Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane’s 2019 Luncheon Benefit

PJALS is delighted to host Mandy Manning as the Keynote Speaker for our 2019 Benefit Luncheon!

When:      Wednesday, May 8

                  11:30 AM-1:00 PM

Where:     Spokane Valley Event Center (University and Sprague)

                  10514 E Sprague Ave

                  Spokane Valley WA

Cost:         No cost to attend, with an opportunity to donate to PJALS

We have a very limited number of tables left. If you are interested in hosting a table of 8, contact Shar Lichty at [email protected] or 509-838-7870 to check on availability.

Mandy Manning is the 2018 Washington State Teacher of the Year, and the National Teacher of the Year.  She lives in Spokane with her husband and 3 children. As an English language learning educator, she is the first teacher for refugee and immigrant students at Joel E. Ferris High School in the Newcomer Center.  Manning’s teaching career has included the Peace Corps in Armenia, teaching in schools in Japan and across the U.S.  In 2008, she moved to Spokane, Washington, to work at the Lewis and Clark High School before transferring to Joel E. Ferris High School in 2011, where she has worked ever since.  She has previously been awarded the National Education Association Foundation’s California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence in 2017 and the Kim Plemons Leadership Award from the Spokane Education Association in 2015. She is a National Board Certified Teacher, and an NEA Global Fellow.

Manning has used the opportunity of being the National Teacher of the Year to promote justice for all children, particularly for immigrants and refugees. The first opportunity came on May 2, 2018, when President Donald Trump presented Manning with her award.  Manning presented the President with signed letters from 33 of her immigrant and refugee students, along with the message that immigrant and refugee students are focused and dedicated and also committed to being productive members of our community. Manning has been traveling all over the country as part of her Teacher of the Year duties. In October, she was at an event not far from Tornillo, Texas, where thousands of detained children were kept at a camp in a patch of desert. She felt like she had to do something about it, but was struggling to find what. This February, Manning organized other teachers from around the country to conduct a Teach-In at the Mexico border, designed to raise awareness of the plight of immigrant children being detained at the border, and to call for concrete action to protect the children. 

To sponsor this event, download the 2019 Sponsorship Packet here.