Newtown Education Foundation (NEF) hosted a cocktail party on Tuesday, May 3, at Dere Street Restaurant, 33 Main Street, as a fundraiser and kick-off event for this new foundation.newtowneducationfoundation.org, on its Facebook page, or by e-mailing newtowneducationfoundation@gmail.com.

NEF's mission is to enhance the learning experience for Newtown students by promoting innovation and creativity through collaboration with the community, according to the foundation. The event was held to share information about the foundation with community members.

Event organizer and NEF board member Allyson Story said 60 people were expected to attend the event, and the foundation is continuing to raise money to provide grants to teachers for ideas they want to see brought to the classroom.

Raffle items that helped raise funds, according to Ms Story, included four Giants tickets, spa packages, and a family photo session.

Board member and NEF Co-Founder Kristen Bonacci said, following the event, the night was overall "a huge success."

Both Ms Bonacci and board member Susan Burbank agreed that a "huge thank you" is deserved for Ms Story and Dere Street Restaurant.

"They were phenomenal," said Ms Bonacci about the restaurant management and staff.

After the event, board member Jenn Padilla said the evening event left her stunned at the supportive response from the community. A number of community members in attendance asked questions about how to get involved.

"I'm really excited to help our teachers and our students," said Ms Padilla.

Ms Story said the event was the first step in preparing to award grants to local educators next school year.

"I thought it was a great success," said Ms Story.

For her, the cocktail party was NEF's first event for the public, and Ms Story said, "It made it real to the community.

"We thank everyone for coming out and supporting our first event, and for supporting all of our students and teachers in the schools," Ms Story said.

NEF's next public event will be participation in the May 22 Family Fun Fest & Craft Fair at Fairfield Hills, Primrose Street, which will have free admission and a number of activities and vendors at the site from 10 am until 4 pm. Ms Story said NEF's booth at the Family Fun Fest & Craft Fair will host STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) activities for students, like a possible building activity for kids to use engineering skills.

Ms Story also said NEF will continue to raise awareness in town about its mission and will work to gain more partnerships with community members to grow the foundation and raise funds to start awarding grants to teachers.

NEF is a nonprofit organization. More information about NEF is available at its website