Thursday, October 28, 2010

West athletes pitch in to harvest for the Food Bank

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan needed a little help.

This year produced a bumper crop of squash, and there were thousands of them sitting in the fields of the Wiegand Farm in Almont with no one to harvest them.

Athletes at Lapeer West answered the challenge, and 143 Lapeer West athletes spent a good part of the day Tuesday collecting the remaining vegetables for donation to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.

The gleaning is part of the high school’s participation in the Channel 12 Spirit Squad which will be at the school Friday for a live broadcast at 5 a.m.

"They're gathering. They're collecting. There's a spirit and excitement about it," West Athletic Director Mary Haslinger told a reporter from WJRT-TV Channel 12.

"You get to be with all your friends and help the poor," added senior Beau Allen.
"I put out a call to all of my athletes, and 143 of them are here today," Haslinger said.

The 35-acre field was owned by George Wiegand, who died this spring. His daughter Cheryl Wiegand Stanek told the television reporter he would approve of the donation. "I just believe this is a gift from my dad from heaven to feed the poor. He always cared for the poor. He gave so much to the poor."

"Every week we're feeding close to 50,000 to 60,000 people. Right now in the fall, with the harvest, you can make squash soup. There are any number of ways the clients are going to use it. It's nice to have fresh produce," said Tracy Fowler-Johnson from the Food Bank.

"We're going to feed a lot of people who couldn't get food anywhere else," senior Jalen Houston told ABC12's Randy Conat.


To view the TV report of the Lapeer West gleaners, go to:
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=7745806

Preschool workshop

Have fun and learn along with your preschooler at "ABCs, Activities, Books and Cookies!"

This fun, interactive workshop is presented by the Family Literacy Center at no cost to you! The workshop focuses on pre-reading and reading activities for preschool children 3-6 years old and a parent or caregiver.

Participate in learning activities that will help develop reading skills. Enjoy a snack and take home a free book as well as valuable resources from the Family Literacy Center! Siblings are welcome!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010
10:00 am - 10:45 am
Metamora Library
4081 Oak Street
Metamora, MI 48455

To register, call the Family Literacy Center at 810-664-2737, or email ican@readlapeer.org. Give your name, phone number and the Workshop you wish to register for.

Visit Family Literacy Center on the web at: www.readlapeer.org. Family Literacy Center and the Lapeer District Library are Partners for Literacy in Lapeer County.

Creative Seaton kids raise money for United Way


Seaton Elementary students put their creativity to work last week to raise money for United Way. Their efforts raised $75 to support United Way programs in Lapeer County.


The contest highlight was the judging on Oct. 22 for the Most Creative, Funniest, Scariest and Best Animal in each grade, Kindergarten through 5th grade.

There were smiles aplenty, and two dozen pumpkins emerged as the best in the crop.

The Pumpkin contest winners included:


Most Creative
Kindergarten-Alexis Collick, 1st Grade-Hunter Moore, 2nd Grade-Avery Suffel, 3rd Grade-Melina VanDever, 4th Grade-Morgan Pierce, 5th Grade- Renee Fromwiller.
Funniest
Kindergarten- Frank Barber, 1st Grade- Katie Underhill, 2nd Grade- Immanuel Martin, 3rd Grade- Ellie Greene, 4th Grade- Brent Walker, 5th Grade- Adrianna Demsky.
Spookiest
Kindergarten- Makenzie King, 1st Grade- Justin Pollum, 2nd Grade- Gabby Collick, 3rd Grade- Hannah McQueen, 4th Grade- Sebastian Daniels, 5th Grade- Lauren McCaffrey.
Best Animal
Kindergarten- Bryan Rouse, 1st Grade- Carson VanDever, 2nd Grade- Hailee Rix, 3rd Grade- Devyn Kabelman, 4th Grade- Robert Martin, 5th Grade- Jordyn Paul.

Photo caption:
Students gathered in front of Seaton Elementary on Oct. 22 to show off the two dozen winning pumpkins.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

East girls raise funds in cancer fight

For the third year in a row the Lapeer East Volleyball team hosted its “Volley For A Cure” in a home match against Linden on October 19th.


Donned in “Volley For A Cure” T-shirts, the girls won all three of their games with Linden, 25-10, 25-12 and 25-20, and clinched third place in the Metro League.

The fundraiser collected nearly $1,000 to help two families that had daughters play on the Lapeer East volleyball team who have suffered a loss to cancer in the last year.

Jessica Knapp’s mother, Kathy, lost her battle to breast cancer this past June. Evie, Kari, and Lisa Dinsmore’s dad, Steve, lost his battle to stomach cancer this past August.

The team honored both families and the memory of each of their parents at the game.


The girls raised the bulk of their funds through the sale of Volley for a Cure T-shirts. Sponsors of the fundraiser included Dr. Aaron Fisher, DDS, Dr. Albert Smith Jr. and family, Dr. John Yap, Lapeer Medical Associates, Mott Community College, Ray C’s and Speedy Screen Printing.

It’s Lotza Pasta time!

Murphy Elementary School is hosting its 4th Annual Lotza Pasta dinner on Friday, November 5th, from 4:30-7:30 pm at Murphy Elementary School in Metamora. This all-you-can-eat pasta dinner will be catered by Italia Gardens in Davison.

The funds raised at this event enable the PTC to pay for assemblies, busing for field trips, student scholarships, classroom allowances, science and art fair awards, magazines, supplies and equipment for our students throughout the school year.

The menu includes all-you-can-eat mostaccioli (with buttered, meat or marinara sauce), salad, bread, beverage and dessert.

Advance tickets are available until November 3rd, $7 for adults, $5 for kids, and children 3 and under eat free. Tickets at the door will be $9 for adults and $7 for kids. There will be a drive-through carry-out again this year.

The Murphy PTC hosts its dinners to eliminate the need for door-to-door sales for fundraising. “We love having the community get together at our school for a fun night out.”

Along with an amazing dinner, the evening includes a raffle, silent auction table and a 50/50 drawing. Many local businesses have been very generous and donated some great items! Raffle and 50/50 tickets will be available at the dinner.

For more information, please visit Murphy’s website at www.lapeerschools.org/murphy and click on “School Events” or call Debbie Bridges at 810-441-3023 or Alysia Easton at 810-797-2046.