The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The fundraising drive for MacAfee Road School’s new playground received a huge boost Sept. 17 in the form of a $15,000 donation from Investors Bank.
The ceremonial check was presented to school principal Bill Grippo by three representatives from Investors – vice president and Somerset branch manager Michael Harris, senior vice president and regional manager Jacqueline Pena and senior loan officer Greg Ginn – during the school’s annual Back To School Night.
Parents and students assembled in the school’s gym greeted the check presentation with a standing ovation.
The money will be put toward a new, age-appropriate, playground for Pre-K and Kindergarten students, Grippo said.
Grippo told those in attendance that the school’s Parent Teacher Organization and several teachers held a variety of fundraisers last year and raised about $15,000 for the new playground.
But, he said, that left a hole of $15,000 he had to fill.
“I promised them a new playground,” he said. “Kindergartners came up to me and asked where the playground was.”
A conversation with Ginn – whose child attends MacAfee and who is a board member of the PTO – led to a lunch meeting with Harris, Grippo said. It was at that meeting that Harris told Grippo he wanted to make a “substantial contribution” through the bank.
“This is just a small token of what we do in communities,” Pena said after the check presentation. “This is just the start of our partnership with you.”
Earlier in the evening, a reception was held in the school library, attended by the bank representatives, school and district administrators, teachers and PTO members.
At the reception, schools Superintendent John Ravally told the Investors’ representatives that “we really do appreciate you stepping up and helping the kids.”
“This shows how when everything lines up, our power is unlimited,” Ravally said. “Thanks for the donation and believing in these people.”
Board of Education president Ed Potosnak said that the “idea of having a safer playground that’s now age-appropriate is outstanding.”
Harris said he was “grateful to work for a bank that gives us the resources to invest in things we think are important.”
“I’m privileged and honored to be able to work out a plan to be able to do things like this,” he said. “We look forward to what the future holds.”
Ginn told the group in the reception that he is “happy to be part of the school,” adding that they “can count on us going forward.”
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