JHS Music Department fundraiser 'going to the mattresses'

Johnston Sun Rise ·

Are you in the market for a new mattress?

If that’s the case, all you have to do is show up at the Johnston High School cafeteria Saturday and you just might find what you’ve been looking for.

For the second time in as many years, the national award-winning Johnston High School Music Department will hold its 2nd Annual Mattress Fundraiser this Saturday, March 3 inside the school’s cafeteria on Cherry Hill.

The event, which last year took in $2,000, will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is being hosted by the JHS Music Association and presented by Custom Fundraising Solutions (CFS), a nationally-acclaimed company that has a regional office in Providence and is managed locally by Jason Glander.

“The JSMA and directors are looking to increase our scholarship offerings,” said Ronald Lamoureux, the JHS Music Director who along with teachers Oliver Reid and Matthew Gingras has taken “the Pride of Cherry Hill” to new heights in recent years. “We are also working to make next year’s propose trip to Williamsburg, Va. affordable for all our student musicians.”

Lamoureux, though, admitted the mattress fundraiser “sounded crazy to me last year, but I knew some groups from around the state that had success with it.”

So it was all systems go and CFS came to JHS and transformed the cafeteria into a mattress showcase, and, as Lamoureux said, “We gave it a shot and the results were so great so here we are again.”

He explained CFS Solutions plans to turn the cafeteria into a showroom full of quality products in every price range. Mattresses, though, won’t be the only items on sale. Lamoureux reported that Saturday’s sale, which is open to the general public free of charge, will offer a wide selection of pillows and bedding covers.

Lamoureux also announced that student musicians will be volunteering during the sale as well as parents who are valuable members of the Johnston School Music Association.

Glander, meanwhile, said “it was an absolute pleasure working with Ron and Matt last year and we’re looking forward to another successful sale Saturday.”

Custom Fundraising Concepts has helped countless schools and youth groups around the country raise revenue for projects since 2005 and, says owner Joe Matejka, “the key to making event so successful is the kids. The concept is unusual but one what absolutely works.”

He explained that one in ten people purchase a new mattress every year and thus, “we offer the community a quality product they need, at great price and the best part is that every sale benefits the school.”

To date, CFS has 60 locations nationwide and has given back over $18-million since launching its unique concept back in 2005.

In addition to hosting Saturday’s Mattress Fundraiser, the JHS Music Department is working tirelessly for its 2nd Annual Friday Night Live that will be held on March 9 and is a show that promises to be a parody of the hit TV show Saturday Night Live that contains hilarious skits and videos written and filmed by JHS students.

“We will also have musical performances,” a JHS student announced. “We’ll also have a sneak preview of J-DAPA’s production of Beauty and The Beast.”

Lamoureux said the Friday Night Live will begin at 7 o’clock inside the JHS Auditorium and tickets are priced at $10 each but will only be sold at the door.