Updated: Write the Future at $210,851, Nine Hours to Go

Update 5/1/12 7 a.m.: Success—Write the Future raised $264,795 by Monday night. Check back soon for another post with more information.

Update: As of 3 p.m., the thermometer is at $210,851. Check www.thefoundationatgreatvalley.org for the latest totals.

Original story continues below.

The Write the Future campaign banked more than $30,000 within a few hours of its launch at the . The goal of the campaign, which is run through the Foundation at Great Valley, was to raise $250,000 for the Great Valley School District in two weeks.

Read how the $250,000 .

With about 13 hours left to go in its final day, the campaign has raised $183,276 and is pushing hard to close the gap. Donations made to the nonprofit foundation are tax-deductible.

Great Valley parent Jen Stagnaro shared this open letter about her reasons for donating:

I am sure that by now you have heard of the "Write the Future" campaign.  Here are some of the reasons I am supporting it.

• This is a grassroots campaign started by two parents who have decided it is time to do something to save Great Valley .  We have all been discouraged and disheartened by the continual dismantling of our school district.  Many of us have been asking for the past two years what we can do to help.  Now we have an answer. 
• This campaign is based on a successful program in the Lake Oswego School District in Oregon .  Their Foundation, along with several of the parents, launched a similar campaign and were able to collect $2.3 million in donations from parents, local businesses, and community members over the course of one year, enabling them to close the budget gap and avoid laying off teachers. 
• They are calling this a "jump start campaign" because the ultimate goal is to get the rest of the community involved and willing to participate.  The goal for this 2 week campaign is $250,000.  In the coming years we hope to reach numbers similar to Lake Oswego 's results.
• Although the list of things to be saved does not include everything I want to see saved, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
• The two potential cost saving measures that I find most concerning deal with the revamping of the middle school and high school schedules.  My hope is that the ripple effect from the "Write the Future" campaign will eventually help to save both of those schools from making the drastic suggested changes that will undoubtedly result in the deterioration of the quality of instruction and the value of our schools.
• During a time when people tend to be focused on the negative - continually stating why something will not work - we have two women who have taken the opposite approach.  This proactive, solution-oriented approach is integral in working together toward this very important goal and I am excited to be a part of it.
• Although the suggested contribution is $1000 per family, any and every contribution will help us toward this goal.

If you have any questions about the campaign - please visit the website.  There is a very detailed description of the campaign - including reasons for all of the decisions involved.  Please take the time to look it over - and please consider a voluntary, tax deductible donation.  The total amount collected at this time is $160,411!  1 day left!  Every contribution is important!!!

  http://www.thefoundationatgreatvalley.org/

Thank you for your time.

Jen Stagnaro