Online auction to benefit Niwot High students

The Niwot High School Education Foundation is gearing up for its annual online auction, and thanks to robust support from sponsors, it should be an exciting one for potential bidders, according to the group's president Mako Shimoda.

"This year, everybody's been so generous, knowing that we've been unable to do our normal fundraising," she said, noting that there are donations from businesses in Niwot, Longmont, and Boulder. "So we have a fair amount of items-lots of various restaurant gift certificates, we have several golf packages, we have several photography packages, just a whole variety of items for the auction, which is great."

The auction opens on Monday, April 5 and runs seven days through Sunday, April 11, at http://www.charityauctionstoday.com (search for Niwot High School). All proceeds will go directly to the NHSEF, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

The NHSEF was founded by the late Eli Buzas in 1994. Since then, the all-volunteer foundation has been providing financial and material support to students and faculty in the form of scholarships, grants, and special projects. Grants typically account for the largest share of its annual budget, and include expenses such as field trips, college visits for first generation students, and fees for conferences and tournaments. In 2018, NHSEF partnered with Niwot's counseling department to create the Adopt-A-Cougar program, which helps families with college prep and test taking expenses.

NHSEF has also helped fund two school-wide initiatives over the past year: the new student wellness center, in partnership with the Niwot Boosters; and outdoor seating and dining areas, a project by the school's Environmental Club to promote student access to fresh air.

Like most non-profits, the organization suspended much of its fundraising in 2020, including the online auction, which is typically its biggest fundraiser of the year. That was balanced by a slowdown in grant requests, as most school events were cancelled or went virtual. But Shimoda and her group are expecting a more normal pattern of grant requests in the coming year, and are hoping the auction will raise between $13- to $15,000.

"Our entire grants budget is about $20,000, so that will take care of a large part of our grants budget, which would be great, especially for the next school year," she said. "Being hybrid and 100% online during part of this year, we really couldn't, as much as we wanted to, we really couldn't help a lot of the teachers in their classrooms."

NHSEF is still accepting sponsorships and donations for its 2021 online auction, and will even arrange for pick-up to make it as convenient as possible. So far, Shimoda has been touched by the community's continued support of students and education, even after the tumultuous events of the past 12 months.

"We really appreciate all of the donations that the whole Niwot and school community has given the education foundation over the years," she said. "Any fund that we raise goes back to the school to help with the grant requests for our teachers and staff. We're just here to help our high school students and support them financially in ways that the district cannot."

For more information about the NHSEF and the online auction, visit nhsef.org. For questions about making a donation, contact Shimoda at (303) 817-1693 or [email protected].