Each year, Side by Side hosts an annual fundraiser, including a silent auction, to help fund their signature program, Great Start.  Great Start is a series of 16 yearly workshops for parents and guardians of pre-K thru Grade 2 students that aim to teach families how to help their child improve their reading, writing, math, science, behavior and social skills.  As each evening's workshop begins, there is a free dinner for the whole family and children are cared for in a room nearby when the parents are learning from Prince George's County schoolteachers and staff.  This is the key fundraising event for Side by Side each year.