School district dinner serves the United Way

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The United Way of Southern
Chester County definitely appreciates the efforts of the Unionville-Chadds Ford
School District. For the third consecutive year, the district held a
fund-raising pasta dinner at the high school cafeteria to benefit the United
Way.

“For the United Way of Southern
Chester County, it means the community coming together,” said Mike Horak,
president of the organization’s board of directors. “I think it means raising
awareness. There are many people in the community who need our help and it
gives people a really good way to contribute.”

Last year’s event raised
$11,000, which Horak said was pretty good. All money raised from the district’s
event goes into a community fund.

“We fund about three dozen
programs through two dozen agencies. So we have a whole volunteer network
deciding where the money goes,” Horak said. “One hundred percent stays in
Southern Chester County.”

He said he’d like to see more
events such as what the school district holds.

As for the district, School
Superintendant John Sanville said the pasta dinner is more about community than
the amount of money raised.

“From a district perspective,
it’s not so much about money for the United Way, but the building of community.
We get folks from all seven of our townships with their children, retirees…It’s
really a great event to build community,” the superintendent said.

Building community is a theme
within the district, Sanville said. The United Way event goes along with the
Martin Luther King Day of Service, various road clean-ups and student
involvement with the Kennett and Longwood rotaries, Sanville said.

“Our students are involved and
really our entire staff is involved in different events.” Sanville called it a
“service above self” attitude.

He added that he and 20
fifth-graders from Unionville Elementary School made 2,480 meatballs for the
dinner.

Former Superintendent Sharon
Parker was on hand for the event that started during her tenure. She echoed
Sanville saying it’s all about community.

“I’ve seen it flourish in other communities and I thought
this is a wonderful way to bring families together, but also to generate funds
for community outreach,” said Parker.

In addition to the past dinner,
there was a silent auction, games and entertainment for the kids. During dinner
a roving group of violinists — the Caroling Strings — performed.

One other event the United Way
holds is a road rally from Kennett Square into Delaware and back in October.

The UWSCC gives out roughly
$900,000 each year that fund three basic programs, Horak said. There’s the
emergency/crisis program, such as helping battered women, stability programs
such as soup kitchens and programs that help people achieve a sustainable
lifestyle.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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