WESTFIELD – Parking spaces were hard to come by at the sold out Pocketbook Bingo Oct. 24 at the Shaker Farms Country Club, a fundraiser to benefit the Westfield Foundation for Education.
WFE President Laura Taylor said 352 tickets were sold for the sixth annual event to parents, teachers, administrators, and business people.
“We get a lot of support,” Taylor said. The funds raised are used for grants to teachers for special projects throughout the year.
Taylor thanked Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski for agreeing to be the bingo caller. He was one of only two men present, she said. The other came with his wife to play.
The bingo prizes were designer handbags donated by Advance Mfg. Co., Inc. Taylor said there were also tables of raffle prizes which included baskets donated by all the schools, and other items donated by area businesses. Westfield Gas & Electric was listed as a platinum sponsor for the event.
Before calling started, Czaporowski spent some time familiarizing himself with the pocketbooks. “One of these cost $500,” he said in amazement.
Applications for WFE grants are available on the westfieldfoundation.org website, due by Dec. 31, and disbursed in January to leave time for projects to be fulfilled before the end of the school year.