The spirit of the holiday season is one of giving and once again the Central Families have demonstrated the definition of a “strong community”. A big thank you to all the Central families that donated to the KidsCare collection. The Central School CAKE (Courteous And Kind to Everyone) project also made a large donation to the fund which will help the committee assist our families in need.

Enjoy the long winter break!

While you’re doing your holiday baking, please save Box Tops, Campbell’s UPCs and Tyson labels. We collected almost $400 in Box Tops for the PTO in the first trimester! We will be able to order more equipment for the gym in the second trimester through the Campbell’s fundraiser! For more information on how these programs benefit our school, visit boxtops4education.com and labelsforeducation.com.

Thank you.

Central School’s KidsCare program was organized to help promote the importance and impact of charity. This year, KidsCare has the opportunity to have more of an impact than ever before, but we need your help. While the number of Riverside families in need has risen this year, donations have dropped. We need your assistance so we can help our Riverside community.

If you can find it in your heart this holiday season to make a donation, of any size, please put it in an envelope marked KidsCare and put it into your child’s backpack OR drop it off at the Central School office, attention KidsCare by Wednesday December 17th. If you have any questions about how this money will be used, please contact Cheryl Dowling (see student directory for phone number.)

Thank you very much for your generosity.

A BIG THANK YOU!

To everyone that donated their time, sold tickets, purchased raffle ticket(s), donated a raffle prize(s), or called to offer your time to help the Cleveland Family. All of these combined efforts resulted in a very successful event which I certainly could not have done without the help of so many others.

From the elderly lady that called to offer her furniture to the Cleveland family to Thom’s roofing in Riverside that offered to send a crew over to finish off the roof, many thanks! There are so many stories I could tell but I think the message is clear. We have caring people all around us that came together to help out a family in need.

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” —Ghandi

Ticket Sales

To the following friends, teachers, neighbors, organizations, that donated their time to help sell tickets for this event: Peg Aldape, Lisa Buffo, Gina Demitro, Kathy Dudek, Fran Guerrieri, Bonnie Powell, Christina Menchaca, Nancy Guelfi, Nancy Hawes, Rose Grezscowiak, Mary Lescher, Dawn Arnold, Susan Sciotte, Yvonne & Vince (Station Rest.), Joy Brabec, Annette Paulumbo, and The Hearth Group (Karen Bry, Michael Healy, John Coughlin, and John Richards).

Special thanks to the children of Ascension Church of Riverside for coordinating a bake sale and selling tickets after their masses. They raised over $500.00 dollars to help the Cleveland Family.

Getting the Word Out

Thank you to all the schools in District 96 that allowed the use of FEEDBLITZ to help promote this event. (Hauser, Hollywood, Blythe, Ames, and Central School). Also, Riverside Brookfield High School, St. Mary’s of Riverside, St. Barbra of Brookfield, Ascension Church of Riverside, Presbyterian Church of Riverside, United Church of Christ – Forest Park, Hollywood Community Newsletter, Coffee House Newsletter and the Suburban Life. Thank you all for promoting this event without your help we could not have been successful!

The Event

The event started at 2:00 p.m. and by 3:00 pm. a constant flow of people were in and out of “The Station” Restaurant. Some stayed to socialize and enjoy the additional raffles and great appetizers. Others stopped in to say hello and wish Laura and her family well.

The Station of Brookfield had a charming atmosphere along with great food, drinks and excellent service! We certainly do appreciate their generosity and hope you will consider them when planning a party, a lunch or dinner.

Raffle Winners

The Grand Prize Winner — Meindl Family of Riverside won $2,500.00 and donated this back to the Cleveland Family. Other winners included Barbra Roppo of LaGrange who won $250.00, Kevin Duffy of Brookfield a $50 winner, Burt Bullnow of Brookfield, $50.00 winner and the Spirios Family of Brookfield. All of these families donated back their winnings to support the Cleveland Family!

I believe almost everyone in attendance walked away with a gift or two from the great selection of gift certificates that were donated by all the local businesses in the area. (Such as, Brookfield, Riverside, Berwyn, LaGrange and LaGrange Park.)

To those of you who put together individual gifts, such as, (2) Tickets for a Blackhawk’s game, an Avon Basket, and a Hand Crafted Keepsake Box. Everything was extremely appreciated.

Over $8,000.00 was raised!

Laura Cleveland and her family are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our community and neighboring communities. She is very grateful and wishes to thank everyone for their support during this difficult time.

Wishing all of you a Very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

MaryBeth Demitro
Event Organizer
Cleveland Family Event

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.  I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.”  —George Bernard Shaw

As in past years, the Riverside Branch is offering Aunt Diana’s 10 oz. pans of plain and nut fudge for sale as a fundraiser.

Profits support AAUW philanthropies: Two grants for college-bound RBHS senior girls, a Returning-to-Learning grant for a woman going back to school for an undergraduate degree; two PRIDE sponsorships for 8th grade Hauser girls; and Woman History Month 4th grade poster and 7th grade essay contests.

If you are interested in purchasing fudge, please contact Robin Benoy via email at benoyr@centralptonews.org (or see directory for telephone number.) Orders are due Friday, November 21, 2008 with a delivery in early December.

Reminder: orders are in!! Please pickup your order/artwork in Central’s multi-purpose room from 2:30 - 3:30pm on Friday November 7th. Thank you.

Orders are in!! Please pickup your order/artwork in Central’s multi-purpose room from 2:30 - 3:30pm on Friday November 7th. Thank you.

Central School’s 5th Grade Community is organizing a fundraiser for Riverside Flood Relief. Their goal is to donate the money they collect to students and their families affected by the recent flood.

Between Thursday, 10/23 and Wednesday 10/29, please have your children bring any spare change to school to be collected daily by the 5th grade students and held in the school office. On 10/31, the 5th grade class will announce how much money is collected.

Let’s support our 5th grade community in their efforts !!

Brief summary on the Clevelands:

Thom and Laura Cleveland are longtime Riverside residents who have continually contributed to our community through their leadership roles. Thom lost his battle with cancer and passed away peacefully on September 3rd. Thom was self-employed and left behind his wife Laura (housewife) and four children who attend school in Riverside. Any contribution you can make to this fundraiser would be greatly appreciated during this difficult time for the Cleveland Family. If you are unable to attend, please consider purchasing a raffle ticket. There are several contacts to call to purchase a ticket, which are shown on the attached flyer.

Sincerely,
MaryBeth Demitro
demitrom@centralptonews.org
Owner/Agent
Farmers Insurance
Cleveland Family Sponsor

Orders are due no later than Friday, October 17th for holiday delivery. Please turn your order in to the Central School office, PTO mailbox.Thank you!