Mattress sale a dream for School Music Association

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Joanne Taylor couldn’t help but show her excitement during Saturday’s Johnston School Music Association’s Mattress Sale fundraiser.

Taylor – a representative of Custom Fundraising Solutions, or CFS, which offers discounts on name-brand mattresses – raised her arms in jubilation as Scituate resident Julie Georgio signed paperwork on another sale.

The event resulted in a total of 16 mattress sales, according to Johnston High School music department chairman Ron Lamoureux – an increase from the previous two installments of as become an annual event.

“We’re hoping that as we continue with our annual event, people will keep us in mind when they have to purchase a mattress or bedding,” Lamoureux said.

The department chair also spoke of the importance of the mattress sale.

“The fundraisers we’ve done to this point are all geared to individual kids,” he said. “Many people don’t realize when they are purchasing from our kids, any profit is going directly to that individual. [High school music teacher] Matt Gingras and I, along with the JSMA, have individual accounts for every single kid in the program … those dollars follow the individual student for as long as they are in our ensemble. We have had older siblings leave any left over funds for young students in the past.”

Jason Glander, also with CFS, also said this year’s event was a success.

“Our third year was a step in the right direction, raising money for the Johnston Music Association scholarships,” he said. “We’ve increased sales every year here and have proven to be a viable fundraiser for the program.”

Lamoureux praised the students and adult volunteers who took part in the fundraising event. The fundraiser allows the high school’s band, select chorus, concert choir and all phases of the music program to keep growing in numbers.

The JSMA also has another fundraiser on the horizon that will generate additional revenue to bolster the scholarship program and add to the nearly $1,000 the group has put aside for the Rachel E. Carson Scholarship, which Lamoureux said will be awarded this spring.

That upcoming event, he said, will be a fabric-clothing drive run trough Savers. The store will pay the JSMA by the pound for all fabric and shoes collected. The fundraiser will begin with a March 22 drop-off.

“The best part is that it is truly a recycling kind of event,” Lamoureux said. “The clothes, rags, table cloths, shoes, etc., do not need to be in great condition. People can contact me with questions and we’ll be organizing pick-ups upon request.”

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