A special "shoutout" to.......

Although the Spaghetti Dinner is now but a page in our book, we'd still like to take this opportunity to perhaps give back in some way to those who gave so generously to us. No more can be said about our Committee that hasn't already been said! We, no doubt, had the best group of people ever working together for one cause. Everyone brought their talent to the table and we all, literally, meshed together. Thank you and may God bless you all for how you blessed us!

The IFH and their group of volunteers can certainly hold a candle to our team! They all gave of themselves and treated us like old friends as I hope we will all now be remembered!! Ray Ragozzine, Myron & Renee Esposito and all the guys (and gals) who helped make our day a success have a special place in our hearts! As Myron said, "This is what we do"...and they did. Better than we could have ever hoped for!! Their generosity and genuine love for people went beyond anyones expectations! Thank you all!

We all ate a wonderful dinner thanks to a number of people! Sam & Donna Santisi of Santisi's Institutional Foods (A Federally Inspected Portion-Control Facility) not only donated many items themselves, but helped us secure a number of donations, including the pasta from the George E. DeLallo Company. Santisi's sells to the public and they have a long list of products including fresh and frozen foods and dry groceries. Call them at 330-744-5061 and tell them that we sent you!! The meatballs also came from them and Alberini's Restaurant, Rachels Restaurant & Bar and Vernon's Cafe! The sauce was from Belleria Pasta & Pizza (Hubbard & Niles) and our bread was from Schwebels! Cakes courtesy of Lori Sajnozsky, JoAnne Perry and Sam's Club in Niles.

We were blessed with such a large number of donors and donations from many generous individuals and businesses alike. Special thanks to Michael Rotunno and Dr. Chris Knight and also to Big Family the World Pub, Chuck E. Cheese (Boardman) and Knightline Embroidery for their contributions. And a Big Thanks also go to Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik, Zaratsian Builders, Inc., The Cleveland Browns Organization & Bobby Jones, The Cleveland Indians Organization, Olde Dutch Mill Golf Course, Komara Jewelers, Jack Carlton, Bob Hanley and Ruth Huntington for their gifts for our "Big Ticket" Chinese Auction.

Our Regular Chinese Auction of 117 items has many, many people to thank, more than our space allows at this time. We hope that everyone who gave of themselves so generously, by donations of gifts or of their time, knows how grateful we are to them.

Again, your love and support to all of us, especially over these last few months, means more than mere words could ever convey. Please know that your kindness is appreciated beyond belief and may God bless you ten-fold for all that you have done for us.

Love, Chris, Johnny & Jessica

Everyone's child....

Sunday, February 15, 2009 was a day anticipated, yet bittersweet. An event we hoped would be successful, for a child in a dire situation.


We have so many people to thank for this extremely wonderful day! Our core team, who is listed to the left of this blog, worked effortlessly for a common goal and their hard work paid off as people came together from near and far to eat, drink and celebrate "our" child, Jessica! They were able to gather 117 baskets for the Chinese Auction and another 11 for the "big ticket" prizes to make many winning guests very happy! The generosity of those individuals and businesses who contributed is only a small piece in the story of this community, and we thank them all for their generosity.


Jeff Politano of Direct Mail Marketing & Mike Tarantino of Image Marketing got us started with mailers and flyers. Knightline Embroidery did a wonderful job with our "Jessica is Our Hero" T-shirts. And then Sam & Donna Santisi of Santisi's Institutional Foods in Youngstown really got the ball rolling with their extreme giving nature.


But before all that, Myron & Renee Esposito and Ray Ragozzine generously allowed us to have the event at The IFH Club! Not only that, but the best guys ever found in one Club took charge with the setup, cleanup AND cooking for the event! Our "family" grew ten-fold in a very short period of time!


Now any event would not be an event if no one came....and come they did.....as almost 900 people attended our Dinner to support our family, and to this we will be forever grateful! It truly was an amazing time! Laughter was abundant, the food was fabulous (thanks guys!) and everyone had a great time trying to decide which baskets to try and win!!! And don't forget the Bake Sale! We had so many donations and such a variety! Everyone could lay claim to being Betty Crocker for a day if they took some home!!

Throughout the day I kept using the word "overwhelming".....yet this is just not a strong enough term. The love and support that surrounded us all is something that will warm my heart as long as it beats. For as many people that came that I knew, they were just as many whom I did not. They came out for Jessica. And many had never even met her. But on this day she became "everyone's child" as they gathered with the hopes of helping her future become a healthy reality.

Our "Dinner email" sent out today.....

Hello Everyone!

We wanted to give you an update on Jessica's Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser which will be held this Sunday, February 15th from Noon till 5:00 p.m. at The IFH Club, 33 West Wilson Avenue, Girard. We have posted directions to The IFH Club on her blog: Jessicazifchak.blogspot.com

Along with this great dinner, we will be having two Chinese Auctions. We are thrilled to tell you that we have been blessed with so many generous donations....over 80, yes, I really did say 80, baskets for our "regular" auction where tickets will be 1 for $1.00, 6 for $5.00 or 15 for $10.00. We've had such a great response from businesses and individuals alike and all of these gifts are just wonderful!! Wait till you see them! Truly something for everyone, adults, kids and even some pets, and we thank everyone who has been involved with this project, especially our hard-working committee members!!!

Our "big ticket" auction includes some really amazing items!! KELLY PAVLIK graciously signed some training gloves for us and we also have a CLEVELAND INDIANS baseball signed by VICTOR MARTINEZ grouped with an autographed picture of ERIC WEDGE. CLEVELAND BROWNS items include a signed picture of BRANDON McDONALD and a football by SHAUN SMITH! Don't forget the SEVEN-DAY VACATION CONDO donated by Zaratsian Builders, Inc. and a beautiful, signed and dated "CELEBRATE LIFE" hand crafted quilt by Ruth Huntington! There are also autographed pictures on plaques of Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Frank Thomas. Golfers will love the 2009 Green Fees donated by Olde Dutch Mill Golf Course and Komara Jewelers contribution is a beautiful Swarovski "Bear" Necklace. These tickets are $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00. All prizes will be awarded on Sunday will drawings starting at approximately 4:30 p.m. and winners DO NOT need to be present to win. Good luck to all!!!

And, we will also have a bake sale and candy bar sale to help calm that sweet tooth that we all seem to have!!

Tickets for the dinner can be purchased at the door at $6.00 each - kids 3 and under are free and takeout is available. Check our blog for contacts for advance sales.

Again, thank you everyone for all of your support both past and present. It's been a long and sometimes bumpy journey, but you have all helped to make the path alot smoother.

Hope to see you on the 15th. And bring a friend!!!

Love,Jessica, Chris and Johnny

Who's Hungry????

The Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser is in full swing!!! Although we have posted "some" information , I'll try to condense it all here!! It will be held on Sunday, February 15th from Noon till 5:00 p.m. So if you're not taking your honey out to eat on Valentines Day, you can make up for it the next day!!! Tickets will be available at the door but we encourage advance sales. There's a full list of contacts on the left side of this blog with names and phone numbers. Call any one of us. Depending on where you live, we'll get you in touch with the person closest to where you are for your purchase! Tickets are $6.00 each with children 3 and under free. Ray Ragozzine along with Myron & Renee Esposito have most graciously allowed us to host this event at their club, The IFH Club, 33 West Wilson Avenue in Girard. It's directly off Rt. 422, just north of I-80 and south of Rt. 304. Turn West on Wilson and you'll see The IFH on the left. There's a large parking lot on the right. Go to the back of the IFH building for the hall. West Wilson is across from Charter One Bank located on the corner of Rt. 422 and East Wilson. Along with our dinner of pasta, meatballs, salad, bread & butter and cake for dessert (pop, water and coffee also included), we will have a bake sale, 50/50 raffle and LOTS of items for the Chinese Auctions!! Let's talk a little more about all this.... Sharon Johnston (330-953-0839) is heading the bake sale. If anyone looooveees to bake and would like to donate to the sale, call her. She said she would be willing to pick up any donations or if you are able to bake and deliver, she can let you know who's closest to you for that!!! Now. The Chinese Auction! We have many very generous businesses and individuals who have donated some wonderful items to our cause and especially during this difficult economic time, we appreciate each and every one of these gifts. Thank you. And along with our "regular" auction items, we will have some "big ticket" items! These include a 7-day condo vacation (no airfare or transportation included), a number of sports memorabilia, most of which are autographed, and a beautiful hand crafted quilt, signed and dated, by Ruth Huntington. We're working on a few other items that should be a great interest to many!!! We will post as they are confirmed.

When this event first got underway and we needed some advertising, Jeff Politano from Direct Mail Marketing (you know--the coupons in the envelope in the mail deal!) graciously offered to post our event on the outside of their envelope for the January mailing which was sent out to Girard, Liberty and Niles!! Thank you Jeff!!! It was a wonderful ad and alot of people have already told me that the saw it!!!

And hopefully, many of you have also seen the flyer that's been popping up all over thanks to the efforts of everyone on our team!!! Well, another wonderful gentleman, Mike Tarantino of Image Marketing, was the man behind the artwork!! He, too, donated his talents to our cause and we thank him very, very much. He and Jeff work together on many projects and we're grateful that they did on ours!! Thank you both again!!!

I think that about sums it up for now! Hope to see you all there!!!