‘Johnnie Culvers’ Donates $18,000 Back to Oswego Schools

It’s called the “Culver’s Cup,” and like its Stanley-namesake, it’s a traveling trophy that forever captures the names of those worthy to hoist it.

For award creator—and Culver’s Restaurant owner-operator John Witcpalek—the cup heralds the Oswego school that raises the most money each year from monthly fundraisers held at the restaurant at 2781 Route 34.  School benefit nights are held there Monday through Thursday evenings throughout the school year.

For the Oswego’s 18 participating schools, Culver’s Restaurant donates 10% of the evening’s proceeds back to them. This past school year, Culver’s divided $17,540 among these Oswego schools to use for supplies, programs and charitable causes.

Beyond the fundraising aspect, the evenings bring with them an intangible aspect: community accessibility. In this age of secure, public schools, these fundraisers provide the only chance for the community to get to know the parents, teachers and administrators who make up the Oswego school system.

It’s a win-win for all.

For the students, part of the fun of these benefit nights is to watch their teachers don Culver’s aprons, and “run trays” of ordered food to tables of awaiting families and the general. It’s a bit of a role-reversal for the teachers, and they really enjoy the friendly ribbing from their “customers.” School administrators, meanwhile, informally visit the tables to meet parents, and keep the atmosphere light and fun. 

The community-building credit belongs to Witcpalek and his restaurant staff. To many Oswego educators, he’s perhaps better known as “Johnnie Culvers.”  Those familiar with Witcpalek praise his goodwill and business prowess.

“John is an outstanding person with a genuine heart and a desire to make the Oswego community strong,” says Lindsay Allen, principal at Southbury Elementary.  She says that this is her school’s fifth year of participating.

“Culver’s has truly become a staple in our school community,” relates Allen. “Other restaurants in our area have tried to duplicate this success, but to no avail,” says the Southbury principal. “John brings us custard, hot dogs, or whatever we ask of him.  He knows our families,” she adds, “and the community gives back by patronizing his restaurant.”

While some hail him as a hero to local schools, the owner-operator shrugs the attention, and instead prides himself on being a pioneer among restaurants in the Oswego community.    

“There were 12,000 residents here when I first opened this Culver’s Restaurant in 2000,” Witcpalek explains. “That number has since mushroomed to 34,000.”

He attributes the explosion of growth to families leaving nearby Naperville for more affordable living. Oswego’s two biggest selling points, Witcpalek says, are its schools and its park district. 

The idea for a fundraiser benefit night, he says, actually came about as a result of Oswego’s growth spurt.    

“It all started with the Route 34 widening project in 2001,” Witcpalek relates. While necessary to accommodate the population surge, the road project seriously impacted all the businesses along the busy route.  He needed an idea to keep the registers going.

“I had an idea, and first contacted East View Elementary School,” he remembers.  “I asked them, ‘What if I started doing a benefit night, and Culver’s would donate 10% of the proceeds back to your school?’”

East View School loved the idea, and its first benefit night was a success. The next year, the owner-operator approached Old Post and Long Beach elementary schools with the same offer.  

A big selling point for the participating schools is that they can use the fundraiser money for any purpose they choose.

At Churchhill Elementary School, administrators utilize the money for local, charitable causes.

“We use our money to help families in need in our community,” relates Casey O’Connell, Churchhill Elementary’s assistant principal. “We have a former teacher here, for instance, who is battling Lou Gehrig’s Disease, so we made a donation to her family,” O’Connell says. “We also donated money to a family where the student’s father was recently diagnosed with cancer.”

O’Connell says he particularly likes the sports-themed incentive of the “Culver’s Cup.”

“I’ve won the cup previously as a (classroom) teacher, and John personally delivers it to the winning school that raises the most money during the school year,” O’Connell says. “The award stays at the winning school until the next one wins it.”

At Churchhill, benefit nights are held on a selected Wednesday evening each month. A certain grade level is selected each time, and the teachers enjoy competing among each other to see what class can raise the most money.

Aside from the friendly competition, O’Connell says that it’s the camaraderie of the school interacting with community that he enjoys most.

“As an administrator, you get the chance to walk around to the tables, and talk with the students and their parents,” O’Connell explains. “The restaurant is packed, and everyone has a good time.”

The kids love it, too, he says.

“The younger the grade level,” he says, “the better the turnout.”

“We had one teacher who warned her young students, ‘You better be careful when you see me at there.  I’m bringing my big spoon, and if you turn your head, I’ll steal a spoonful of your custard,” O’Connell recalls. “True to her word, she had a big spoon sticking out of her apron,” he says.  “All the kids got a big kick out of it.”

At Southbury School, meanwhile, principal Lindsay Allen is quick to note that teachers aren’t the only ones who get involved during these benefit nights.

“It’s also the administrators, the custodians, the nurses, and the building engineers who run trays,” she says. “Everyone does their part.”

For Witcpalek, these fundraiser nights are all about trying to do something that’s good for both the community and his business.      

“It’s working quite nicely,” Witcpalek says of the school fundraisers. “It gets customers in the restaurant, the kids have fun seeing their teachers outside the classroom, and schools get some discretionary money.  For me,” he adds, “what could be better than that?”