LaRosa Sunday supports Catholic school program with 1,500 meals

IRONWOOD - Take-out spaghetti orders on Super Bowl Sunday kept volunteers hopping during the 39th annual LaRosa Sunday in the Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church basement.

A cloudless day with temperatures in the single digits, a rarity for this winter, brought out steady streams of diners.

"The food's very good," said Fred Bertorello, of Wakefield, who said he makes it a point every year to attend the fund-raiser.

OLOP Faith Foundation Coordinator Alison Schlag said proceeds of the weekend event, which also included a Saturday meal, fund school programs and the Faith Foundation program that covers people from pre-kindergarten through adults.

"We have tons of different groups who have volunteered for this event," Schlag said. She noted Knights of Columbus members, for example, made up the cooking and kitchen crew and a separate group of longtime volunteers worked on serving the take-out meals.

"A lot of school families and kids help out,"she said."They enjoy it."

Schlag said the event annually ties in with Catholic Schools Week.

The $100 raffle tickets sold out early, she said.

Schlag thanked area sponsors, including businesses too numerous to mention. She said their contributions are greatly appreciated by the church and school staff. Throughout the church basement, the sponsors were sporadically listed on signs.

OLOP Deacon Chuck Gervasio said 200 of the raffle tickets are sold, netting $10,000 for the Catholic school programs.

Gervasio said the event organizers estimated that around 1,500 meals would be served, including many home-delivered cartons, with the peak of action around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Another busy time was around 4 p.m., before the raffle drawing and start of the Super Bowl.