Auburn School District No. 408
915 4th Street Northeast, Auburn, WA  98002

9/26/05

NEWS RELEASE
Ilalko PTA Races to Support Katrina Victims

With the turmoil caused by Hurricane Katrina there are more than 247,000 displaced children in the State of Louisiana. Ilalko Elementary PTA in Auburn School District has developed an aggressive fundraising campaign to support the Louisiana State PTA and Louisiana Education Department. The initial activity was a coin and book drive that began on September 12th through the 26th. As of September 22, $750 in coins as well as 100 books have been gathered and donated by Ilalko students

At the school’s upcoming Open House and Ice Cream Social to be held on Tuesday, September 27, Ilalko students will have an opportunity to donate funds to have their picture taken while sitting in a yellow BMW Race car. The race car is owned by Mike Helton of RTG Motorsports. The car’s owner has had the car stenciled with “Team Ilalko PTA,” the PTA’s website, and the state PTA slogan – every child. one voice. The car will be at the Oktoberfest NW Celebration held on October 6-9 at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. The race car owner and PTA members will be collecting funds for Katrina survivors.

The car owner has donated 80 T-shirts that say “Racing for Katrina Relief” for the elementary school to sell to raise relief funds. T-shirts will be sold for $15.00 each. The Ilalko Elementary PTA has approached local businesses for sponsorships of a minimum $100 for the fundraising campaign. One hundred percent of the fundraising money will be donated to the Louisiana State PTA and Louisiana Education Department.

The Team Ilalko PTA race car will be participating in an eight-hour Endurance Race to be held on Saturday, October 15 in Portland, Oregon.

For more information, contact Ilalko Elementary School PTA Co-President, Julie Hindman at (253) 288-2206 or Suzanne Nagy, Charity Organizer at (253) 939-9598.