Server pledges ‘Tips for Sips’ for son’s school

Riding home from school with his family recently, Josiah Martinez, 8, heard his mother and sister talking about the need for new water fountains at Ramona Elementary School.

When they arrived home, Josiah, a third-grader at Ramona Elementary, went to his room, returned with $20 — money he had saved toward external memory for his old Xbox 360 — and handed it to his mother.

“What’s this for?” she asked.

“For the water fountain,” he replied.

If a new water fountain at the school is so important to her son that he’s willing to give the money he’s been saving — “and he’s only 8 — it made me think, why not me?” said Josiah’s mother, Perla Martinez, a charter member of Friends of Ramona Unified Schools (FORUS). “I said I have to find a way to help with this.”

At the next FORUS meeting, she proposed pledging a night’s tips at Nuevo Grill, where she works as a server. FORUS member Lisa Wagner, a Ramona High School graduate, quickly came up with a slogan: Tips for Sips.

Tips for Sips will be at Nuevo Grill, 1413 Main St., on Tuesday, March 10, from 3 to 8:30 p.m.

“Request Perla as your server,” Martinez said. “I will be donating 100 percent of my tips toward water fountains for our kids.”

In addition, Sandy Narde, Nuevo Grill’s owner, will contribute, said Martinez. FORUS will have a table for donations, “so feel free to stop by to contribute or ask questions about the project,” Martinez said in her flier about the fundraiser.

FORUS is an independent group of citizens working to fill the gaps in deferred maintenance projects that impact the health and safety of Ramona Unified School District students and staff, said Martinez, adding that donations are tax-deductible.

In a PowerPoint presentation at a recent FORUS meeting, retired Ramona Elementary teacher Lynda Kubinak and parent Maria Zabriskie detailed the school’s needs. Water fountains were among issues presented.

“This is the main drinking fountain on the playground,” Kubinak said, showing photos. “It is frequently clogged, one is capped off, and the others either shoot far or simply dribble.”

New water fountains at Ramona Elementary and other schools needing them are among projects FORUS members are working on after meeting with school district Assistant Superintendent David Ostermann and Maintenance and Grounds Supervisor Ed Anderson.

Persons unable to participate in Tips for Sips on March 10 may donate to FORUS at 425-A 10th St., Ramona, CA 92065.

“Please note ‘water fountain’ if you would like your donation to be specific to this elementary school’s project,” said Martinez. “...Let’s do this together for our kids, for our community, and for Ramona.”

FORUS meets the first and third Wednesday of each month in Room A-3 at Olive Peirce Middle School from 6 to 7 p.m. The meetings are open to the public, and members of the nonprofit welcome health and safety project suggestions for the community’s public schools.

For more, see FORUS on Facebook.