Hello, my name is Robin Kaip and I am a German high school teacher at Ashley Ridge High School in Summerville, SC.

I am in the process of organizing my school's third annual "Foxtoberfest", a Germany/Bavaria-themed cultural festival, to honor and celebrate the growing German program at the school.

This year's event will be hosted by the wonderful students of the Ashley Ridge German club, who will help with every aspect of putting together the event, including selling tickets, setting up the space, and working the activity stations. We will offer numerous activities, including geography, trivia, soccer, art, carnival games, and virtual reality tours of the city of Munich (my beautiful hometown) as well as Schloss Neuschwanstein.

Guests will also be able to enjoy German "Käsespätzle" (cheese noodles), sausages, pretzel buns, desserts and beverages.

Due to a scheduling conflict at the school, we will be renting a professional culinary space, where we will prepare the food. This will provide a fun opportunity for us to explore German recipes.

We have invited "The Steubenville Tootlers" back for a third time to play traditional Bavarian tunes.

In addition, we will have a number of German businesses join us to provide guests with information about their companies, as well as information about career and internship opportunities.

The students and I are very excited to share this event with students, families, and school/district staff.

It is particularly rewarding for me, as their teacher, to see how excited the students are to be involved.

Last year I was able to secure a $1000.00 teacher grant by the American Association of German Teachers, which helped cover some of the expenses. Currently, funds for this particular grant have not been made available yet, and it is uncertain I will qualify again. I will definitely apply once the application window opens. We have also reached out to several other organizations and businesses that offer community grants but haven't secured any additional funds as of yet.

Thanks to last year's donations, ticket sales, and a couple of pretzel fundraiser sales, we are fortunate to have some funds available to cover a portion of this year's expenses upfront. However, we still fall short of the amount necessary to be able to host this incredible event, so I am reaching out to ask for donations from anyone willing and able to assist us with making Foxtoberfest the amazing experience it has continued to be every year.

Anticipated costs are listed below:

$ 1500.00 for the band (who will be travelling from Greenville, SC).

$ 900.00 for food and beverages

(offerings include sausages, cheese spätzle, pretzels, dessert, and beverages for about 350 guests)

$500 for materials, supplies, activities, decorations and small prizes (some decorations from last year will be reused)

$200 rental cost for using professional/commercial kitchen

*Any additional funds, should we surpass our fundraising goal, will go towards next year's Foxtoberfest.

Having students of the German club organize and put on the event is a wonderful opportunity for them to grow their leadership and organizational skills, practice collaboration and team work, and to create a unique experience for their school and its community.

Thank you so much for your consideration!

Robin Kaip