Despite Rain, Upper Dublin Education Foundation Day a Success

The rain may have came and went, but the enthusiasm never left the Upper Dublin Education Foundation (UDEF) Day at Wednesday.

The annual event is a flagship day for UDEF, a nonprofit organization with a mission to support the students of the Upper Dublin School District.

Held every year on the first Wednesday in May, a lucky streak of weather finally ran out this time around.

“I’ve done this event for maybe eight or 10 years, and it’s the first time we had rain,” said Art Levinowitz, president of UDEF. “But it doesn’t dampen the spirit … the sun is always out on Foundation Day.”

Despite the early showers, the show went on as planned, with a full line-up of entertainment and discounts for the grocery store’s patrons. A collection of student ensembles took to the overhang outside the store, including the Upper Dublin High School and Sandy Run Middle School jazz bands, the Jarrettown Elementary School Chorus and the UDHS Jazz Choir. A face-painting stand was also set up, and the event closed with the UDHS rock group “Guitar Force One.”

In addition to the entertainment, the Shop N’ Bag offered a range of discounts for the benefit of customers and the foundation.

“The day is structured so that 5 percent of all sales are donated to the foundation,” said Levinowitz. “The other major component is that many of the vendors that the supermarket works with donate to the foundation, some as much as $500.”

In addition to these donations, members of UDEF also ran a food stand in the store’s parking lot, with the supplies donated from Shop N’ Bag and the proceeds going to the foundation. A number of school board employees, teachers and administrators were on hand to work the stand and bag groceries.

Levinowitz says the fundraiser is one of the most important for the foundation, with much of the money going to scholarships for graduating seniors. The foundation also supports a number of programs, including the North Hills After School Center, a mentoring program and mini-grants for teachers.

Levinowitz also offered thanks to the store’s owner and former UDEF director, George Endrigian.

“The support that this community gets from George is amazing,” said Levinowitz. “He gives back more than he gets sometimes, to a number of volunteer organizations (in Upper Dublin)… he really goes out of his way to support the community.”

Kevin Carlin, store manager at the Shop N’ Bag, echoed those sentiments.

“We’ve been here 34 years, and we’ve developed relationships. They’re not only our customers, they’re our friends,” Carlin said. “We’re smart enough to know that we’re only as good as the community we’re in …  so we keep giving back.”

Carlin also stated that the Shop N’ Bag worked with many of its vendors to give special discounts for the day, resulting in smaller receipts for customers. But, Carlin emphasized the social value in addition to the monetary.

“The day displays the talents of the musicians and the kids, of all different age groups,” Carlin said. “And to see the teachers bagging, seeing members of the school board bagging, seeing these people out of the normal environment—I think that’s healthy.”

For more information on UDEF and its causes, visit www.udef.info.