Annie Ross Basket Raffle

Your donations are greatly appreciated!

Donations Due: Thursday, September 25th (Donation box by the office)

In addition to the money we raise for the school, another important part of this fundraising festival is the money we raise for the Annie Ross House. In preparation for Arborfest, a team of eighth graders (the "Basketeers") cold-call businesses and solicits the community for donations to assemble into beautiful and valuable raffle baskets.

The baskets will be on display during Arborfest and patrons will have the chance to buy raffle tickets. At the end of the day, the drawing will be held with much excitement and anticipation. All the proceeds will go to support the Annie Ross House, the real raffle winner! In addition to the basket raffle, all the profits from the Primary Store and children's booths go to the Annie Ross House as well.

Since 1991, Arbor School has been fundraising for The Annie Ross House (a subsidiary of Northwest Housing Alternatives)--that's over 30 years--and in that time, we have donated a total of about $120,000! The Annie Ross House is a shelter that serves families--in whatever configuration they come in--who are experiencing houselessness in Clackamas county.

Although they are based in Milwaukie, the area they serve reaches all the way to Rhododendron, up on Mount Hood. Until a year ago, the Annie Ross House was, literally, a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house--each family had a bedroom and all five families shared the bathrooms, kitchen facilities, and living room while receiving the services they needed to pave their way back to stable housing. In the time we've been working with this amazing organization, they have expanded their services to help families stay in their current housing when they are facing eviction and a couple of years ago they completed the construction of brand new facilities on their campus. The new Annie Ross House provides shelter to 8 families at a time and now they each have their own bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette. There is still a communal kitchen and living space to promote community while allowing families more privacy during such a stressful time in their lives. Also on their campus are apartments for permanent housing that allow tenants to rebuild their renting history while continuing to benefit from the plethora of support services NHA offers. 

In the words of Meghaen Anderson, Annual Fund Manager for NHA, "One thing I can tell you is this level of donation from a group or school is unparalleled in our donor base, in terms of the wide-fundraising efforts and contributions from young people in the community. You are a very special lot."