PALM BEACH SOCIETY January 3-9, 2020 

EW Foundation’s School Showcase Knock Our Socks Off!

In the spirit of giving, EW Foundation hosted over 100 children, family and friends at the Rinker Playhouse, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts for the second annual Knock Our Socks Off! school showcase where children were the stars. 

Guests were welcomed with joyful holiday music performed by the Dreyfoos School of the Arts string quartet, Gen Z. James Gavrilos, CEO of the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, charmed the crowd as emcee Buster Moon from the musical Sing, the theme of this year’s competition. 

Miss Tampa Lauren Nielsen moved the crowd with an opening ballad, Golden Slumbers. Rock star Eleanor Wilkinson, a third grader at Palm Beach Day Academy, stole hearts with her version of Set It All Free. Juliette Valle continued the magical journey with Hallelujah and Lauren Nielsen had the audience on their feet with a closing performance of Don’t You Worry Bout a Thing. 

The evening showcased top students and teachers from participating Palm Beach County Title I schools grades K-5, whom shared funny and clever lessons learned from award-winning books: Sip Tea with Mad Hatter and Tame Your Manners. The students were asked to demonstrate learned character traits, social skills and core values and were then judged on their answers. Overall, $3,500 in prizes was awarded to the students and their respective schools. 

Bombas, the inspiration behind the title Knock Our Socks Off!, awarded 3,000 pairs of socks to the top three winning schools. Every student from all participating schools received books and interactive story times generously provided by numerous donors including Butterfly Society donors Ewa and Daniel Abraham and Caterpillar Society donor Richard McCready. Special thanks to showcase underwriters: Dorothy Lappin Charitable Foundation, Loretta Neff and Curtis and Amanda Polk Charitable Fund. 

EW Foundation will host its sixth annual musical brunch: Books, Bellinis & Bel Canto on Sunday, February 9th at The Colony Hotel. Call 561.833.3700 or visit www. BooksBellinisandBelCanto.com. 

EW Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing award-winning character education books and literacy programs for children and youth. For more information visit www. ewfcares.org.