As a way for the FC community to support the school, Panda Express has agreed to give a portion of their profits to FC, Sept. 20. The fundraiser will run from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the restaurant located on Willow and Nees Ave.

When ordering at Panda Express, students, parents and families MUST PRESENT a flyer for 20% of their purchase to be donated to the school. The flyer is available in all school offices; high school and elementary.

Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF) member Pamela Reiker organized this fundraiser for the first time, in the hopes that it would bring in a tremendous profit for PTF and their various programs.

“I hope 75-100 families will show up,” Reiker said. “The money we raise during the event will go to the PTF and the different programs and events we’re a part of. Some will go towards the teachers, to the Back to School Picnic and the Teacher Appreciation events.”

Fundraisers have been held in many different venues over the years but to Reiker, Panda Express seemed to be the perfect spot.

“I chose Panda because they give more and it’s more convenient,” Reiker said. “Some places only give 10% or 15% but Panda give us 20%. Also, it’s close to the school which makes it less troublesome for most. It’s actually pretty easy to organize the event here because you can do it on their website. Although, I went in person to arrange this occasion.”

Reiker expresses her goals for this event hoping they will be exceeded. In past years’ fundraisers the turnout has been very good and the amount of profit has been anywhere from $100 to $350, she said.

“Basically our goal is to have a lot of people come,” Reiker said. “We want their to be a fellowship among people. Hopefully it will be a good turnout like the previous years at Sweet Tomatoes, McDonalds and Baja Fresh.”

The next two fundraisers will be held at Fresh and Easy and Chick-Fil-A in the months of October and November.

For past coverage of fundraising events, read the Sept 21, 2011 article Sweet Tomatoes reinstates fundraiser.

For more news, read the Sept. 17 article, Madera kicks off Central Valley fair season (VIDEO).

Viviana Hinojosa also contributed to this article.