The Forager School

As the county’s subsidized-care landscape shifts, many families who would have previously qualified for state-supported childcare have been waitlisted for funds. This year, we are committed to expanding our Forager Fund so that new and returning families can continue to access high-quality education, regardless of financial barriers. We are now halfway to our $60,000 fundraising goal for the 2025-26 academic year, and the weeks ahead are critical. Reaching this goal allows us to cover essential operating expenses and sustain high-quality, accessible education for children and families in our community. Every contribution moves us closer to our goal and helps ensure children can continue to learn, explore, and thrive at The Forager School in the year ahead.

Finding childcare was one of the hardest things we confronted when we moved up to the Mendocino Coast full-time. We (and especially Elias) are incredibly glad to have found the Forager School, a nonprofit preschool in downtown Gualala that opened last fall for children ages 2-5. With the Forager School's classroom now at full capacity (with a waiting list!), we are raising funds to expand the campus and programs to better serve the families in our coastal community. We are hosting a fundraiser for the school at the Sea Ranch Lodge on Thursday, October 17 (5-9 p.m.), and we're hoping a few members of our friends and family would be willing to join us in supporting the school. We're aiming to collectively hit the second sponsorship tier with our Karnick-Wells friends/family donation. Learn more about the school and the gala here: www.forager.school/fallgala. We hope you'll join us in supporting this amazing resource in a small but amazing community!