Each month, the Venice Chamber of Commerce features members in the Member Spotlight Email. Friends of Mark Twain was featured in the March 2021 spotlight! Are you a member that would like to be featured? Email info@venicechamber.net to sign up.
Interview with Brandy Oeser, FOMT Booster Club President
Friends of Mark Twain (FOMT) Middle School is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that consists of parents/ guardians, community members, and school staff interested in enhancing and supporting the programs and facilities of Mark Twain Middle School.
We raise and expend funds to achieve our purposes, working in conjunction with the school governance councils and administrative personnel in determining the specific projects to be funded. We collaborate with other organizations engaged in similar endeavors to maximize the programs and benefits to Mark Twain Middle School.
Are you open for business? If not, how what changes have you made to comply with opening guidelines? Currently, we are still not allowed to have in-person events, so we have been doing other things virtually. This includes our monthly meetings – which we have continued to have throughout the pandemic – community events & workshops, fundraising events, book fair, and club meetings. FOMT has partnered with many local businesses to continue the Dine Out events, encouraging ordering take-out at local restaurants. We also hosted a virtual holiday boutique, which supported local small businesses that donated a percentage of sales to FOMT.
FOMT is following local guidelines and LAUSD guidelines to help protect the health of our members and the organization. When it is safe, we will resume in-person events. And we look forward to that!
Do you have any news to share? Recent accomplishments, upcoming events, and/or special offers?FOMT is hosting our first online auction starting on April 3rd. We are looking for donations from local businesses to help support our fundraising efforts. Mark Twain has amazing students, teachers, and administrative staff and we fundraise so that we can support them and provide additional services and activities that LAUSD doesn’t pay for. If you would like to donate, please visit our website: https://www.fomtms.org/. Online auction details can be found on our home page.
During the pandemic, our parent community has worked hard to help our families in need. We have an amazing garden program run by Paula Sirola and Seeds to Plate. She has worked with other parent volunteers, Marina Manjarrez and Alyssa Moffitt, and organizations such as Food Cycle to provide food to local families. These efforts have been featured in recent articles as well!
Words of wisdom/advice: During this time we have valued our partnerships with other local school organizations. We continue to share ideas and brainstorm ways to fundraise and build community while our children have been off-campus for one year now. We are thankful for our community!
School Address: 2224 Walgrove Avenue, Los Angeles, CA | Phone: 310-779-9067 | Email: Friendsofmarktwainms@gmail.com | Website: www.fomtms.org
