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Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Austintown Fitch High School student members of the Womens Choir performed for senior community members April 24 at the annual Senior Citizen Dinner.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Students and staff members served dinner to senior citizens April 24 at Austintown Fitch High School.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Community members 65 years old or over attended Austintown Fitch High School's annual Senior Citizen dinner April 24.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Austintown teachers volunteered to serve dinner to seniors April 24 during Austintown Fitch High School's annual Senior Citizen Dinner.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Austintown superintendent Vince Colaluca addressed senior community members April 24 at the Austintown Fitch High School's annual Senior Citizen Dinner.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker.Members of the Austintown Fitch High School's choir performed for community members April 24 at the school's Senior Citizen Dinner.
By JESSICA HARKER
Austintown Fitch High School hosted the biannual Senior Citizen Dinner on April 24.
Community members 65 and older were treated to a dinner and performance by Austintown High School students for $2.
“It’s a great way to bring the community into the school and have them see everything we have to offer here,” said Superintendent Vincent Colaluca.
The event was started more than 25 years ago according to long time school board member Joyce Pogany.
Pogany explained that while she was on the board the school was having a hard time with levies being turned down.
“It was important because people in the community no longer had students in the school, so they didn’t see the value in funding it,” Pogany said.
That was when the school board came up with the idea to host a dinner to engage older members of the community.
She explained that after the first year of the event, the levy was passed and has continued to be renewed ever since.
“We wanted to engaged the community and show them what the school had to offer,” Pogany said. “That’s exactly what we did.”
According to Brittany Bueno, Austintown communication specialist who organized the event, about 350 community members were in attendance.
Twenty students and teachers from Austintown volunteered to assist during the event, taking the time to serve community members dinner.
Austintown food services cooked a dinner of Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and vegetables for seniors to enjoy, along with dessert.
During the event student members of the choir and speech and debate team performed for those in attendance.
Bueno also organized a drawing during the event, where community members could win Handel’s Ice Cream gift cards or flower arraignments that decorated the tables.
Both the gift cards and the flower arraignments were purchased by the school for the event.
“This is just one of our favorite ways to engage with the community,” Bueno said.