The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Candy drive has sweet reward
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 13, 2008
Starting tomorrow the Knights of Columbus in both Dexter and Chelsea will be selling Tootsie Rolls to benefit special education programs.
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Knights will be stationed along sidewalks on most main streets in Dexter and Chelsea until Sunday, selling the sweets to raise money for Dexter Community Schools' and the Chelsea School District's special education programs.
Funds also will be donated to the St. Louis School near Chelsea.
Dan Vencil, chancellor of Dexter K of C Council 2959, has high hopes for this year, despite the economy.
"We managed to collected $5,067 last year, which we weren't expecting at all," Vencil said.
"As a whole this community has always been very generous, even over the last couple years during bad economic times. It is a very nice community."
The Knights' Tootsie Roll drive is a statewide effort.
"It is the prerogative of each council (to designate the destination of the donations), but it is generally used for special education funds."
The Knights also rely on the business community for larger donations and the use of storefronts for solicitations.
"It's not only the general community, but the business community that we have to thank for support and making this possible," Vencil said.
Most Knights volunteer their time during this weekend drive simply because they're good souls with a mind for philanthropy, but in Vencil's case the K of C Tootsie Roll Drives are another matter entirely.
"It's personal for me because my brother (Patrick) is mentally retarded," he said.
Vencil remembers his brother's education and involvement in Special Olympics.
"I see where all that money goes," he said. "I've seen families need help with special education for their family members."
Vencil's son, Alex, is mildly autistic and is directly involved in Dexter's special education programs.
He has fond memories of helping his own father, Michael A. Vencil, 83, who was a Grand Knight in 1975, after Dan's uncle, Arthur Vencil, now deceased, served as Grand Knight five years earlier.
"I helped my dad out with the Tootsie Drive - I remember how cold it was my first time out there," Vencil said.
"It has to do with my upbringing so I feel personally drawn to it each year, no matter how cold it is around this time."
The Tootsie Roll Drive is an integral part of the K of C, according to Vencil, who pointed out that the event is in every council's charter.
Saundra Dunn, a teacher and psychologist in the Program for Independent Living Skills at Chelsea High School, said each of her 32 students will benefit greatly from the drive.
The drive funds a big portion of the independent living camp each spring, she noted.
"Most of our students, whose learning needs vary quite considerably, spend a week in May living away from their parents," Dunn said.
"For many of them, this is the first time they have lived away from home that long and it's a great step toward their future independence."
Dunn and fellow staff members practice independent living skills with the students year-round, such as grocery shopping, cooking, budgeting money, organization and getting along with others.
The camp is a controlled environment in which everything from meals to cleaning up are left to the participants.
Dunn says the money is also used to purchase coats, hats and mittens for students whose families are unable to provide them.
"Occasionally we have purchased small birthday presents for students whose families are having great financial difficulty," she said.
Dunn's students are also very active with the K of C during the Special Olympics.
"Each year at the Summer Games in Mount Pleasant, the Knights greet the athletes and line the path for the runner to light the Special Olympics flame, signifying the opening of the Games," she said.
The local drives have raised $56,729 over the last 10 years, according to Vencil.
"It's a couple of hours out of our weekend and I see where the money goes, and it is very worthwhile," he said.
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