Photo: Jennifer Taub

Last Friday’s Fall Fling was a great success! Curley SPC Treasurer Bill Elsbree writes, “The numbers look great!  $13,100 raised and approximately $2,100 in expenses, for a profit of $11,000, which is up almost $1,000 from last year.  Great Job Team!”

Fall Fling attendees included State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez and City Councilor Matt O’Malley. Councilor O’Malley tweeted later, “Great time (and huge crowd) at the Curley K-8 Fall Fling in #JamaicaPlain.”

Each of the grand prizes were won by members of the Jamaica Plain community. The xBox 360 was claimed by the Brendan Behan’s own John Casey. The Fuji kids’ bike kindly donated by Ferris Wheels, was won by Jamaica Plain local Lynn Brown, a non-BPS teacher. According to Fundraising Committee Co-Chair Molly Mariano, in between “her screams of joy” Ms. Brown said that she planned to give the bike to a student. The iPad 2 was won by Dr. Robert Oldshue, a pediatrician at SJPHC. Congratulations to all the different raffle winners!

A very big thank you to all those who worked hard to make this event such a success. Scores of parents, teachers, staff and students helped sell tickets outside JP Licks as well as to their friends and families. Others spent countless hours helping to gather donations of prizes, services and food from local businesses.

Still others donated raffle baskets and baked goods, worked to set up the event, staffed the tables during the Fling, and cleared up afterwards. Others worked on the complicated logistics and budget tasks, did PR to spread the word, shook their contact lists and drew on their previous experience. Curley upper school students were especially great in helping to set up the event, serve food and refreshments, and make signs.

Many thanks also to everyone at the Curley, and to our larger community of individuals and businesses for their great generosity. By buying raffle tickets, donating prizes, food and other services, and coming to the Fall Fling, each person helped raise money that will directly fund the Curley’s arts, music and science programs.

Most of all, a massive dose of thanks is due to both Jess Ormsby and Molly Mariano, our powerhouse Fundraising Co-Chairs. They worked tirelessly for months to coordinate the event, and without them the Fall Fling would not have been such a success. Thanks Jess and Molly!