - anything - from this instant while you're still thinking about it, through this Friday. I thank you, Walgrove thanks you, and when you see how great these kids grow up to be, you'll thank yourself.

Rock the Auction for Walgrove!

*Photos courtesy of Walgrove

Monarch Manor

Sometimes when things happen that are a drag, it winds up being even better than what you set out for. Like on Saturday, when I was running late to meet my friend for lunch, and found that all the bikes were jacked up in different ways, so I was going to be even later on foot. But by being on foot, I explored the canals and walk streets that I don't normally take on wheels. I decided to take Pacific over to check out a vacation rental my friends have booked for Spring Break, and that's when I stumbled across Monarch Manor.

Monarch Manor is a way station for Monarch butterflies, kind of like a HoJo's rest stop for butterflies as they travel along their migratory routes. A group called "Voice Of The Canals" created this sanctuary as part of www.monarchwatch.org, and it's been there since 2008. I had no idea!

As our eco-system is more fragile all the time, it's important to have awareness and efforts made to help keep everything functioning and beautiful. Butterflies, like bees, are a crucial part of our natural world, so we need to give them all a helping hand like this. Monarch migration season is November through February, so we're winding down for this year, but as I walked down the wooden steps into the habitat, I was delighted to see a dancing pair of monarchs, flitting happily all over, almost too fast to capture, but I did at the top of the frame below.

Monarch caterpillars feed only on milkweed, so that is what is being served here off Pacific Ave. It was so lovely to discover this butterfly oasis right smack in the middle of the weekend hoopla of life at the beach in Venice. Standing in the middle of all the foliage and butterflies, one could be anywhere. Anywhere super gorgeous and eco-friendly, that is.

I love it when people see a need or a wish, come together with their various resources, and make things happen. I imagine this came about through someone reading an article about vanishing butterflies, thinking they could help, talking to their neighbors and friends, doing a little fundraising, getting together on a weekend day like this one to plant and dig, and then it's done and butterflies have a little Venice respite on their long trek back and forth to Mexico.

This community project example was to help the butterflies, but it could be anything. Little Free Libraries, a beautiful new mural, a community garden, a street dance, movies in a yard, beach clean-ups, picnics, outdoor concerts ... what can your neighborhood get together and do? Every time you sit around the yard shooting the breeze ... what fun thing can you create together to make this place even cooler? I'll look forward to discovering it - and bragging about you guys - soon.


*And yes, I was even later for lunch, but it was completely worth it.