WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND - Charity saves the day

Fireworks show must go on in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal, Saturday, May 28, 2011

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

WALLINGFORD — For the second year in a row, private donations will fund Wallingford’s Fourth of July weekend fireworks display after the town dropped the celebration from its budget.

Jason Zandri, who successfully led the fundraising charge last year, came up with the $24,150 needed only hours before Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s Friday afternoon deadline.

Zandri said the group was about $6,000 short of its goal at the beginning of the week, but made the final push thanks in part to a $2,500 donation from the New Life Church in Meriden (http://www.InNewLife.com).

“It’s very gratifying to know that we made the deadline,” said Republican Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, who helped Zandri on the fundraising effort.

Fishbein said he had some doubts about a month ago that the money could be raised in time, but Zandri was confident the money would come.

“I wasn’t able to help as much as I did last year,” Fishbein said. “For Jason, this is a labor of love. His confidence and work ethic should be heralded.”

As of 11 p.m. Thursday, Zandri had posted on his blog that the group still needed $1,288.

Zandri took off from work Friday and started collecting money at the Dunkin’ Donuts on North Colony Road at 7 a.m. while his father collected at the Dunkin’ Donuts on South Colony Road. Jason Zandri said that he was able to raise nearly $200 Friday morning before he collected the $2,500 check from the Rev. Will Marotti. Zandri said additional donations were collected at the Stop & Shop in town.

Dickinson said it was good that Zandri raised the money in time and applauded the successful effort. Dickinson said the town would begin to appropriate the money and plan for the show. He said the check was delivered to Town Hall about 2:30 p.m. Friday.

While Zandri has made the deadline each of the last two years, it hasn’t been easy. In 2010, Choate’s $5,000 donation pushed the fund past its $30,000 goal. This year, the money wasn’t raised until the eleventh hour. Even though fundraising efforts started earlier this year — and the group earned 501(c)(3) status, making its donations tax deductible — Zandri said it wasn’t until the last few weeks that the checks started rolling in.

Zandri said he hopes to get more volunteers next year, and that the current group of himself, his father and Fishbein “isn’t sustainable.” He said he hopes to form a committee next year to help better coordinate the effort.

Fishbein said that the group’s three fundraisers — a dinner, a concert and a movie matinee — didn’t draw many people from the community. Fishbein attributed the success to a number of small donations and “grassroots fundraising and going door to door.”

Fishbein said he doesn’t foresee the town providing taxpayer dollars for the event in the near future, and that residents should get used to chipping in for the fireworks.

“I’ve said all along, this event is for the people, by the people,” Fishbein said. “If the residents of the town want this event, then they should volunteer.”

The fireworks are scheduled for July 2 at 9 p.m.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – New Life Church makes their $2,500.00 donation; collections continue as we are $600.00 short our goal

Craig and I stopped by New Life Church this morning at 10:30 to meet with Will Marotti Senior/Founding Pastor who was happy to hear that we had crossed the matching grant level.

When we arrived he already had the check ready for us saying “we knew folks would come forward to help get you over the grant threshold where we were able to donate.”

With that grant given and the money from this morning in we are sitting at about $600.00 short of our goal to get the check cut and over to the Mayor for the 5PM deadline.

The mail has yet to arrive with possible donations and I am going to see about standing at Stop and Shop to collect so we still have time to get the funds to the town.

Fireworks Show		$12,000.00
Police Overtime		$7,750.00
Fire Department / Overtime		$1,900.00
Port-o-lets		$990.00
Fire Marshall		$850.00
Public Works		$330.00
Board of Education		$330.00
Total		$24,150.00

$600.00 in six hours? Piece of cake Wallingford, we know we can do this.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – 18 hours left, $1,288.00 left to collect

I am writing this blog post after 11PM on Thursday night; it’s scheduled to automatically post on Wallingford Politico and it’ll appear on From the Mind of Jason Zandri at 7AM on Friday.

We need to collect just $1,288.00 more and the show will be on. This assumes the matching grant from New Life Church in Meriden (http://www.InNewLife.com) comes in (their current total is $2,360.00 against our recently collected total of the same amount). I am supposed to meet with Founding Pastor Will Marotti at 10:30 tomorrow morning to pick up their matching grant check.

My father will be at Dunkin Donuts on South Colony Road collecting donations after 7AM and I will be at the Dunkin Donuts on North Colony Road at the same time.

We have until the close of business at Town Hall on Friday to get the $24,150.00 to the Mayor.

Please consider stopping by and making a donation and helping us get over that finish line.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND – Where we stand with 35 hours to go

Hi Gang – I am sure you read the news in the Record Journal as well as my blog post from the other day; we are about $5,000.00 shy of our goal and New Life Church in Meriden (http://www.InNewLife.com) has pledged to grant up to $2,500.00 to the funds as matching funds to the fireworks effort.

What this means is all the donations that are coming in over the next two days will be matched by them, dollar for dollar, up to $2,500.00.

Yesterday’s donations from Wednesday the 25th also applied and here’s where we are:

Donations received on Wednesday May 25th - $1,273.00
Donation to be made as part of the grant - $1,273.00

Total due to the Town of Wallingford for the show – $24,150.00

Total cash on hand in the Fireworks Fund – $19,415.00

When you add together the cash on hand in the fund and the donations to be made from the New Life Church matching grant our new total is $20,688.00; we are now just $3,462.00 short of our goal with 35 hours to go.

My father will be collecting at Dunkin Donuts in Yalesville today from about 7AM to about 9:30AM or so – if you’re in the area please consider swinging by and making a donation; New Life Church will match all of these donations and double the impact.

On Friday I am taking a day off from work to collect as well; I am going to be at the Dunkin Donuts on North Colony in the morning to about 10AM and I will call Stop and Shop as well to see if we can stand out there in the mid afternoon.

If you’re considering mailing a donation please do it this morning – it has to reach me by tomorrow to be considered part of the match.

Checks can be mailed to The Wallingford Fireworks Fund, c/o 35 Lincoln Drive EXT, Wallingford CT 06492.

You can also make a donation via PayPal to the fund via our website - http://www.wallingfordfireworks.org/

We can do this Wallingford – effectively we are talking about $60.00 an hour or so over the next 35 hours when you add in the effects of the matching grant.

Let’s roll.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND - Church helps fund fireworks show with days to spare

As published in the Record Journal, Thursday May 26, 2011

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

WALLINGFORD — With help from the New Life Church and the Rev. Will Marotti, fundraising efforts for town’s Independence Day weekend fireworks display may reach the amount needed.

Jason Zandri, who has coordinated the event since the town dropped financing for it last year, said the New Life Church agreed Tuesday to match up to $2,500 in donations Zandri receives before Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s Friday afternoon deadline.

“They reached out to me and said they wanted to do something,” Zandri said.

“We’ve been in Meriden for 11 years and we’re always looking for ways to add value back to the community,” Marotti said. “We’ve been having weekly services in Wallingford for a year, and we thought this was a good way we could do something to bless the community.”

Wednesday afternoon, Zandri said the group was still about $5,000 short of the $24,150 needed, including $7,750 of overtime pay for police officers to work the event, which draws around 10,000 visitors.

Zandri said he asked Dickinson for an extension to Tuesday, but the mayor wouldn’t budge. Dickinson said last week the town needed to know by Friday to allow time for securing state permits and scheduling employees from the Police Department, Public Works and the Fire Department.

Despite the looming deadline, Zandri is optimistic that the money will be raised in time. Last year, Choate Rosemary Hall donated $5,000 to fund the show.

“I’m pretty optimistic, we’re pushing hard to get this,” Zandri said. “I know checks are coming, I’ve had some people call and say they were sending more money in. It’s going to be a photo finish, but we’ll clear the line.”