Winter Wonderland benefits schools
The Chatham Education Foundation (CEF) welcomed over 1,000 local residents to its second annual “Winter Wonderland” on Dec. 17 as families enjoyed a stroll past beautifully decorated homes along with food trucks, holiday movies, karaoke, festive crafts, and music provided by carolers and a select group of fifth grade band members from Lafayette Avenue School.
Over 80 families within the Manor section of Chatham Borough went above and beyond decorating their homes and sharing their streets with the community. Santa and Mrs. Claus, Frosty, Olaf, and Buddy the Elf greeted excited children as they toured the streets of Coleman Avenue, Burgess Avenue, Van Doren Avenue, Jackson, Kimball and Rowan. Chatham High School students helped to decorate, set-up, staff activity tables, and clean up the event.
Food trucks were a welcomed attraction at this year’s Winter Wonderland including Mexican Spice, Tokyo Sushi, Nathan’s, Light Bulb Coffee Shop, and Eddie Dee’s Global Eats. Event Chairwoman Bethany Gianusso worked with the Chatham Borough Police Department to ensure this evening family fun event remained safe for all. “Winter Wonderland is such an incredible night. Watching the children arrive and explore the neighborhood is heartwarming. The excitement of not knowing what is around the corner fills them with anticipation,” said Bethany Gianusso. “I’m proud of the CEF family and my neighborhood for coming together to host this ‘friendraiser.’”
Winter Wonderland raised $18,000 through ticket sales and sponsor donations to benefit the district’s six public schools. This event would not have been possible without event sponsors Blue Foundry Bank, Chatham Orthodontics by Barbara Fodero, Debbie Woerner Realty team, JP Peterman Orthodontics, and the Sue Adler Team. CEF also wishes to thank sponsor Sorriso Kitchen who helped kick off the Winter Wonderland festivities on December 8th with “Natale,” an evening of exquisite food and live guitar music, donating $15 to CEF for each ticket sold.
“The holidays were a catalyst for Chatham residents to support our local community, in particular our school district,” said Laura Bojanowski, CEF President. “Thanks to donors’ generous support, CEF has awarded grants that place Chatham on the leading edge of the classroom experience and could not have been funded by the school district’s budget alone. Funds raised at CEF’s Winter Wonderland as well as donations to our Annual Fund, will go a long way toward new grant awards for the rest of the 2022-2023 academic school year.”
Chatham Education Foundation has funded over $1.6 million in grants directly to the School District of the Chathams since its inception. In addition to annual grant funding of $100,000, CEF has established an endowment to provide a permanent source of funding for grants for generations of students. The CEF is a 501c(3) charity and all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. To learn more please visit the CEF website at www.chathamedfoundation.org and view the 2021-2022 Grant Spotlight.
