ENUMCLAW, Wash. — Seven hot air balloons will light up the fields at Thomasson Family Farm in Enumclaw this Friday for a magical family-friendly event!
Thomasson Family Farm in partnership with Seattle Ballooning will be hosting the first-ever “The Snow and Glow: Ensuring Every Kid Can Eat School Lunch” event. A fundraiser they organized within a week after learning about the negative lunch balances in the Enumclaw School District.
Eliav Cohen, the Chief Pilot and owner of Seattle Ballooning told KIRO 7 that this cause is near and dear to his heart because, “for me as a kid growing up you know who didn’t–who got free lunch it was important to me to make sure we took care of this. We knew that with balloons it’s a big enough attraction that we could solve [the problem] and raise enough money in a couple of hour period,” said Cohen.
Cohen says he first learned about the district’s negative balance last week after seeing a post from a parent on an Enumclaw Facebook group. Taking matters into his own hands he was able to get in touch with the school districts Nutrition Coordinator who told Cohen that currently, the district as a whole had a negative lunch balance of approximately $17,000. Cohen says that with this Snow and Glow event, he plans on “writing a check for Monday morning.”
As for Thomasson Family Farm’s connection, in addition to hosting this event, the family is born and raised in the community, and Tia Hellman, a teacher in the Enumclaw School District for over a decade is also the daughter of the man who owns Thomasson Family Farm. So, with her involvement on both ends, she and her family have been excited to contribute.
Hellman told KIRO 7 that since announcing the event this week, she’s received alot of messages from people who are worried about their school’s negative lunch balances, and people with kids outside of the Enumclaw School District.
Unfortunately, some kids in the district hold a negative lunch balance in the hundreds and Tia said that in her years as a teacher, she has had families in her classroom that could’ve used this kind of extra help.
“There’s homeless kids, and kids struggling with where they’re staying each night, and where their next meal is and school is a safe place for them where they know they can get food and stuff so we want to make sure it stays that way,” said Hellman.
Tickets for “The Snow and Glow: Ensuring Every Kid Can Eat School Lunch” are $15 to $75 per family (one car) ticket options include admission and a certain number of raffle tickets for a chance to win hot air balloon rides, Thunderbird Tickets, and annual passes to Thomasson Family Farm. You can purchase your tickets, here.
If you are unable to attend this spectacular event but would like to contribute to this fundraiser, you can also donate, here.
For more details about what to bring or expect at the farm this Friday, you can check out their event page.