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Rockin’ for a Cause
Jeff Scheel (MBA 1990) would be the last person to downplay the fun of being guitarist and frontman for the Wildcats, a Palo Alto, California-based classic rock “dad band.” But the Symantec senior vice president and father of four is very serious about his band’s support for Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE), a foundation that provides nearly three-quarters of the flexible funding available to the city’s cash-strapped schools.
Scheel’s wife, Susan, was an early leader of PiE, which raises supplemental funds for programs such as art, music, tutoring, and counseling that would otherwise become casualties of California’s statewide budget cuts. “It introduced a new model of raising funds district-wide instead of school-by-school,” Scheel explains. “Because of that, PiE appeals not just to individual donors, but also to institutions and businesses that have a stake in quality education and want to invest in the district overall.”
Since the Wildcats’ first appearance on PiE’s behalf—a two-hour fundraiser where they cycled through their nine-song repertoire multiple times—the band has contributed more than $300,000 to the foundation. “The whole reason we came together was to raise money for the schools,” says Scheel. “Most of us either have or had kids in Palo Alto schools, so that’s a huge motivator.”
Over the years, the band has expanded both its set list and client base. “We still play fundraisers that target specific school programs,” he notes, “but we also play parties and weddings, where we can make anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000 a night for the schools.”
“One time we even played for shares of Google stock,” Scheel recounts. “That was a pretty good gig.”
(Published September 2015)
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