A Smashing Success

Paul Revere Raises $85,000 Through Annual Auction and Gala

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Hundreds of parents, community members and supporters gathered at the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club Saturday evening, February 22, to support the Paul Revere Charter Middle School annual fundraising auction and gala.

The event, which was attended by nearly 300 people, raised close to $85,000 for the school through live and silent auctions.

“That’s not even including the paddle raise,” Jamee Natella, one of this year’s organizers, explained to the Palisadian-Post after the event.

Raise the paddle, a separate auction that raises funds for a specific program within the school, garnered about $5,000, which will go toward re-doing the campus’ auditorium, including a sound system and lightboard.

Some of the more-than-300 items auctioned off this year were a home in Deer Valley for a week, passes to Disneyland with a VIP tour attached, a homestay in Balboa Park and courtside tickets to Lakers and Clippers games.

During the dinner portion, Jerry Lafolette and Paul Foxson, PE faculty at Paul Revere, hosted a live auction, which included a walk-on role in a new HBO television series.

“We wanted to involve the kids in things,” Natella explained, adding that some of the items were geared toward students, like a chance to be a part of a robocall from the school and reading the announcements over the loud speaker.

Big ticket items included a stay at the Four Seasons in Maui.

This year’s event was chaired by Natella, Paul Lewis, Sabrina IsHak and Karen Hamilton.

“It was fabulous to have so many parents, our amazing teachers and Principal Iannucci at the gala,” said IsHak, chair of the auction committee and a parent at Paul Revere. “This was more than a fundraiser, it was a celebration of our school.”

Natella, a first-year Paul Revere parent, was motivated to get involved with planning the auction after her experience so far at the school.

“We love it,” Natella shared of her son’s first semester. “He’s in all the honors classes there, which is a fabulous program.”

She added that the administration is really lovely as well and shared high praises.

Natella, after shadowing the planning process for this year’s auction, will be taking over the reins from IsHak, who has led the auction in the past.

“I’ll be continuing it on for the next two years,” Natella shared. “I’m really excited.”

The Natella family actually lives in Beverly Hills, but commutes to Paul Revere because they believe in the programming.

She encouraged community members to give back to the school because the Palisades is a tight-knit area.

“This is a public school,” Natella explained, “but it feels like I’m at a private school.”