By Rita Li, Staff Writer
In previous years, Mills Mania was an event that allowed students and their families to buy a variety of foods and participate in various activities to raise money for Mills’ student-run clubs and organizations. Due to the pandemic, Mills Mania will have significant changes to ensure the safety of Mills community members.
Mills Mania also serves as a way to raise more money for the Mills Annual Fund. The Annual Fund, which is organized by a subcommittee of the Mills PTO, is dedicated to raising money to provide student counseling, clubs, and classroom technology such as Chromebooks and calculators to support student needs. Mills is also seeking to acquire additional classroom technology in order to meet the challenges of distance learning and future hybrid in-person models.
This year, the Annual Fund Committee decided to reinvent the traditional Mills Mania by turning it into a celebration of the end of the Annual Fund Campaign. Mills Mania will be held in early March of 2021, with a goal to raise $100,000 from online fundraising before the end of the spring semester. As of December 8th, 2020, over $10,000 has been raised already. Mills Mania and Annual Fund Co-Chairs, Claudia Choy and Amy Liu, stated their ideas for the Mills Mania replacement: “We are committed to following county guidelines and protocols with either a safe, socially distanced in person event, like a drive-in movie, or a live online event.” The PTO is committed to following San Mateo County’s established safety guidelines in every school wide event. To keep the fun and excitement alive, there will still be prizes, performances, and special appearances. To donate to the Annual fund, go to this website: https://www.millshspto.org/annual-fund. Credit and prizes will be given to the student as a thank you for supporting the Annual Fund.
Another effort that PTO has been working on has been the Rapid Relief fund. When the pandemic initially struck, the Rapid Relief Fund was made by the PTO to provide financial support to school members who were without a reliable income, facing illness, extreme household needs, or family issues. The PTO announced that the Rapid Relief Fund raised $50,000 during the spring of 2020 and spent over $25,000 supporting families in need. During the holiday season, there are plans to distribute holiday gift cards and grocery cards within the next few months.
Students can support the Mills PTO by joining the PTO using this website. You can also check out the PTO’s Instagram account which is called @millshspto. Their Facebook page is called Mills High School PTO. Students and parents can sign up for their email list at tinyurl.com/millspto or text MILLSPTO at 22828 to receive regular updates. You can email president@millshspto.org for the Zoom link to attend PTO meetings every third Wednesday of the month at 7 pm.
The PTO has been especially flexible in its efforts to continue the beloved Mills Mania and altering it to make it safe and fun for everybody. Mills will continue raising funds to support its students and clubs.
