The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Wednesday March 7, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER B5 Dream-a-thon achieves $50,000 goal * By Ross Gordon SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER What a day. On Saturday, the Oakville Field Hockey Club held its sec ond annual Dream-a-thon. The central event of the day was a day-long field hockey match, where players brought in pledges to benefit Air Canada's Dreams Take Flight charity. Volunteers gave their heart and soul to ensure that events unfolded smoothly. The Dream-a-thon committee gave their time, ener gy, spirit and love. But most importantly, the community came in and made the Dream-athon a resounding success. The Club's goal this year was to raise $50,000 to send chroni cally and terminally ill, and underprivileged children to Disneyworld in Florida for a day of fun, laughter and love. This ambitious goal was reached by late Saturday night, organizers say, and will surpass that by the time the Club presents the cheque to Dreams Take Flight in April. Making the event even more special, according to committee chair Vinnie DiRollo, was the way the community rallied for the cause, to make it so success ful: "While the committee's tire less and unselfish efforts, and the eagerness of countless volunteers were necessary to bring an event like this off, it is really the heart warming support of the commu nity that moved me to tears," she said. "I felt spirit and love in the building that day that I have never felt before. At the end of the evening, I looked at the other committee members, and saw in their eyes tears o f joy. As we embraced each other, I felt the love and positivity and over whelming gratitude that the chil dren will feel when they climb aboard the Air Canada jet. 1 went home that night and held my sons, and felt the same spirit and love, which I'll remember the rest of my life." DiRollo and her husband John are parents of two boys, one of whom is terminally ill, and who inspired Vinnie's years of fundraising to benefit such chil dren. Those who attended the Dream-a-thon had many activi ties and attractions to entertain the whole family. Competing for their attention were two magic and juggling shows, a celebrity field hockey match featuring prominent Oakville citizens opposing Oakville firefighters, a silent auction, a bake sale, a hair salon, pizza, coffee and dough nut concessions, ice cream and snacks. Raffles were held, with two lucky attendees walking off with a 27-inch television set and two airlines tickets (donated by North West Air) for anywhere in 50 United States or Mexico. DiRollo also commented on the brisk sales of ornamental but terflies which festooned the Dream-a-thon. `T o the Oakville Field Hockey Club, the butter flies symbolize the opportunity for these children to emerge from a cocoon of daily problems and concerns, and to fly, literally and figuratively." This has struck a chord with Oakville residents both at the Dream-a-thon and in the schools of Oakville, where the butterflies have been, and will be, available to children for a $2 donation. These sales will account for a large portion of the final amount turned over to Dreams Take Flight. DiRollo wishes to emphasize the efforts of the rest of the com mittee. "Marisa Bucciarelli, John Picone, JC Cudmore and Ross Gordon all contributed hours of their time, on Saturday, and for weeks before, to help make the project a success. I could not have done this without them, and value how close we've become through this process. They helped make my dreams a reali ty." The committee takes its hat off to the many generous donors of silent auction items, the corpo rate donors, some new and some veterans since DiRollo's fundraising efforts prior to last year's inaugural Dream-a-thon. Thanks go also to St. Thomas Aquinas principal Peter Visser and his staff, for graciously providing the venue again this year. Also holding a special place Melissa Aiello, 7; Samantha Aiello, 10; and Alexander Tremblay, 6; cover themselves in butterflies at Saturday second annual Dream-a-thon, a fundraiser for Dreams Take Flight, organized by the Oakville Field Hockey Club, held at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. Selling butterflies is just one component o f this fundraising endeavor to send terminally ill and physically dis abled children to Disney world in Orlando, Florida, for a day. in their hearts are the small army of eager volunteers comprised of relatives, neighbours, friends, and colleagues who lent their hands and skills to the dream. Vinnie's husband John expressed it this way, "What warmed my heart was seeing the way that people showed up and said `What can I do?' They were there to help out in whatever way they were needed. The way they got behind the cause and gave of themselves so selflessly touched me deeply". Perhaps most rewarding for DiRollo were the words of her son Gabriel, who, on learning that the $50,000 goal was reached, said, "I'm so proud of you Mom, and so is Christian." Ross Gordon is a member o f the Oakville Field Hockey Club and a local soccer coach. Inteigenerational Essay Contest for students The Halton Chapter of Canada's Association For The Fifty Plus -- CARP announces its second annual Intergenerational Essay Contest, open to all secondary school stu dents in Halton. Students are asked to write an essay of approximately 750 words outlining an experience or discussion with a grandparent or other `50-plus' person. Each of the 24 secondary schools within Halton are asked to submit one entry to the Halton Chapter CARP by. March 31. The judges will select the first, second and third place winners. The judges are: Joyce Savoline, Halton Region chair; Rev. Mami Nancekivell of St. Aidan's Anglican Church; Rev. Donna Howlett o f Tansley United Church, Burlington; plus Mema Dack and Ken Laramie of the Halton Chapter CARP. The three winners, represen tatives o f the staff o f their respective schools, parents, and grandparents will be invited to the Halton Chapter meeting on May 23 when prizes of $300 for first, $200 for second, and $100 for third place will be awarded. This contest should be of special interest to the over 11,000 members of CARP resid ing in Halton. * Entries can be sent to Halton Chapter CARP, c/o Harry D. Bowers, 2389 Hereford Cres., Burlington. ON, L7P 1X2. For more information, call 905-3355717 or e-mail shb@icom.ca In September 2000, details were given to the directors of education Dr. Dusty Papke and Fred Sweeney of the Halton District and the Halton Catholic District School Boards respec tively as well as St. Mildred's Lightbourn and Appleby College, the two independent schools in Halton. They were requested to relay details of the contest to the sec ondary schools, and encourag ing the staff to motivate the stu dents to participate. JUMP INTO THE SAVINGS DURING OAKVILLE ACADEMY OF MARTIAL CALIFORNIA & PLANTATION SHUTTERS S up p lied & In stalled Maintenance-free; won't fade, crack, peel or ever need painting. ime Professional Instruction ite Programs for Kids &Adults Kids Summer Camp Programs | · Large, New, Clean Facility .* Day and Evening Classes KARATE · TAI CHI · KOBUDO 1 ·JIUJITSU High Quality at A ffo rd a b le Prices. C u s to m e r satisfaction gu aran te ed S H U T T E R S ETC. Serving Oakville with Shop at Home Service 2400 Lakeshore Rd. W ., Oakville www.amadoio.com 903-825-1881 LOCATED AT BRONTE AND LAKESHORE AT THE OTHER END OF LICK'S ACROSS FROM BRONTE VILLAGE PLAZA ( 905 ) 691-4455 shuttersetc @ home.com A u th o riz e d \ invlhill d e a le r st. \c l/o tin ^ (ih te n & e t a i o a i y ? p a r R ic ir s o a v s a tE NIAGARA W in e w i t h a r e fr e s h in g s p la s h o f f i - u i t H feit O urjfocationf/n^(faft/effrooe ( V i//c ig e^ffal/ Arlene Recently relumed from Maria Recently visited Evelyn Ask her about Costa Rica/Mexico Heidi lustbackfrom c lbit c l/s O u rQ )o io fit(H o nO a /ttti//e^o ca tio /i Sharon Just returnedfirm Nassau/St. Maarten Portugal & Spain Grand Cayman i--------- -- ~ ^ ~ l t l - -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- i I 3 E m In te r n l& o u g ? | | l E m J t te ft t B r e w Teresa Anne lu stb a ckfrm a Kim Las Vegas Gail Disney World any Style of Irish Stout, I I Lager or Ale Beer Recipes l l | P R E P A R E D B Y Y O U O N SITE | | Valid until MAR. 18/ 0 1 . Not valid with any other offer. *15 B o o k OFF any Batch of W IN E P R E P A R E D B Y Y O U O N SITE Valid until Mar. 18/ 0 1 . Not valid with any other offer. *10 OFF Just returnedfrom Just returnedfrom Ireland Holland America Cruise We' ve Travelled the W orld Professional Service \/Experience Knowledge CoOger' s Tra ve A Plus, 146 Lakeshore Road East Oakville (905) 842-4999 511 Maple Grove Drive Oakville (905) 849-7013 w w w .golieerstraveIplus.com >WE ACCEPT COMPETITORS' COUPONS some restrictions apply - WE USE ONLY FRESHLY FILTERED WATER! · Choose from Over 100 Beer Recipes and 80 Wine Varieties around the world. >VOTED BEST BEER & WINE MAKING FACILITY IN OAKVILLE 4 YEARS IN A ROW! >100% GUARANTEE ON ALL PRODUCTS MjfffjL y o u r b r e w t im e n o w t 825-B E E R (1 3 3 7 ) fS L E fn Jj'tem 33ceu> itouge | | A tr u s te d n a m e in O a k v ille s in c e I9V 2 481 N orth S ervice Rd. (ju s t w est o f D o rv a l) H O I KS: M O Y -K R I. 12-S. SAT. 9- 5. S t Y 11-3