Wallingford Town Council Meeting and agenda item regarding the 2015 Independence Day Celebration

The portion of the Council meeting that is applicable to the Wallingford Fireworks Fund begins at 19:20 if you don’t want to sit through the entire meeting.

Here are the nuts and bolts – at this point there is no hard and fast decision rendered by the town.

We will fundraise this year with the intention to have the Town of Wallingford host the show on the school grounds, where they have been for decades, through a donation from the fund, as it has been done since 2010.

The Fund is not planning to raise more than the actual cost of the fireworks themselves for 2015. Traditionally this has been about $12,000.00 and we are estimating $15,000.00 this year. We would expect the Town of Wallingford to front the costs of the city services.

If the Town of Wallingford chooses at budget time to not fund enough overtime into the budgets of Police, Fire, Public Works, and the Board of Education janitorial staff then the show will not take place as a function of a donation by the fund to the Town.

At that time, we will look for other possible locations in Wallingford to privately host the show ourselves.

We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it – after the budget has been voted on and then signed (or vetoed) by Mayor Dickinson.

As an aside and as part of the discussion, in order to host the event, be it by a donation to the Town of Wallingford proper or by the Fund doing it on its own, the event will likely NOT be held on July 4th. The more likely date at this time is one week later on July 11th.

Please take the time to watch the video and take in all of the discussion – it answers a lot of questions but in the event you still have more please feel free to reach out to me directly at Jason@Zandri.net

Upcoming “shake the pail” efforts for the Wallingford Fireworks 2014 event

Hey gang - good morning.

Here is the run down the next few weeks of where we have locations for collecting donations.

The message here is really two fold – we want to let you know where we will be in the hopes that if you’re interested in supporting the effort you can swing by and make a donation. At the same time, we can use some more volunteers if folks have that interest as well; we have more work than people right now so if donating your time is something you’d like to do as well please let me know.

The May 30th deadline set by Mayor Dickinson is just six weeks away and we still need to collect an additional $22,000.00 to lock in the event for 2014.

Here is the upcoming schedule:

Saturday 4/26 planned 8 to 1 at the Landfill and the recycling center (both locations).

Friday 5/2 planned for Stop and Shop around 3:30PM to 7:30PM

Saturday 5/3 planned 8 to 1 at the Landfill, the recycling center and the Yalesville Dunkin Donuts (all three locations)

Friday 5/9 planned for Stop and Shop around 3:30PM to 7:30PM

Saturday 5/10 planned 8 to 1 (possibly to 2 if the traffic volume supports it) at the Landfill and the recycling center (two locations)

 

Thanks again for your support in both monetary donations and the donation of time and effort – both are needed equally to make this a success.

If you’d like to make a donation, you can mail your tax deductible donation (we are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization - tax id# is 27-2576599) to:

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

We also accept donations online via Paypal

 

Fireworks fundraising collections this Saturday morning April 19th

We are ready to start our collections this morning and we have a hair over $4,000.00 collected all together; that is about 15% of what we need. Normally by this point we are at about $9,000.00; the March collections were seriously impacted due to the long winter. We are hoping the thaw and the mail campaign starts to make up for that.

We also have a dinner fundraiser planned and we’ll be posting details for that this week. 

In the meantime, we had an original collection goal for 2014 of $35,000.00 we have reduced that to the bare minimum of $30,000.00 which puts the performance of the R Band at the show at risk (that is the first thing we have cut in the past to save the overall show as it is a larger item and the show can continue without it as needed). Even by reducing that total cost (for the band and the sound system of $3,190.00) we would still need to collect a bare minimum of $24,250.00. Of that $11,925.00 are the fireworks themselves; $12,325.00 are mainly the town services for police and fire overtime as well as some costs for the the fire marshal and the board of education custodial overtime.

The deadline for these donations, which ever one we meet, is due to the town of Wallingford by May 30th for the show scheduled for July 5th, 2014.

If we cannot collect what is needed to pay for the entire event there will likely be no show this year. At this point in time, just as it has been since 2010, the Town itself is not affording any funding to this event. The job to save the celebration is ours “we the people” to make or break unless something changes.

We will be at the Wallingford Landfill and the Recycling Center until about noon today or perhaps a little later if you can swing by and drop your donation into the bucket.

Alternately – you can mail your tax deductable donation (we are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization - tax id# is 27-2576599) to:

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

We also accept donations online via Paypal  

 

As a reminder of all the costs we have to bear:

Pyrotechnics (fireworks)  $11,925.00

R- Band                       $2,090.00
Sound                          $1,100.00
Public Works               $  400.00
Port-o-Lets                   $  200.00
The above costs are $15,715.00 and the fireworks are $11,925.00 for a total of $27640.00

I am still waiting on the costs for the Fire Marshall, the Board of Ed person for Sheehan and the overtime for the Fire Department and the Police Department as the Fund is responsible for those costs as well.

In 2013 those costs were:

Board of Ed                                   $  425.00
Fire Marshal                                  $  950.00
Fire Department Overtime            $2,100.00
Police Department Overtime        $8,250.00

 

This is our task for 2014. It is up to Wallingford businesses and residents again, as it has been since 2010, to save the show.

We hope you can help out in any way you can; every dollar helps

Shake the pail collections on Saturday morning April 12th

March as well as the first week of April have come and gone.

Our collection balance is just $3,230.00 presently; that is about 11% of what we need. We had an original collection goal for 2014 of $35,000.00 we have reduced that to the bare minimum of $30,000.00 which puts the performance of the R Band at the show at risk (that is the first thing we have cut in the past to save the overall show as it is a larger item and the show can continue without it as needed.

The deadline for the donation to the town of Wallingford is May 30th for the show scheduled for July 5th, 2014

If we cannot collect what is needed to pay for the entire event there will be no show this year; at this point in time, just as it has been since 2010, the Town itself is not affording any funding to this event. The job to save the celebration is ours “we the people” to make or break.

We will be at the Wallingford Landfill and the Recycling Center until about noon today if you can swing by and drop your donation into the bucket.

Alternately – you can mail your tax deductable donation (we are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization - tax id# is 27-2576599) to:

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

We also accept donations online via Paypal

 

As a reminder of all the costs we have to bear:

Wallingford is going to be able to extend the bid that we had on the show we’ve been getting over the prior two years at $11,925.00

The other costs that they have available for us are as follows:
R- Band                       $2,090.00
Sound                          $1,100.00
Public Works               $  400.00
Port-o-Lets                   $  200.00

The above costs are $15,715.00

I am still waiting on the costs for the Fire Marshall, the Board of Ed person for Sheehan and the overtime for the Fire Department and the Police Department as the Fund is responsible for those costs as well.

In 2013 those costs were:

Board of Ed                                   $  425.00
Fire Marshall                                  $  950.00
Fire Department Overtime            $2,100.00
Police Department Overtime        $8,250.00

So we are looking at least at an additional $11,725.00 on top of the known $15,715.00

This is our task for 2014. It is up to Wallingford businesses and residents again, as it has been since 2010, to save the show.

We hope you can help out in any way you can; every dollar helps.

Fundraising meeting to be held; open call for volunteers

We have some of the information on “exact” costs of the services from the Wallingford Parks and Recreation Department.

Wallingford is going to be able to extend the bid that we had on the show we’ve been getting over the prior two years at $11,925.00

The other costs that they have available for us are as follows:

R- Band                       $2,090.00
Sound                          $1,100.00
Public Works               $  400.00
Port-o-Lets                   $  200.00

The above costs are $15,715.00

I am still waiting on the costs for the Fire Marshall, the Board of Ed person for Sheehan and the overtime for the Fire Department and the Police Department as the Fund is responsible for those costs as well.

In 2013 those costs were:

Board of Ed                                   $  425.00
Fire Marshall                                  $  950.00
Fire Department Overtime            $2,100.00
Police Department Overtime        $8,250.00

So we are looking at least at an additional $11,725.00 on top of the known $15,715.00

The long winter has hampered our early donation collection efforts - in prior years we would have been already out the past two weekends and this one as well. We are hoping to get started next weekend so with that we are going to hold our fundraising meeting and we are making an open call to those that want to volunteer their time to help out.

We will be meeting on Tuesday March 18th at Gaetano’s Tavern on Main at 7:30PM to discuss fundraising efforts and possible event between now and the end of May when The Fund needs to make the donation to the town.

Please consider joining the effort even if you have only a few hours to spare overall – we can use all the help we can get. 

Campus at Greenhill 2014 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration - Wallingford Fireworks Fund

With the first weekend of March here, as we have in each of the past four (save year one), we are kicking off our fundraising campaign.

This year we are presented with many headwind challenges starting with the weather.

In years past we would have tried to collections started this week (and in the past have) but with eight inches of snow on the ground and more forecasted we are hampered to even begin and it looks as if next weekend will be equally impaired.

Now it might sound like there’s plenty of time but there really isn’t. Although the fireworks are not normally scheduled until the Saturday after the 4th (which this year will be July 5th) the money is due to the Town of Wallingford per Mayor Dickinson’s directive by the last Friday in May which is the 30th.

That leaves us just 12 weeks to collect donations.

Last year was very successful – with Campus at Greenhilll as the Naming Convention Sponsor for the second year in a row (2012 and 2013) we were able to keep pulling donations right to the very last week and were able to restore the R Band performance which we never had been able to do prior. We are hopeful for the same success this year as well from both the perspective of keeping Campus at Greenhilll as the Naming Convention Sponsor as well as locking in the performance by the R Band.

Our efforts and your donations from 2013 covered every expense of the show – from the fireworks themselves to the Police and Fire department overtime as the Town of Wallingford shares none of the expenses of the show and hasn’t since the 2010 cancellation. We are expecting more of the same for this year as well. (I will be confirming with a call to the Mayor’s office on Monday March 3rd).

As such the costs are estimated as follows (from 2013 and expected to increase for 2014 as all costs do):

Fireworks Show 2014		$11,925.00
Police Overtime		$8,250.00
Fire Department / Overtime		$2,100.00
Port-o-lets		$200.00
Fire Marshall		$950.00
Public Works		$425.00
Board of Ed		$425.00
R Band and Sound		$3,400.00
2014 Total Show expense		$27,675.00

Now the variables.

The contract with the prior fireworks vendor has expired and the cost for the fireworks has to go out to bid. The Town of Wallingford does this – the Fireworks Fund has no part in that process.

The 2010 show was our most expensive at $16,500.00 (with the total cost of the show that year of $28,312.00 and the performance by the R Band was cut because we barely made the amount needed).

So as of right now we have no hard, fast cost on the fireworks themselves.

I have a letter in the mail to Comptroller Jim Bowes to hammer out the costs of all the Wallingford services overtime so at least with will become a known quantity.

The other major impact this year is the loss of a major work contributor on behalf of the effort in my father Geno Zandri Jr. He has been a solid supporter of the effort in years past dedicating hundreds of hours to the pail shaking collection efforts but like so many other people today – he has to curtail his time in a major way with so many other things he has going on.

His loss will be significantly felt.

Steve Murray, Wayne Montefusco and I have sat down to discuss what to do and we have split up the work and we are off.

As much as we need people’s donations we need people’s time as well to help us with the collection efforts this year.

In a week or two we will have a formal fundraising committee meeting and we are hoping new workers will step up to help.

The three of us have talked and have decided we’ll commit the time, some personal money, and effort to the cause.

The rest is up to Wallingford as it always has been to save the show once again.

Let’s roll.

Time to return a favor Wallingford – let’s support Stephanie Clock on her efforts in the Susan G. Komen Marathon for the Cure

Hi Wallingford Fireworks supporters. I am writing to you this morning on behalf of an event, a spot in the Chicago Marathon, that Stephanie Clock is participating in.

Most of you do not know who Stephanie Clock is but if you are a fan of the Wallingford Fireworks you should.

She has been an integral part of the people at Gale Development and Campus at Greenhill that have supported our Wallingford Fireworks show over the past two years and granting the fund $30,000.00 in donations in 2012 and 2013.

With her current efforts to run the race she is fundraising and I would like Wallingford to consider helping out her cause.

Her goal as listed on her page is $1,500.00, presently she is sitting at $585.00 and Race day is October 13th.

Here is my ask Wallingford, let’s make donations online and get her over that mark. Let’s support her effort like she supports ours and in the same manner - $10.00 or whatever at a time.

Send me your receipt that you donated (forward me via email the acknowledgement of your donation – Jason@Zandri.net) and I will match all the donations up to $500.00 personally.

So what say you Wallingford? Let’s “pay” the goodwill and the kindness back and all for a good cause.

Thank you for the consideration.

Campus at Greenhill 2013 Wallingford Fireworks Independence Day Celebration; gathering on the west side of town at Sheehan High School after 6PM, Saturday July 6.

I probably will not have a whole bunch of posts or updates today as we did last year when the weather looked a little iffy there for a while.

According to the latest updates there’s barely a threat of any rain.

The show starts around 9:20PM or so but I recommend getting there around 8PM for a good parking spot as well as a good place on Sheehan’s Front Lawn if you’re looking to take in the sounds of the R Band which should start playing a little after 8PM.

We will make a few quick announcements from the Wallingford ShowMobile and then go around the grounds passing out the 2013 program books as well as collecting donations for the 2014 show.

See you there.

20 days remain, $18,000.00 on the collection drive to go / Collections this weekend washed out by the rain

Good morning Wallingford.

I wanted to update everyone as to our current status of the cancelled Wallingford Fireworks and Independence Day Celebration and let people know that the push is still on to restore this event for 2013.

There are just 20 days left as of today (May 11th) and we still need to raise an additional $18,000.00 to reach the 2013 fundraising campaign goal of $30,000.00. This is per the Mayor’s timeline for when the funds are due – the last Friday of the month of May which this year is the 31st.

This collection effort is for the entire cost of the event – the fireworks themselves and all the municipal services overtime for the police, fire and Public Works departments; none of the costs are being carried by the Town of Wallingford, we either fundraise all of them or the event does not go on.

While we are behind in the effort to date, we are still pressing forward. We are Wallingford and we will get this done.

I am still working on securing the pledge from Campus at Greenhill and Gale Development; if they come in as pledged which is at the same levels as last year it’ll put us a lot closer to the finish line. In the meantime we keep driving this “as is” and we will be back out collecting.

We had planned to be out this morning at the Recycling Center and the landfill but the rain stopped that.

Your individual donations have always been critical but never more than this year; the long winter hampered our March fundraising efforts. We did play a little catch up in April and are now at just about $12,000.00 even. Given just that and averaging forward over the remaining 20 days, we will fall short by about $14,000.00 unless the mail in donations make-up the difference.

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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can also donate below via PAYPAL if you choose. See the link at the bottom of the page.

We have advertising rates for our 2013 program guide available as well as formal sponsorship of the 2013 event at varying levels; if you or anyone you know can and wish to support us at those levels please drop me an email at Jason@Zandri.net and I will forward you the information.

The 2013 Sponsor Book will be handed out at ALL fundraising events (the first printing is set to go at the end of next week on May 17th), this includes the annual dinner fundraiser and any other events we'll be having until the July 4th fireworks show. (If there are still copies remaining for Celebrate Wallingford 2013 we'll hand them out there as well).

As of today we have set the date for the Dinner Fundraiser at the Stillwood Inn for Thursday May 23, 2013 with a SPECIAL MUSICAL PERFORMANCE from MIKEY WAX (scheduled to appear).  

If you have any capacity and / or desire to continue to help us with the efforts in keeping this grand Wallingford family tradition alive please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Spreading the word to friends and neighbors that might support the efforts is always welcome as well.

Thank you again for your past support and our ongoing efforts.

Jason Zandri

President – Wallingford Fireworks Fund

http://www.wallingfordfireworks.org/

Mikey Wax - American pianist, guitarist and singer-songwriter; Scheduled to perform at the FAMILY DINNER FUNDRAISER - THURSDAY MAY 23, 2013.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikey_Wax 

Get your tickets NOW for this exciting event. When this performer becomes an international superstar you’ll get to say “I saw him with 400 of my friends and neighbors at the sold out event at the Stillwood Inn to benefit the Wallingford Fireworks Fund.”

Here are the stats for his Constant Motion 2011 album release:
#47 Billboard Heatseekers
#2 Billboard Heatseekers Mid-Atlantic
#6 iTunes Singer/Songwriter US

Don’t take my word for it - check out his website and download a FREE SONG and hear the next superstar for yourself.

We are excited to have him scheduled to perform at our little benefit to save Wallingford’s Fireworks for the 4th year in a row.

For more details on the Dinner Fundraiser please see our prior post.

Donate now! Save Wallingford’s Fireworks and the Independence Day celebration!

No fireworks in Wallingford budget — again

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday February 28, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD - Citing another difficult budget year and financial uncertainty, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. has opted not to include funding for the town’s annual July fireworks display in his proposed budget.

The town stopped including the fireworks show in the general government budget in 2009.

“The reason is because we have had very difficult budgets,” said Dickinson. With expenses increasing, he said he’d find it hard to explain “why we aren’t cutting things that are non-essential.”

“I have a hard time seeing fireworks as an essential,” he said.

Town Councilor Jason Zandri and a small group of supporters have kept the show alive since 2009 by raising funds on their own. While the general government budget has not been released,Dickinson informed Zandri during a phone call on Monday that the fireworks display would not be funded, Zandri said.

The show dates back to before the 1970s, Zandri said, and has become a tradition in town.

“Tradition gets lost over time,” Zandri said. “As soon as you stop a tradition, you lose it forever.”

Zandri, a Democrat, is challenging the longtime Republican mayor in this November’s election.

While Dickinson argues that budget issues are to blame for the lack of funding, Zandri says there is money available. He said the town is running a $1.7 million surplus and can afford the $26,656 needed for the fireworks.

Dickinson said that expenses need to be reduced and there are too many unknowns going into the spring, when the town’s budget will be put together. “I can’t be sure what’s going to happen this year,” he said. The town has reduced staff, so there is no justification in funding a non-essential event, Dickinson said.

Zandri said the mayor has also chosen not to fund municipal services for the event, which would include police, fire and public works overtime. The cost would be approximately $13,000, Zandri said.

Taking just 1 percent interest from the town’s $1.7 million surplus would generate $17,000, Zandri said, enough to fund municipal services for the event and more.

“The bottom line is the mayor simply doesn’t want this,” Zandri said.

Zandri has set a minimum fundraising goal of $30,000. The deadline to get that private funding to the town is May 31, he said, to allow time for scheduling and booking.

If funding is secured in time, the fireworks show will be held on July 6. Zandri said there is no rain date.

“You can’t justify a reason for not having this event,” Zandri said.

Wallingford Firework Fund committee meeting scheduled for Thursday January 10, 2013

It’s 2013 and we are kicking off our efforts to raise funds for the 2013 Wallingford Independence Day celebration.

This meeting will be Thursday January 10, 2013 at 7:30PM at Gaetano's Tavern on Main in Wallingford.

This will be the 4th year without town funding for the event (expected) and we are holding this meeting to set our schedule for soliciting donations as well as planning a main fundraiser.

The outline for the meeting is as follows:

-- Bring people up to date as to where we are going into 2013
-- Introduction to new Vice President of the Fund – Steve Murray
-- Set a financial collection target
-- Set a collection completion date
-- Discuss a meeting / conversation with the Mayor regarding any possible funding for town services (police, fire, etc.)
-- Discuss options regarding choosing a site for the show / working through the town of independently
-- Other items as brought up

We are always looking for new workers / ideas for fundraising so if you have the time and inclination to volunteer we would welcome you to come and sit with us.

Again, this meeting will be Thursday January 10, 2013 at 7:30PM at Gaetano's Tavern on Main in Wallingford.

Feel free to come and introduce yourself, have a little bite to eat and let us know how you can help us reach out 2013 goals.

REMINDER WALLYPALOOZA FESTIVAL – THIS SUNDAY AUGUST 12th, at the PNA Park in Wallingford CT

Hey Gang just a quick reminder that the Wallingford Fireworks Fund is going to set up a booth to collections for the 2013 event at THE ORIGINAL WALLYPALOOZA FESTIVAL SUNDAY AUGUST 12th, at the PNA Park in Wallingford CT

Here are all the details from their Facebook event page

Hope to see you there

 

FOUNDED WITH THE TOWN OF WALLINGFORD IN 1997, THIS YEARS DAY OF OUTDOOR FUN IS SUNDAY AUGUST 12th, at the PNA Park in Wallingford Ct.

LOVE MUSIC AND GOOD TIMES WITH FRIENDS AND FRIENDS??TIRED OF THE BAR SCENE??? A $10 donation will get you a great day outdoors full of of music, OVER 10 GREAT BANDS (stay tuned for confirmed list and times) and 4 ACOUSTIC ACTS! Fun, activities, vendors and food available for purchase at our food court.

This year the proceeds will benefit a very special new 501c3 non-profit organization founded here in Wallingford, Concerts With Causes, Inc.. Their mission is to use music to present events to raise money & awareness for local charities. They have raised money for Paul Newan's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for Kids and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This season, the charity they are raising money for is the "Friends of Fisher House" you can learn all about CWC and their charities at: www.ConcertsWithCauses.Org

Come enjoy a full day of spectacular music and family fun. Play horseshoes and volleyball, bring frisbees, kites, and more... the more people that show up the more we can help charities that are working hard to improve our health, and make our local community become a better place to live. Bring your blankets, chairs, sunscreen and ENJOY!!! Gates open at 10:30AM!! .. SEE YA THERE! SUNDAY Aug. 12th RAIN OR SHINE ;-)

Newly added fun to Wallypalooza this year!!

A head shaving tent....sponsored by Bellisima Salon in Wallingford.
Wccc's Mattly Crue will be shaving his head and presenting "BALDING FOR BALLS"......with a minimum donation of $20, the beautiful Bellisima Girls will be shaving heads to raise money for a close friend of Matt's who just was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer....... There will be a prize for the the largest donation.
Advance Tickets will be available for sale July 20th at Cherry Street Station and Bellisima Salon in Wallingford.

WALLYPALOOZA FESTIVAL - SUNDAY AUGUST 12th, at the PNA Park in Wallingford CT

Hey Gang – the Wallingford Fireworks Fund is going to set up a booth to collections for the 2013 event at THE ORIGINAL WALLYPALOOZA FESTIVAL SUNDAY AUGUST 12th, at the PNA Park in Wallingford CT

Here are all the details from their Facebook event page:

FOUNDED WITH THE TOWN OF WALLINGFORD IN 1997, THIS YEARS DAY OF OUTDOOR FUN IS SUNDAY AUGUST 12th, at the PNA Park in Wallingford Ct.

LOVE MUSIC AND GOOD TIMES WITH FRIENDS AND FRIENDS??TIRED OF THE BAR SCENE??? A $10 donation will get you a great day outdoors full of of music, OVER 10 GREAT BANDS (stay tuned for confirmed list and times) and 4 ACOUSTIC ACTS! Fun, activities, vendors and food available for purchase at our food court.

This year the proceeds will benefit a very special new 501c3 non-profit organization founded here in Wallingford, Concerts With Causes, Inc.. Their mission is to use music to present events to raise money & awareness for local charities. They have raised money for Paul Newan's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for Kids and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This season, the charity they are raising money for is the "Friends of Fisher House" you can learn all about CWC and their charities at: www.ConcertsWithCauses.Org

Come enjoy a full day of spectacular music and family fun. Play horseshoes and volleyball, bring frisbees, kites, and more... the more people that show up the more we can help charities that are working hard to improve our health, and make our local community become a better place to live. Bring your blankets, chairs, sunscreen and ENJOY!!! Gates open at 10:30AM!! .. SEE YA THERE! SUNDAY Aug. 12th RAIN OR SHINE ;-)

Newly added fun to Wallypalooza this year!!

A head shaving tent....sponsored by Bellisima Salon in Wallingford.
Wccc's Mattly Crue will be shaving his head and presenting "BALDING FOR BALLS"......with a minimum donation of $20, the beautiful Bellisima Girls will be shaving heads to raise money for a close friend of Matt's who just was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer....... There will be a prize for the the largest donation.
Advance Tickets will be available for sale July 20th at Cherry Street Station and Bellisima Salon in Wallingford.

Highland Elementary School K-Kids club raises $414.60 donation for the Campus at Greenhill Wallingford Fireworks Fund

As they did in 2011, the Highland Elementary School K-Kids club, made up of Kindergarteners, first and second graders, held a popsicle fundraiser before the end of the school year and made a donation to the Wallingford Fireworks Fund.

With this $414.60 donation that will be applied to the 2013 Fund collection efforts, the total amount raised by the Highland Elementary School K-Kids club over the past two years is $944.80.

School Principal Victoria Reed indicated in a letter to the Fund that this would be an annual fundraiser for the club from their desire to help out with something civic and having to do with local community service.

The Kiwanis Club sponsored K-Kids is a service organization for elementary students worldwide for grades 1 through 5.

Highland is a K-2 school and has a group of about 60 first and second graders that meet once a month under the supervision of Principal Victoria Reed and several of the school’s teachers.

My personal thanks for their consideration and my sentiment of their efforts continues from my thoughts last year when they honored us with their donation.

In the day and age of “kids today are spoiled” commentary on the whole (without considering the individual) we see an entire group of students learning the true meaning of teamwork, responsibility and civic minded efforts that give back to the community as a whole.

What a wonderful example they set for their peers and at such an early age; one could only hope that it flourishes and grows rather than fades away over time. I hope they inspire their friends in other Wallingford schools to lead, as well.

Not follow – lead. We have plenty of followers; we need more leaders.

Duty and responsibility are a part of life and that is something these kids are already learning.

Perhaps a little of this might rub off on some the adults in the community that have gotten hard skinned over the years about engaging as part of the community. One could always hope. I would be satisfied enough if this next generation simply goes on setting its example without being tainted by the prior one.

So to the classes of 2022, 2023 and 2024: I tip my hat to you – you’re off to a great start. Show us all up and become the citizens we all should be; continue to make us proud. Someday, when you’re grown up and are asked “how did you ever become so civic minded and such a diverse leader?” you can respond, “I grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut, where I learned from great examples and had some of the best teachers in the world.”

Success at the FAMILY DINNER FUNDRAISER - $2,209.00 raised

I want to again thank everyone that supported the Campus at Greenhill / Wallingford Fireworks Fund Family Dinner Fundraiser that was held last night at Zandri's Stillwood Inn

Because of your support we raised an additional $2,209.00.

As you may be aware, we hit our goal of $30,000.00 earlier in the week, due in large part to the donations made by The Gale Group and Campus at Greenhill and that the check for the fireworks show and all the associated costs to the town (Police, Fire, Public Works overtime, etc) have been paid.

These funds collected last night will go to set the foundation for the 2013 celebration.

The next event we are going to be holding to raise funds to kick-start the 2013 effort will be the Disc Golf Tournament and Family Outing which will be held at Lufbury Park, on Cheshire Road here in Wallingford on Sunday June 10, 2012.

I will follow up with all those details in a future post (for those of you that do not have Facebook which is where that link above goes).

In the meantime - thank you Wallingford for helping me to save our Independence Day Celebration; I could not do it without you!

LAST WEEK FOR THE EFFORT: Ron's Shear Creations Fireworks Fundraiser

This is the last week for the ongoing fundraiser at Ron's Shear Creations.

Ron's Shear Creations is hosting a Fundraiser for the Wallingford Fireworks Fund at their shop at 624 South Colony Road in Wallingford.

Beginning on May 14th and continuing through May 29th they are supporting the Wallingford Fireworks Fund by donating $2 for every hair cut.

Whether you’re an existing customer, looking for a new place to try out or just in the need of a haircut please consider stopping by.

One week from the Dinner Fundraiser and we stand at $29.444.10 collected

The Family Dinner Fundraiser is on Thursday May 24th and we are about $555.00 away from our $30,000.00 2012 fundraising campaign goal.

You can make the difference right now and help to take us over the top.

You can make your donations payable to the Wallingford Fireworks Fund and mail them in 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.

REMINDER: Ron's Shear Creations Fireworks Fundraiser

Just a quick reminder - Ron's Shear Creations is hosting a Fundraiser for the Wallingford Fireworks Fund at their shop at 624 South Colony Road in Wallingford.

Beginning on May 14th and continuing through May 29th they are supporting the Wallingford Fireworks Fund by donating $2 for every hair cut.

Whether you’re an existing customer, looking for a new place to try out or just in the need of a haircut please consider stopping by.

Less than 10 days to go and we stand at $28.807.10 collected

The Family Dinner Fundraiser is on Thursday May 24th and we are about $1,190.00 away from our $30,000.00 2012 fundraising campaign goal.

You can make the difference right now and help to take us over the top.

You can make your donations payable to the Wallingford Fireworks Fund and mail them in 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.