Pre-Bowl Bash Raises $19,000 for District 113A Educational Foundation

As suburbs across Chicagoland continued to grapple with the blizzard aftermath over the weekend, more than 250 Lemont residents cured a bad case of cabin fever with the Pre-Bowl Bash hosted by the Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District Educational Foundation.

The fundraiser, which was held at , featured a night of dining and dancing, silent auctions and raffles — all to benefit the students and teachers of . By the end of the night, the event raised nearly $19,000 for academic grants and programs.

"We're extremely happy with the turnout and with everyone's generosity," said Jason Schiffman, public relations chair for the foundation. "They way the community came together really made a statement that people want to support our schools."

Among the items auctioned off Saturday were sports memorabilia, golf packages, a large screen television and weekend getaways. The event also featured a bean bag tournament in which the winners would receive half the proceeds from entrance fees. However, the winning team decided to donate their prize money back to the foundation, Schiffman said.

"To be a fairly new organization and to raise $19,000 in our third fundraising effort is truly unbelievable," he said. "We're blown away and so grateful that all of this money will go directly back to the classroom."

Providing entertainment for the fundraiser was rock and roll cover band The Neverly Brothers, who had guests dancing and singing along to everything from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones. River Valley Principal Debra Lynch also entertained the crowd with a "commercial" of district students, teachers and volunteers set to the song "We Go Together" from Grease.

Michele Metzler, a founding member of the District 113A Educational Foundation, said the Pre-Bowl Bash was a welcomed distraction from the drama and financial struggles facing the district.

"I think there's been a lot of bad feelings and uncertainty recently, but it just seemed like everyone checked that at the door," Metzler said. "It was fun and it was a true celebration of the good things going on in the district, which I think gets overlooked."

The District 113A Educational Foundation was founded in May 2010 after the district cut more than $3.17 million in staff and programs. Its purpose is to provide financial resources beyond the operating budget, which students and teachers may use toward educational enrichment.

The Educational Foundation held its first major fundraiser, on Nov. 3 at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club. The event, which was attended by more than 300 women, featured a night of shopping and dining, and raised more than $4,000.

On Jan. 14, the Educational Foundation hosted a , which was attended by hundreds of students, parents and District 113A staff members. According to foundation member Cindy Kelly, the group raised about $1,500 to put toward academic programming. The group's fundraising total even surpassed the Lemont McDonald's record, Schiffman added.

The foundation's first grant was awarded late last year to a new reading program for first graders at . About $840 was spent on MP3 players for students to improve reading comprehension.

According to Schiffman, the foundation will now begin to consider more grant proposals from District 113A teachers. Money is typically awarded for "creative ideas" that serve the academic interests of the "biggest number of students," he said.

"We have a lot of momentum right now, so we're not going to slow down," Schiffman said. "We're going to read through the proposals and go back to the drawing board for more fundraising ideas."

Metzler said the most rewarding part of the fundraising process, aside from giving back to the kids, has been watching the community come together to achieve something positive.

"Going into this, we wanted it to be a successful event both on the fundraising front and the community front," she said. "Keeping both of those points in mind, this was absolutely a success.

"We are completely humbled and honored to be part of an event where so many people came out and showed their generosity. It goes to show that the Lemont community can come together and do what's right."