The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
The Franklin High School Dance Team took its fundraising for a national competition to Jersey Mike’s in Veronica Plaza on October 29.
The team has qualified for the Universal Dance Association National in Orlando, Fla., in January. Now team members are in ‘fundraise mode” to raise money to offset the cost of getting there.
The Jersey Mike’s event was accompanied by a Trunk or Treat, with a half-dozen dance parents setting up in the restaurant’s parking lot with their decorated autos.
According to Jersey Mike’s manager Cody Papa, the event was another example of the chain’s commitment to their communities.
“We’re trying to just build a community and show that we’re here to support everybody from within Jersey Mike’s, and just show that anybody is welcome to come in at any time and just be part of our family,” Papa said.
The event was co-sponsored by the Franklin High School Athletics Booster Club. The cub’s president, Monique Severino, also happens to be a “dance Mom.”
“I love that they {Jersey Mike’s) want to be a part of the community, because that’s what it’s all about, right?” she said. “They’re new here for the most part, right? And any new business that comes into our area I think should reach out and pour out to the community. And I think that the community in return should support as well. So that’s what we’re doing tonight.”
The evening was a dine to donate event, with a portion from Jersey Mike’s day sales donated to teh dance team in its effort to get to Florida.
Passers-by could also donate cash at the various trunks, and a GoFundMe has been created for the effort to raise $35,000.
The GoFundMe is “over $5,000 right now,” Severino said. “So it’s climbing, not as fast as we would like, but it’s climbing.”
“We leave to go to Nationals on January 30th,” she said. “So we would like to have the kids not to have to pay, or the parents not have to pay for the kids to go. It’s a bit of a stretch for some families, and we’d like to eliminate that.”
Severino said the team has planned a number of events to raise the money.
“This is our first time doing it with Jersey Mike’s, but it won’t be our last,” she said. “Because it’s October, because it’s so close to Halloween, we decided that a trunk or treat would be kind of fun to do, other than just a regular restaurant night. The kids just came out of practice, they seem to be having a good time, all this energy.”
Here are some scenes from the evening:
