Communities in San Joaquin County raised nearly $133,000 to take students on an educational adventure. Funds raised will pay for hundreds of students to participate in outdoor-education programs, like the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) Outdoor Education program, a four-night excursion to the coastal redwoods known to generations of county students as “Science Camp.”
All San Joaquin County schools were invited to participate in the raffle coordinated by the San Joaquin County Office of Education Educational Foundation (SJCOEEF). All proceeds go directly to the school that sold the tickets for their Outdoor Education trip because of generous donations: Valley Oak Dental sponsored the printing of 30,000 raffle tickets and the SJCOEEF donated $5,000 in prize money.
San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools James Mousalimas drew the three winning tickets:
- Frist Place ($3,500): Nancy Lee. (Ticket sold by Walter Woodward Elementary, Manteca Unified School District.)
- Second Place ($1,000): Charles Keen. (Ticket sold by Rio Calaveras Elementary School, Stockton Unified School District.)
- Third Place ($500): Rick T. Torres. (Ticket sold by Weston Elementary School, Ripon Unified School District.)
This year, 36 schools participated in the Outdoor Education raffle, selling 26,520 tickets. The SJCOEEF has stepped up efforts to raise more money during the raffle in recent years. The total has risen from $40,000 in 2014 to $82,000 in 2015. The raffle raised $122,000 in 2016 and $121,000 last year. This year's total is a record-breaking $132,600.