Time after time and month after month, I have the opportunity to interview families, individuals and groups to share their stories in our Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors magazine about where they came from, what brought them to Newtown Square and why they love to live and work here. It truly is a special town filled with history, heritage, love and generosity.
Giving back to our community is important, especially when giving back to the people who selflessly volunteer their time, talents and resources to keep us safe. This past December, our community gathered at our favorite hometown spot, Casey’s, for a guest bartending event to celebrate the holiday season and raise funds for our Newtown Square Volunteer Fire Company.
The idea began sometime last year when our Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Leonard Altieri, and I attended a Newtown Square Business Association (NSBA) happy hour networking event. Being that the two of us are long-time Newtown Square residents and I serve as the President of the NSBA, it’s safe to say that we know a lot of people. We got to talking about fun ways to network and raise funds, and I suggested we work as guest bartenders for a night. Mind you, neither one of us had ever stepped foot behind a bar, so the idea was a bit far-fetched.
Fast forward a few months, and Leonard brought it up to me, saying he loved the idea and was totally on board. At the very least, we figured we would get a few laughs out of it. Leonard and I agreed that if we were to have such an event, the only place we would want to serve up drinks would be at our favorite hometown bar, Casey’s, and that the money raised would go directly to the fire company.
We arranged a meeting with Casey’s owner, Pete Crisanti, and after a friendly discussion over the best French Onion soup this side of the Blue Route, the plan was in place. Not surprisingly, Pete graciously agreed to donate 30% of all beverage sales that night toward our cause, but what was surprising was that he was okay with putting us two rookies behind the bar, as long as we were accompanied by three of his best bartenders, of course!
With the date set and our custom Casey’s bartender sweatshirts ordered, Leonard and I hit the pavement to gather door prizes, raffle and auction items. As expected, our requests were well received, and we collected donations from some of our favorite local businesses: The Running Place, Runic Tattoo, Bunny Hare’s, Yoga In the Circle, Grace & Kate Boutique, Game on State, Blush Salon and Botanery Barn & Bistro. We also worked hard to promote the event through social media and word of mouth.
The folks at the fire company were excited about the event and did all they could to spread the word. Their campaign was successful enough to catch the attention of a very generous local resident who contacted Leonard for more information. During their conversation, she told Leonard she wanted to get involved and pledged to match donations dollar for dollar that night! All she asked in return was for us to save her two seats at the bar.
We may not be able to make a martini, but we’re really good at reserving seats! All that was left to do was to come up with a great selection of music and enlist the help of Newtown Square Tree Lighting’s favorite emcee, Kyle Turner.
The fundraiser began promptly at 6pm, when Traci, Karen and Mel, a.k.a. Casey’s Dream Team, called us back behind the bar. It was time to get to work, and boy, did we work! By 6:15, the bar was packed, and the drinks were flowing. The crowd continued to grow with each passing hour. Kyle entertained everyone with great tunes, announcements and giveaways, and folks from the fire company worked the room, collecting additional
cash donations.
To say this event was a success is an understatement. It exceeded our expectations not just in the amount of money we raised but in the overwhelming amount of support and positive energy from our com- munity. Below is the message from our Newtown Square Fire Company announcing the results:
“Thank you to everyone who came out to Casey’s this past Tuesday night. With your support and very generous donor matching dollar for dollar, we were able to raise over $8,000. Fundraisers like these are crucial for supporting our volunteers, who rely on community donations to maintain equipment, training, and emergency response capabilities. The money raised will help ensure that the Newtown Square Fire Company can continue to provide essential services and keep the community safe. It’s wonderful to see local businesses and community members come together for such an important cause.”
Leonard also shared a message to all who showed up that night: “To everyone who came to the guest bartending on Tuesday, Sheila and I want to say thank you! Because of your generosity and the extremely generous dollar-for-dollar match, over $8,000 was raised for our Newtown Square Fire Company! I thank Sheila Turner-Hilliard, 
President of the Newtown Square Business Association, for coming up with the idea behind this event. To Pete Crisanti and the Casey’s Newtown Square crew, including Traci, Karen and Mel, thank you for allowing us to do this event for our community. To Kyle Turner (the voice of Newtown Square!) for keeping the crowd entertained with some good tunes and exciting door prizes and raffles! To the members of this amazing community, many of whom just came to drop money in the donation jar, thank you for supporting the Newtown Square Fire Company. And lastly, to everyone who drank a drink that Shelia and I completely butchered, and pretended it was correct, we thank you for allowing our egos not to be bruised.”
Will we do it again? I’d say it’s likely, though considering it took us a few days to recover, it may be a while before this dynamic duo’s next appearance!