The newly formed Port Aransas Education Foundation will hold a kickoff reception tomorrow, on Friday, Oct. 13, at Compass Restaurant at Island Moorings Marina.

The event, to be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., will be free and open to the public.

A group of Port Aransans recently established the non-profit education foundation to benefit the Port Aransas Independent School District. Goals include raising money that is not available through traditional local, state or federal sources to provide in a variety of ways for PAISD.

Money raised by the foundation could buy new items, such as computers, or pay for teacher training not already included in the district's budget. The foundation is seeking individual and corporate donations and grants.

PAISD each year must give away most of its revenue from local property taxes due to state Robin Hood laws that require property-rich school districts to share revenue with poorer ones.

Port Aransas Education Foundation goals also include encouraging community and family participation in local schools.

The reception Friday is designed to be a way of introducing and explaining the foundation to the community, said Janice Roberts, president of the foundation.

"Our goal is to provide as much awareness as possible so our community members can serve as ambassadors for this great project," Roberts said. "We're going to be providing information at the kickoff that hopefully will answer a lot of questions so (community members) will know how we will proceed and go forward."

School district employees are encouraged to attend the reception. The foundation "ultimately is going to help them in addition to our students," Roberts said.

The reception will include live music, free appetizers, silent and Chinese auctions and a cash bar.

"We're going to have lots of neat auction items donated by businesses in Port Aransas," said Michelle Sowers, a member of the foundation's board of directors. "The generosity of the businesses is really overwhelming."

Items and services to be auctioned include a biplane ride touring the Port Aransas area; tickets to a Hooks game next season; stays at local hotels; dinners at local restaurants; fishing trips on charter boats; kayak rentals and more.