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This raffle was a fundraiser, the proceeds of which will support the activities and programming of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts (DESA).
It was formed through a partnership with MINI of Sterling, The Ellington Fund, and the school's parent organization SHADE.
This was the 1st all-school raffle; parents, staff, faculty, students 18+ years old, and community members all sold tickets on behalf of the school
Tickets sold could be designated toward 1 of 8 arts departments (dance, theater, music, singing, art, etc) to adults over the age of 18 (so a student might get the car, but only if their parent was feeling generous enough to share).
This year's winner is a friend and donor to The Ellington Fund. When informed that she was the grand prize winner, the first thing she said was that she couldn't believe it because she never wins anything!
The school may do another All-School raffle next year, perhaps with a different car, or perhaps with an entirely different grand prize, tbd.
About the school, I learned of it from Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, when Jerry Seinfeld was filming an episode with Dave Chappelle, and they stopped by the school to drop off Dave's Emmy, to inspire the students by showing an example of the accomplishments that the former students have accomplished. How cool is that!!!
When they walked into the school, they passed the grand piano that Steve Wonder donated to the school... seriously, wow.
If you look back at the concerts (Performance Series of Legends) that have been there at the school, they've been fundraisers, and both Stevie Wonder in 1994, and other incredible musicians, like Patti LaBelle, Earth Wind and Fire, Sting and Paul Simon, and Smoky Robinson!
These five performances cumulatively raised $2 million.
it's so impressive that the DESotA is focused on by the Kennedy, and celebs take a moment to inspire the kids, like Dave Chappelle's Emmy, and Stevie Wonder's grand piano.
Starting young, learning in a disciplined yet improvisational manner, flourishing in a tough world, developing a lifelong network of fruitful relationships—all these accomplishments are represented in the life of the composer, bandleader, and Washington, D.C. native, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. His are the qualities we have worked to instill in graduates since the Duke Ellington School of the Arts was founded over forty years ago. We do so by guiding 9th to 12th grade students through a full academic course of study and an arts major: Dance, Literary Media and Communications, Museum Studies, Instrumental or Vocal Music, Theatre, Technical Design and Production, or Visual Arts.
From the beginning, public and private partnerships have supported the school, which in 2000 evolved into the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Project (DESAP), which includes the D.C. Public Schools, the Ellington Fund, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and George Washington University.
http://www.ellingtonschool.org/ellington-fund/2018-mini-cooper-all-school-raffle/
http://www.ellingtonschool.org/ellington-fund/performance-series-of-legends/