ELEEF game fundraiser is a great gift to give

Date: 11/30/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW -- Are you looking for that unique holiday gift that will wow the recipient? Look no further -- the East Longmeadow Educational Endowment Fund Inc. (ELEEF) is releasing the ultimate present for town residents: East Longmeadow Monopoly.

"We were brainstorming for fundraising ideas late last year, and I had seen another town do something like this years ago," Dean Dulchinos, ELEEF board member and game committee chair, said. "We thought it was an interesting fundraising idea."

Dulchinos explained that hometown business Hasbro picked up the idea and offered to help put the game together. East Longmeadow Monopoly will be an official, sponsored edition of the classic board game, with Hasbro providing the layout and graphics.

Local businesses, from Spoleto Restaurant to Rocky's Ace Hardware, purchased prime spots on the game board so that the game will truly be local. Only 800 copies of the game itself will be produced, and they will be sold for $30 each. All proceeds will go to ELEEF, a non-profit foundation whose purpose is exclusively educational and charitable with the primary goal of enhancing the educational opportunities offered in the town's public schools.

"With all the money that we raise, 50 percent goes to our endowment, 50 percent goes back to the schools," ELEEF President Al Kasper told Reminder Publications. "Traditionally, we do two fundraisers a year, our dinner/dance night and our golf tournament, but new people on the board this year had new ideas." That's how the game idea came into play.

Kasper said the board is also looking into more activities and games for families to serve as fundraisers, such as mother/daughter tea parties and a spring carnival. "Families are the ones that benefit from it [ELEEF]," he added.

The foundation's goal is to build its endowment to $1 million -- it's currently at $350,000 -- so that all funds raised can go directly to educational grants. Over the past 14 years, ELEEF has awarded $213,000 in grants, with $23,000 being given in 2008.

"The game is one of a kind," Kasper said. "It's going to be a collector's item and it's unique to our town."

Dulchinos added that purchasing the game is "a great way to support the local school system."

"If you live in East Longmeadow and you like the town, this is a neat, exciting way to be a part of it," he stated.

The tentative production date of the game is Dec. 10. Copies can be reserved by calling Maria D'Amico at 526-0859 or Jennifer Merrigan at 525-9056 or e-mailing eleefmonopoly@charter.net. East Longmeadow Monopoly will also be sold on the foundation's Web site at www.eleef.org and in the future at A.W. Brown's and Rocky's Ace Hardware.