GRALAND PARENT ASSOCIATION Hello Graland Families! As the Graland Parent Association, our continuous goal is to build community, promote volunteerism, and raise funds to support its programs. Looking back, 2020 has been described in many ways: unprecedented, exhausting, lost, chaotic, surreal, heartbreaking, transformative, and many more. As a community, we felt and experienced many things individually and collectively. As GPA President, the one word that resonated with me most, was grateful. I was continuously in awe of the support, involvement and positive attitude of our community, and I cannot thank you all enough for your contributions. The GPA council, committee chairs, room parents and grade reps worked tirelessly and seamlessly to provide opportunities for community and connection, which was especially challenging at a time where caregivers were not allowed on campus. While we may have not been together in person, we still connected in so many ways! We kicked off new initiatives such as the back-to-school kit, Halloween contests, and Lower School Kindness Week. We reimagined traditional events, like the virtual Graland Gallop with over 700 registrants (a Gallop record!), heard from speakers at various virtual PEN events such the Civil Discourse panelists, with wisdom from Kerry Stutzman and Lisa Damour, participated in our annual Book Fair, and were entertained during the reimagined Birch Street Virtual Family Bash (it was incredible!). We’ve helped our greater community with numerous monthly community outreach opportunities benefitting more than 12 organizations in the Denver area, and had a few physical interactions through morning parent coffees and year-end parties. We supported our faculty and staff with heartfelt contributions in Operation Appreciation and Project Superstar. Our phenomenal school spirit shone through Graland Spirit Store purchases. Our largest fundraising event of the year, The Eagle Invitational Golf Tournament, sold out. Importantly, our voices were heard and lifted through our Equity and Inclusivity representatives. Finally, your generosity provided robust year-end gifts to all faculty and special staff, and was sincerely appreciated. Through your incredibly impactful contributions, the GPA offered all of its programming for free or at a significantly discounted rate. This allowed us to operate under budget, and raise over $100,000 in funds! In turn, we have been able to further invest in more free programming for the 2021-2022 academic year, contribute to Graland’s technology needs, and further support student financial aid. It is your continued support, involvement and engagement in GPA programming that allows our community to thrive and grow, and I hope you continue to do so during your family’s time at Graland. I am deeply grateful to have served and shared with you -- thank you for supporting our school!
Graland Parent Association Council President: Deb Ridenour President-Elect: Michele Steed VP of Fundraising: Elana Schwartzreich VP-Elect: Bethany Chang VP of Community Programming: Kalliope Balafas VP-Elect: Michele Steed VP of Community Events: Samantha Thompson VP-Elect: Marnie Klein VP of Community Enrichment: Megan Wesley VP-Elect: Karin Bisogno Von Glumer VP of Equity & Inclusivity: Japera Walker ’02 Wilkison VP-Elect: Megan Bee ’86 Treasurer: Gabe Koroluk Secretary: Jennifer Bergsieker Communications Chairs: Laura Bonnet-Lohr Elect: Cat Carlson Parliamentarian: Griffen O’Shaughnessy Nominating Chair: Michelle Kuba Elect: Ashley Tulp ECLC Lead Representative: Cullen Wold Elect: Elaine Oliver Lower School Lead Representative: Becky Schaub Elect: Jaime Miller ’97 Altman Pod Representatives: Christy Anderson (5/6) Carolyn Mitchelll (7/8)
All My Best, Deb Ridenour President, Graland Parent Association 2020-21 71
