SEE: AVHS Project Completed After Pleasanton Raised $225K

PLEASANTON, CA — A new shade structure stands at Amador Valley High School after a community group raised $225,000 to complete the project.

The money was raised in three months thanks to 150 donors who contributed to a fundraiser organized by local group We Are Pleasanton, which formed in 2020 after the failure of Measure M to improve school facilities projects.

"Pleasanton has A+ schools, teachers and students," the group said on its website. "To sustain this excellence, we need A+ campuses."

Todd Utikal, a restaurant owner and We Are Pleasanton volunteer who initiated the project, said he believed the cause was popular because it provided concrete, visible benefit to the community. The shade will offer students some relief from the lunchtime heat and open up possibilities for outdoor classes, Utikal said.

"I think people donated to this because it was very specific," Utikal said at a groundbreaking ceremony this summer.

We Are Pleasanton partnered with the nonprofit Pleasanton Partnerships in Education, Utikal said. The nonprofit group helped facilitate tax-deductible donations to We Are Pleasanton, which does not have nonprofit status.

— Patch staffer Brittany Ung contributed to this report