By Bronxville School PTA Benefit PR Committee     

May 13, 2015:  The Bronxville School PTA's "The Next Chapter" fundraising campaign to support the renovation of The Bronxville School's middle and high school library culminated in a fun and fabulous gala held at Siwanoy Country Club on Saturday, April 18. The sell-out crowd numbered over 500. Adorned in "festive attire," all who attended the special event had a truly wonderful time. 

The gala raised a total of $578,000, before expenses, through ticket sales, silent and live auctions, sponsorships, and donations made by individuals via a tiered giving program. The benefit's tiered giving program alone raised over $180,000 in cash contributions from a group of 70 families, including 10 families that contributed $10,000 each. 

The net proceeds of approximately $450,000 (after expenses) from The Next Chapter benefit will be combined with a $250,000 pledge the PTA made in June of 2014 to support the renovation project. This brings the PTA pledge to a total of approximately $700,000. The PTA, at an upcoming BOE meeting, will present the benefit proceeds to the Bronxville Board of Education. 

Once again, local businesses were generous in their support of the PTA and The Bronxville School acting as benefit underwriters as well as contributors of numerous auction items. Parents of past, current, and future students of The Bronxville School also showed their appreciation for the school and its long record of success in delivering an excellent educational experience.  

PTA President Jill Pytosh and President-elect Lisa Rao, co-chairs of the benefit committee, worked for months with a team of devoted parents and teachers to make the benefit a success. "It was an amazing evening," said Jill and Lisa. "We couldn't be happier with the results. We are proud to be part of such an incredibly generous community that cares so deeply about our school. We can't say thank you enough to all involved for supporting this wonderful cause. The students of Bronxville will benefit for years to come from your generosity." 

With books and libraries as a theme, event and party designers Claudia Amboss and Jennifer Hommeyer transformed the entire Siwanoy clubhouse. Upon entering the event, attendees were photographed "on the red carpet" by Jane Ircha and were then shown how to hook into a Wi-Fi-enabled bidding system that enabled them to make bids and monitor bidding action on the 150 silent auction items.   

At 9:00 pm, the live auction kicked off with lively bidding on five exciting travel and entertainment packages, including VIP tickets and accoutrements for an episode of Saturday Night Live, the MTV Music Awards in Los Angeles, and the Notre Dame vs. Texas game, July 4th week in Martha's Vineyard, and to top it all off, tickets to the Super Bowl's 50th anniversary game in Santa Clara, CA. Auctioneer Alexis Glick made a very convincing case for each live auction item, adding to the excitement. 

Jill Pytosh and Lisa Rao continued, "Our benefit committees did a superb job putting this event together. We would like to highlight the auction committee, co-chaired by Suzanne Davis, Hilary Blumenreich, Christine Tormey, and Leana Patel, for bringing together a compelling list of great items. The truth is, all of our committee heads and members worked tirelessly on everything from the invitations and auction book to décor and food to the bidding system to organizing the legion of volunteers needed that night.  We have each and every one of them to thank for making this evening so much fun and such a great success!" 

The PTA would like to give special thanks to its benefit underwriters for their generous support, including: Technology Partner: Houlihan Lawrence; Corporate Sponsors: Pepe Auto Group, Ridge Hill, Valerie Wilson Travel, Julia B. Fee/Sotheby's International Realty, and People's United Bank; Community Sponsors: Arthur Lange, Inc., Bronxville Diner, Comizio Orthodontics, Eastchester Odyssey Diner & the Doukas Family, HML Contracting LLC, Houlihan & O'Malley Real Estate Services, One Dental, Superior Contracting, and Michael Serio, Inc. 

To see photos of the event, click here: Bronxville PTA's "The Next Chapter" Benefit 2015. 

Pictured here:  Benefit co-chairs Jill Pytosh (L) and Lisa Rao.

Photo above and photos in link by Jane Ircha