Campus at Greenhill 2012 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration: Cost estimates for the 2012 show

I had the chance to catch up with Comptroller Bowes before the Town Council meeting this week and I was able to get a better idea of the town services costs for the show. I had estimated them a little shy so they were about $400.00 in total more expensive than I was figuring:

Police Department Overtime      $8,000.00
Fire Department Overtime          $2,000.00
Fire Marshall Overtime                $   900.00
BoE reimbursement                    $   400.00
Recreation (Port o Lets)              $1,000.00
Public Works Overtime               $    350.00

Total                                             $12,650.00

The fireworks show itself is coming in at a grand total of $15,000.00 so the full cost that the fund has to bear before any other expenses (mailings, advertising, etc.) is $27,650.00

We are still working hard at trying to get additional major sponsors but in the meantime we are out getting ever dollar we can collecting at the Wallingford Dunkin Donuts locations.

It looks as if this Saturday morning is going to be a wash out with the weather so we’re probably at the end of the container collecting for this week but you can always mail your donation to us:

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

We still have a ways to go to make our 2012 fundraising goal of $30,000.00 so we hope you consider pitching in to help save our grand celebration for the third year in a row.

Nonprofit wants input in fireworks planning

As published in the Record Journal, Tuesday March 27, 2012

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — The town councilors who started a nonprofit fund to save the town’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration want more input on discussions regarding a vendor for this year’s show.

Democrat Jason Zandri and Republican Craig Fishbein started the Wallingford Fireworks Fund in 2010, the year the town dropped funding for the celebration from its budget. The nonprofit has raised enough money to pay for the show in each of the last two years.

Zandri said that in the past he approached vendors and negotiated quotes, which he passed on to Parks and Recreation. But this year the town has been seeking quotes without Zandri’s assistance.

“There’s no precedent to say we can’t be at the table during the discussions,” he said.

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said that the purchasing process has to be overseen by the town.

“We have requirements to hire anyone,” he said. “The [Parks and Recreation] department takes responsibility for them.”

Dickinson said that he didn’t want anybody other than the town to have contact with vendors.

But Fishbein said other organizations have worked with the town to solicit vendors for events.

“Wallingford Center has input for Celebrate Wallingford,” he said. “We want to be part of the discussion.”

Fishbein said that he and Zandri weren’t looking to select the vendor “but we want to be in the loop.”

Zandri said there are benefits to having him or the fund negotiate with vendors. Last year he was able to achieve a $1,500 discount on the fireworks display by offering the vendor a chance to make a $1,500 tax-deductible donation.

For the April 10 council meeting, Zandri said he will request putting an item on the agenda to draft a “memorandum of understanding” between the town and the fundraising organization. In the future, other individuals may be involved in the process and not know the history, Zandri said.

“Things may change from year to year ... if we’re going to continue to do this thing I think some rules should be set,” he said. “I want something formal with the town.”

Among the things Zandri would like to discuss and formalize is the deadline to raise the funds, which typically has been the last Friday in May, a deadline he feels was “arbitrarily set” by Dickinson.

Zandri said Monday that $16,642.49 had been raised toward the July 7 show. The entire cost of the celebration, including town services, is estimated at $30,000. Last week, the fund received a $10,000 donation from the owners of the Campus at Greenhill, an office complex located on Leigus Road.

Information about the fireworks fundraising is available at http://wallingfordfireworks.blogspot.com.

File photo – Courtesy of the Record-Journal

Spectators watch as fireworks light up the sky over Sheehan High School in Wallingford on July 2, 2011.

Campus at Greenhill 2012 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration: We still need additional help with collecting donations.

My Father and I were out this past week collecting donations for the Campus at Greenhill 2012 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration. My Father was at Dunkin Donuts earlier in the week and I was working with him on Saturday (he was at the Landfill and I was at the Recycling Center).

We could still use some help; there are additional locations where we can stand and collect donations and we need more people to man them.

We are over half way to our goal in month one and that has NEVER happened in the two years prior that we have done this but we don’t want to rest on that fact; a spate of bad weather could cause us to miss our goals. With a major sponsor we cannot let that happen.

We could use more help during the weekday mornings if your work schedule allows; we like to try to fill the 6:30AM to 9:30AM shift at Dunkin Donuts on Wednesday, Thursday and / or Fridays but even if you can’t do the whole shift and hour or two is better than nothing.

Please let me know if you can help.

If you have other time to spare or want to help out in some other way please let me know as well.

We also could use some help with people soliciting businesses for sponsorships for the 2012 event and for advertising in the 2012 Program Guide so if “sales” is more your speed we could use your help there too.

As always, reminding your friends and neighbors about the fact that the Wallingford 4th of July Fireworks is fully funded by donations is always helpful too – especially all the folks in Yalesville whose 4th of July picnics are punctuated by the event.

Remind them to send in their donations:

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

We still have a ways to go to make our 2012 fundraising goal of $30,000.00 so we hope you consider pitching in to help save our grand celebration for the third year in a row.

Campus at Greenhill 2012 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration collection totals for the week ending Saturday March 24, 2012; we now stand at $16,642.49

My Father and I were out this past week collecting donations for the Campus at Greenhill 2012 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration at the Wallingford Landfill and the Wallingford Recycling center (on Saturday). My Dad was able to get a couple days in earlier in the week at Dunkin Donuts

I have all the money counted from the weekend and a few checks that were mailed in all set for the deposit this morning.

With the $10,000.00 donation made by Gale Development through the Campus at Greenhill, our total for the 2012 celebration will stand at $16,642.49

If you want to send us your donation you can do so by sending it to:
Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

We still have a ways to go to make our 2012 fundraising goal of $30,000.00 so we hope you consider pitching in to help save our grand celebration for the third year in a row.

Campus at Greenhill 2012 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration collections for Saturday March 24, 2012

My Father and I will be out this morning collecting donations for the Campus at Greenhill 2012 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration.

Beginning at 8AM we will be at the Wallingford Landfill and the Wallingford Recycling center.

Please stop by and donate to support the event

If you want to send us your donation you can do so by sending it to:

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

Wallingford Fireworks Fund: still collecting donations.

We are happy that we have gotten the formal sponsorship for the 2012 event but there is more to do to make the “Campus at Greenhill 2012 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration” a reality.

We will be collecting this weekend (my father and I) and we could use some help. If you’re not available this weekend but are around next week please let me know – we have locations, we need the bodies to stand and collect.

We try to get people for Thursday and Friday morning rush hour (6:30AM to 9:30AM) at the Dunkin Donuts franchises here in town that so graciously allow us to stand and collect for the show. If you can stand for just some of the period that is better than nothing – just contact me and let me know.

If you want to donate you can do so by sending your tax deductible donation to:

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

Fireworks fund gets a $10,000 donation

As published in the Record Journal Thursday March 22, 2012

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — The Wallingford Fireworks Fund has received its largest donation ever, a $10,000 sponsorship from the owners of the Campus at Greenhill.

The fund was established in 2009 after the town cut funding for the annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration. For the past two years, private donations have paid for the celebration.

Town Councilor Jason Zandri, who started the fund with fellow Councilor Craig Fishbein, said earlier this year he wasn’t optimistic about reaching the $30,000 goal by the May deadline. That has changed.

“I see a lot more probability that we’re going to make the deadline,” he said Wednesday. Representatives of Gale Development Services, which owns Campus at Greenhill, an office complex at Route 68 and Leigus Road, said they wanted to do something to reach out and engage with the town, Zandri said. He expected the partnership to continue.

“You cannot have sustainability and growth of the event without a solid partner and I believe that is what Campus at Greenhill brings to the effort,” Zandri said.

Fishbein praised Gale. “Every year, it is quite thrilling to see the thousands of people coming together on our nation’s birthday, gathering as a community, to view the spectacular fireworks display,” he said.

Joe Peters of Gale Development said that the company was interested in doing something to thank the town for “their ongoing help and support that has allowed for Campus at Greenhill to recover from the challenges it faced.”

Workstage Connecticut LLC, the developer of the property owned by Gale, was accepted into a seven-year tax-abatement program last year. The company receives an annual break of 20 percent on its tax bill, or $55,467.

Last year, the $24,150 for the show was raised with little time to spare. Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said the check was delivered to the town at 2:30 p.m. on May 27, 2011. His deadline was 5 p.m.

A $2,500 donation from New Life Church helped the charity reach its goal in 2011. Similarly, a $5,000 gift from Choate Rosemary Hall in 2010 pushed the fund past its $30,000 goal. This year’s show will be named for the Campus at Greenhill to recognize its donation.

Information about the fireworks fundraising is available at http://wallingfordfireworks.blogspot.com

Wallingford Fireworks Fund: Get ready for a huge announcement

We’ll be releasing a press release later today; keep an eye out for it.

It’s going to be huge!

Wallingford Fireworks 2012 campaign: Week three collections net another $1,194.68; the 2012 campaign total stands at $4,567.07

Good morning everyone.

This week is going to be an exciting week for the Wallingford Fireworks Fund and all her supporters. Please keep an eye out on the blog this week for additional announcements.

Until then, totals are in from our week three collections are in and we collected an additional $1,194.68.

Our full 2012 campaign is to collect $30,000.00 before the Mayor’s deadline of 5PM on Friday May 25th 2012.

Our current totals for the event stand at $4,567.07 (oh for the want of an additional eighty two cents to make that a sequential total; had I known that was going to be the remaining balance ahead of time I would have thrown it in).

I am still waiting on Mr. Bowes, Wallingford’s Comptroller, to let me know what the costs to the town services are as that is the first of the totals we need to take care of before we can even consider paying for the fireworks themselves.
In 2011 those costs were:

Police Dept. Overtime $7,750.00
Fire Dept. Overtime $1,900.00
Port-o-lets $990.00
Fire Marshall $850.00
Public Works $330.00
Board of Ed $330.00

Town Services 2011 total $12,150.00

I am sure that amount is probably 2 to 5 percent higher this year so I am planning for about $13,000.00

So that is where we are right now.

Today is Tuesday the 20th and my father is supposed to be out at the Yalesville Dunkin Donuts on Main Street (Route 150) to collect for us. Stop by and see him.

I am working all this week in New York City (I am on the train as I write this) so I am unavailable to help until the weekend. Over the weekend we are again planning to be at the Wallingford Landfill and the Wallingford Recycling Center.

We are always looking for additional volunteers to stand out and collect donations.

We have slots available at the Dunkin Donuts here in town on most mornings. While we like to cover a full morning rush hour shift from 6:30AM to 9:30AM if all you have is an hour to spare and want to help we’ll take it.

We’ve also sent out the letters to all the donors from the past two years and we have gotten a few checks to date (they are already deposited and in our running total).

If you’re a newcomer and want to donate you can by sending your tax deductible donation to:

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

 

PLEASE – stay tuned this week for a major announcement here on the blog and I would expect in the Record Journal as well.

Wallingford Fireworks 2012 campaign: $1,171.00 collected. On to week three

Hi gang!

The totals are in from last week’s collections. After a rainy washout of week one, week two has delivered us $1,171.00.

Our full 2012 campaign is to collect $30,000.00

I am still waiting on Mr. Bowes, Wallingford’s Comptroller, to let me know what the costs to the town services are as that is the first of the totals we need to take care of before we can even consider paying for the fireworks themselves.

In 2011 those costs were:

Police Dept. Overtime    $7,750.00
Fire Dept. Overtime $1,900.00
Port-o-lets $990.00
Fire Marshall $850.00
Public Works $330.00
Board of Ed $330.00

Town Services 2011 total $12,150.00

I am sure that amount is probably 2 to 5 percent higher this year so I am planning for about $13,000.00

So that is where we are right now.

Tomorrow, Tuesday the 13th, my father is supposed to be out at the South Colony Dunkin Donuts to collect (weather permitting).

We’ve also sent out the letters to all the donors from the past two years; I am hoping the donation checks will start rolling in as well.

If you’re a newcomer and want to donate you can by sending your tax deductible donation to:

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

Wallingford Fireworks Fund: Collections for next week, the week of March 12th

I promise to get everyone an update over the weekend with how we made out with the fireworks collecting this weekend.

I just got back in from the Recycling Center; it was a slow morning as the compost / brush area is not yet open (I’ll try to get the dates for that as a number of people asked me about it).

I saw the Mayor there this morning – he waved as he drove by.

On Tuesday the 13th my father is going to collect at Dunkin Donuts (most likely on South Colony Road).

I have work this week so I am unable to do any collecting this week but I will be planning to be at the Recycling Center next Saturday.

We could use some volunteers for the following shifts; if you can only work part of a shift that is fine too – better someone for part of the time than no one for the whole period:

Thursday 3/15 from 6:30 to 9:30AM (or any part there of) at Dunkin Donuts.
Friday 3/16 from 6:30 to 9:30AM (or any part there of) at Dunkin Donuts.
We could take some Dunkin Donuts slots on Saturday if we can get the help.

If you have the time and the interest in helping us reach our goal before the 25th of May (the deadline the Mayor has set to have the funds in to the town) please contact me directly to let me know:

860 641 6069 or Jason@Zandri.net (email is best).

Thanks

Wallingford Collections at Dunkin Donuts, Landfill and the Recycling Center for Saturday March 10

Hey gang, I am headed out the door right now to stand for about an hour and a half at Dunkin on North Colony.

From there (after 8AM) I will be at the Recycling Center to about noon

My father will be at the landfill from 8AM to about noon.

I hope you can come by and make a donation to give us a good push to the weekend collections.

If not you can also send in any donations that you might like to make.

Please make checks out to: “Wallingford Fireworks Fund” and send to:

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

Week Two Collections at Dunkin Donuts are off and running

My father (Geno Zandri) and I have been collecting the past couple of days at the Dunkin Donuts in town; yesterday and today he was at the one on South Colony Road and I was at Yalesville yesterday and at North Colony today. (What a difference a day makes in temperature!)

Tomorrow – Saturday the 10th Geno will be at the landfill from 8 to about noon and I will be at the Recycling Center. If you want to make a donation please come by and see us.

You can also send in any donations that you might like to make.

Please make checks out to: “Wallingford Fireworks Fund” and send to:

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

Ultimate fundraising goal of $30,000.00 means $10,000.00 needed for the end of March

With an ultimate fundraising goal of $30,000.00 for the 2012 celebration and 12 weeks to go we need to fund raise, on average, $2,500.00 each week.

Our end of March target, based on this, is $10,000.00

Let’s see how well we do as we begin our fundraising at Dunkin Donuts this week (looks like there will be no foul weather washout this week like we had last week). We are planning to stand out Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings at the Dunkin locations in Wallingford.

At this point it is just my father and myself signed up for this (I’ve taken a couple days off from work to do this). We need some more help with collections as well as other fundraising events. If you’d like to help please get in touch with me and let me know.

Additionally, if you would like to make out a check and send it to us here is all you need to do:

Make an outright donation by sending in a check to

Wallingford Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

Stay tuned to the blog – there’s much more to come and we will be keeping you up to date right here.

Bad weather hampers fireworks collection efforts in Wallingford

Well gang – it wasn’t the kind of weekend I was hoping for.

With the cold and the rain over Thursday, Friday and Saturday no collections were done for the fireworks at the Wallingford Dunkin Donuts.

We’re going to try again this week. I believe my father is going to be at North Colony on Tuesday and South Colony on Thursday. I have Thursday and Friday off from work this week so I am going to try Main Street in Yalesville both mornings and the Recycling Center on Saturday (again – weather permitting).

We did receive one check in the mail, a $100.00 donation from my mother (thanks Mom) but other than that we made little progress on fundraising other than making some plans for upcoming events for April and May.

The monies need for this year are estimated at $30,000.00 – I am still waiting on quotes from some of the remaining fireworks vendors. The ones I have seen are coming in around $14,000.00 to $16,000.00. (Wallingford Parks and Recreation has been getting quotes sent directly to them so there may be more I am unaware of).

Those costs coupled with the town services – overtime for the police, fire, public works, etc which are expected to come in around $14,000.00 means we need to raise $30,000.00 to have the show this year.

There are 12 weeks left – we need to average $2,500.00 a week to make that happen. It’s uphill the whole way.

I spoke with the Mayor already – there will be no help from the town at all.

So for the third year in a row it is up to the townspeople, their generosity, and the same of local businesses whether this decades old tradition stays on or not.

Time will tell. We’re in it until the Mayor’s deadline of Friday May 25, 2012 to get the monies in.