Hillsdale Academy juniors and seniors hope to attract couples looking for a nearby Valentine’s date and a good cause tonight, as they host their annual Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction from 5:30 through 7:30 p.m. in the Academy gym.
“This is the first year we’ve planned it for Valentine’s Day,” said Hillsdale Academy Headmaster Ken Calvert. “I must say that the folks who planned the dinner made a great choice. I suspect we will have a good number of people show up for a ‘cheap date’ on Valentine’s Day.”
The fundraiser is not just for couples, however. Calvert said academy families, community members, and college students looking for a “home-cooked meal” are the target audience.
Normally, between 200 and 300 people attend the event, which raises money for the biennial summer trip to Greece and Italy that academy upperclassmen take as “a capstone experience for all of our classical and biblical studies.” The group will visit Athens, Corinth, Delphi, Pompeii, Rome, Florence, and Venice.
“A secondary purpose is to give these students an experience overseas, not only to study our rich historical heritage, but to see what other nations and cultures have to offer,” Calvert said.
The students spend two years working hard in the classroom to prepare intellectually for the trip, but also financially through fundraising, without which every student may not be able to attend.
“Between the dinner last year and the dinner this year, we should raise enough to lower the student cost by $1,000,” Calvert said.
Attendees have the chance to win a Meade Telescope Model 422, $1,000 cash, and a pair of University of Michigan football tickets for the 2013 season.
College students get a special discounted ticket price of $4 at the door. Tickets for children ages five and younger are free, children ages 6 to 11 are $3, everyone age 12 and older are $5, and a family is $25.
“It’s a great deal of fun,” Calvert said. “We serve a great Italian meal. And, anyone in my Ancient Rome class had better be there- just saying.”
