The Kiwanis Club of Evanston held an all-you-can-eat pizza fundraiser Tuesday to benefit summer sport camps at Evanston Township High School.
The event, called Pizza Fest, was held at Giordano’s, 1527 Chicago Ave. ETHS faculty, students, their parents and members of the Evanston community came out to support the ETHS camps. Attendees filled the tables of the restaurant, and ETHS cheerleaders and wrestlers served them their pizza.
The idea for the fundraiser came from tEvanston Kiwanis president James Wolinski and ETHS athletic director Chris Livatino.
“Several Evanston High School faculty, like Chris, came to me and said they could use help in funding the sports camps in the summer, especially for the kids who can’t pay,” Wolinksi said. “So (Kiwanis) decided to help.”
Kiwanis has been involved with helping young people in the city for as long as Wolinski has been a member. He said about $15,000 each year goes toward various youth benefits as well as organizations fighting childhood diseases and running battered women’s shelters.
“We’re totally dedicated to children and youth,” Wolinski said.
The club has helped ETHS for many years with various donations and scholarships, including honoring more than 125 senior student-athletes.
Five years ago, Kiwanis started a financial aid fund for the summer sports programs, much to the delight of Livatino, who runs the camps. Since its start, the pot has grown to more than $87,000 through donations from sponsors and contributors, Livatino said. But the pizza fundraiser was Kiwanis’ first effort to support the fund, he said.
“It’s a nice way to be both a community builder and a fundraiser,” Livatino said.
Kiwanis has hosted similar events at Giordano’s for several years, benefiting various youth organizations such as SHORE Community Services, Inc. SHORE is dedicated to helping “children with intellectual and other developmental disabilities in the north shore area,” according to its website.
Attendees of the pizza dinner included the Babiarz family. Though from Wheaton, Il., the family came to the fundraiser in support of Kiwanis and Wolinski. The Babiarz’s 4-year-old daughter, Cameron, has Rett Syndrome, a neurological disorder that left her incapable of walking, talking and using her hands as a toddler. She is confined to a wheelchair, one that weighs 50 pounds and hurts her mother, Jackie, whenever she lifts it into the car.
When Wolinski heard about Cameron and brought her in to meet the Kiwanis members, the club decided it had to help the Babiarz family pay for the $40,000 handicap-accessible vehicle, even though it would be the most expensive initiative the group has ever taken on.
“We can’t express how grateful we are,” Jackie Babiarz said. “We never expected anything like this.”
So far, Kiwanis has garnered $17,000 for the Babiarz family, and Wolinski is already planning more fundraisers.
Kiwanis has been a big part of the Evanston community for many years, as Giordano’s general manager Dan Bruss can attest to. He has hosted many fundraisers for Kiwanis and other community organizations and plans to continue welcoming them to his restaurant.
“As the restaurant manager and a local person, it’s always good to do things with the community,” he said. “It’s not always about making money — it’s about building a reputation, too.”
Bruss said he has no doubt that the fundraisers will continue to attract large crowds.
“Everybody loves pizza,” he said.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @paigeleskin
