Goddard School Benefit Aims to Help Grant Girl’s Wish

Guests at the will travel to Italy Wednesday in an effort to send one little girl to Disney World.

The school will host a Taste of Italy spaghetti dinner Wednesday as a fund-raiser for the Michigan-based charity, The Rainbow Connection. The Rainbow Connection grants wishes to Michigan children with life-threatening or terminal illnesses.

“The Goddard School really supports our doing good deeds,” said Macomb Goddard School owner MaryBeth Theiss. “We do Goddard Good Deeds three to four times a year. The Goddard owner in Canton told me about The Rainbow Connection. Now we are sponsoring Isabella, a 3-year-old diagnosed with neuroblastoma.”

The school has already held a children's art auction, mom-to-mom sale and penny challenge to raise the $4,800 needed to send Isabella to Disney World.

So far, the school has raised some $2,000 and Theiss said she hopes the remaining funds will be raised during Wednesday’s Taste of Italy.

The Taste of Italy will take place 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday at the school. 

Local restaurants such as Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill, Da Francesco’s, Italian To Go and Vendettis have all agreed to donate their pasta specialties for the event.

The cost is $20 for a family of four and all proceeds will be used toward funding Isabella’s trip to Disney World.

And though the dinner will be held at the Goddard School, Theiss said the event is open to the public. 

“Where else can you have dinner for a family of four for $20?” Theiss said. “It’s a good deed. It’s great food. It’s family atmosphere. It’s something fun to do with your children that is really inexpensive. We have great families here. The kids can play outside and it’s a wonderful opportunity to help.”

A fund-raiser will also be held at the Washington Township Buffalo Wild Wings on June 15. While there is no discount for eating at Buffalo Wild Wings on this date, families can have the restaurant donate 20 percent of their receipt by presenting the flyer attached to this article to their waitress.

Should Isabella’s $4,800 travel costs be raised at the Taste of Italy event, Theiss said additional funds would be used to sponsor another Rainbow Connection child.

“I think the Rainbow Connection is dong a great thing for Michigan children,” Theiss said. “This is a Michigan program, so it's great to be able to help one of our own.”

Being conscious of the needs of others is a key lesson taught at the Goddard School.

“A lot of the children that attend the school aren’t going through life-threatening illnesses like this, so it gives them the opportunity to learn charity and what it means,” Theiss said. “I say charity reluctantly, because sometimes it has a bad connotation. They are so excited to help this little girl.

“Children can be very focused on themselves, and it helps them to think of others and it’s a good lesson we all can benefit from.”