Teachers help raise money for Joliet students at Joliet grade schools foundation’s hoops for D86 basketball fundraiser

Congratulations to the Dirksen Junior High Quadrant Basketball Team for winning the 6 th
annual Joliet Grade Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence “Hoops for D86”
fundraiser. Members of the winning team included: Jason Cuevas (Dirksen Junior High), Joe
Davies (Dirksen Junior High), Ralph Davis (Pershing Elementary), Jonathan Forkal (Dirksen
Junior High), Rick Franceschina (Lynne Thigpen Elementary), Todd Hester (Pershing
Elementary), Deddrick Lewis (Pershing Elementary), Devan McCammack (Dirksen Junior
High), Terence O’Neill (J.F. Kennedy Administrative Center), Antony Rose (Dirksen Junior
High), Brian VanBeveren (Dirksen Junior High), and Jadon Waller (Dirksen Junior High).
Proceeds from the event will benefit Joliet Public Schools District 86 students. In addition to
the employee basketball tournament, District 86 school administrators played a basketball
game against a team comprised of community members. Cheerleaders from M.J.
Cunningham Elementary, Dirksen Junior High, Hufford Junior High, Pershing Elementary,
Sator Sanchez Elementary, and Washington Junior High also performed at the event.
Corporate sponsors of the event were ExxonMobil Corporation (Full Court), Encyclopaedia
Britannica (Half Court), and First Midwest Bank (Three Point Club). Half Time Sponsors
included Bill & Margaret Benoit, Brown & Brown Insurance, Rival5 Technologies Corp., and
STR Partners LLC. Booster Sponsors were J.L. Adler Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc.,
Datamation Imaging Services, Brian Feltes & Associates, Inc., and ITR Systems. Additional
donors included Cruise, Boiler & Repair Co. Inc., Larsen Contracting, Inc., PMA Securities,
Inc., SERVPRO of Joliet, and the Voyager Group, Ltd.
The Joliet Grade Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence was established in 2003 to
enhance and enrich educational opportunities for Joliet Public Schools District 86 students.
Over the past 14 years, the Foundation has awarded 338 classroom grants totaling over
$377,000 and provided more than $38,500 in scholarships to benefit Joliet students.