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Health & Fitness

Stoddert ES Big Chili Heats Up the Night

News and photos from Stoddert's Big Chili fundraiser.

While official Washington was at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner this past Saturday, the real epicenter of Washington could be found over in Meridian Hill at the Josephine Butler House, which played host to the Stoddert Elementary School Big Chili fundraiser.

An overwhelming success, this year’s Big Chili boasted a number of unique features, all of which helped distinguish it from year’s past and set the bar high for the future.

Resplendent in a tuxedo with a brightly colored bow tie and cummerbund, First Grade parent, Tom Strike conducted a live auction where the real prizes of the evening, the art projects created by each class, were the object of some very intense bidding. Also featured in the live auction were several big-ticket items such as an African photo safari and a week at a house in France. 

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Following tradition, the Stoddert Wine Cellar, made up of bottles of wine contributed by the parents in attendance were also a hot item, and the winner went home with well over three dozen bottles of wine. 

Also adding to the success of the evening was the open bar, generously underwritten by Stoddert mom and Merrill Lynch Senior Vice President of Wealth Management Pamela Wise.

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The event grossed over $37,000, according to 2013 Big Chili Chairperson Karen Landes. Funds will help support the Stoddert Parent-Teacher Association in its activities, including sprucing up the landscaping around the school playground to benefit both the school and the neighborhood, as well as grants to each of the teachers to purchase additional school supplies and materials at the beginning of next year.

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