*****EVENT UPDATE: Thank you to all who helped make the Chili Fundraiser for Mt. Royal Elementary a big success. The Assembly Room was packed with folks from the church, the school and the community. The fundraiser raised enough money to ensure that all sixth graders at Mt. Royal will be able to attend the North Bay camp this summer.*****
Brown Memorial is pleased to host, in collaboration with the Churches and Schools subcommittee of the Mt. Royal Improvement Association, a Chili Dinner, Tuesday, April 19, 5-8 p.m., to raise funds for Mt. Royal Elementary and Middle School.
Ticket sales from the event, to take place in Brown’s Assembly Room, will subsidize the annual NorthBay summer camp for the 6th grade class of Mt. Royal Elementary and Middle School. Tickets are ONLY $10 and donations are gratefully accepted. Barbara Francis (barbarafrancis1312
Recently, Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School was forced to weather more than $400,000 in cuts due to an enrollment drop. (Schools are funded, in part, on a per-pupil basis. Mt. Royal was hit hard after the public housing community on North Avenue was closed and residents were relocated). In addition to cutting several teacher positions, the school was forced to de-fund its summer trip for the students entering the 6th grade – a key formative experience.
In addition to hosting the dinner, Brown Memorial has given a gift of $1,000 toward the school’s fundraising goal of $10,000. As one of the first financial commitments, the school was able to use Brown’s gift to leverage others.
“Part of being a good neighbor is looking out for your neighbors, especially when they need a little extra help,” says Andrew Foster Connors.
Brown has been the beneficiary of Mt. Royal’s parking lot hospitality, enabling Brown’s congregation to park in the school’s lot each Sunday morning. The consistent use of the lot has enabled Brown to run a van shuttle service over the past several years, reducing parking pressures in the neighborhood and ensuring easy parking for Brown’s lot-less church.
“We are pleased to be able to use our financial resources and facilities to support this important cause in our community,” says Foster Connors. “And we continue to look for ways to put our facilities and our financials at the service of our mission bearing witness to the love of God in Christ, working for justice and peace.”