By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
They are looking to buy new equipment and hoping the best way to raise the necessary funds is by offering dinner.
In its first event fundraiser, the Manville High School varsity baseball team will be holding a spaghetti dinner at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, on Washington Road, on April 25.
Dan Sferrazza, coach for the team, said proceeds from the dinner will be used to buy T-shirts and jackets for the team. The fundraiser, according to Councilman Lou Fischer, is being organized by his father, Lou Fischer Sr., who approached the VFW and Veterans of Manville to ask if they would be interested in hosting the event.
”In the past, this fundraiser has been done for the ABIS (Alexander Batcho Intermediate School) Rocket and Science Club,” Councilman Fischer said. “When we reached out to Dr. James Brunn of the ABIS school for a group that could use a fundraiser, he passed it on to Mr. Sferrazza, who contacted us with a need to purchase new equipment for his baseball team.”
Councilman Fischer said his father reached out for volunteers among VFW members and Manville residents, enlisting the help of Councilman Ed Komoroski, resident Ron Skirkanish, VFW member Fred Gorbatuk and himself, among others.
In addition, money collected from contributors throughout the area was used to purchase ingredients to make the food. Among the contributors, Mr. Fischer said, are Bound Brook Mouse, Otrimski Accounting, Hair Palace, East Coast Media of Hillsborough, A&P Manville and Weston Sunoco.
While guests come for the food, Mr. Sferrazza said, the team members will be doing their part to help, serving the meal, greeting people, cleaning up afterward and mingling with those coming out to help the team.
At this point, Mr. Sferrazza said, the team has sold about 150 tickets, and its goal is to sell 300 or more in total.
”The best part of a fundraiser of this nature is being able to get the community involved with what we’re trying to do with the baseball program here in Manville,” he said. “Our goal is to change this program around and make it a winning one. We can’t do that without community support and involvement.”
Councilman Fischer said his father has organized many fundraisers in the past, mostly for Manville children, including running the Kids Fishing Derby at the American Legion, on South Main Street.
”For my father, it’s all in a day’s work, just helping out,” he said. “As for me, I’m always willing to donate my time for the organizations of Manville. These organizations and events are what makes small-town living great; everyone chipping in for the greater good.”
Mr. Sferrazza said the team has never held a fundraiser of this magnitude before, having only had experience selling concessions at home games and team t-shirts. Still, he said, he is hoping the team continues to hold this kind of event to raise money in the future.
”We plan on, hopefully, continuing this fundraiser for several years as well as starting new ones,” he said. “The team is always looking for new and exciting ways to raise money.”
But the most important part of the fundraiser, Mr. Sferrazza said, is doing something to help the team and provide it with better opportunities in the future.
”The guys work so hard every single day and hardly get any recognition because of the record we might have,” he said. “They deserve a lot of credit for showing up every day and competing. It really shows a lot about the character of my guys, and there’s no doubt in my mind that if we continue to do what we’re doing, that the wins will come, and Manville baseball will be something to talk about.”
Tickets for adults are $7. Tickets for seniors ages 55 and older are $5. Tickets for kids ages 4 through 12 are $3; and tickets are free for kids under 3 years old. They can be purchased in advance from Mr. Sferrazza or at the door.
The dinner will be held from 1 to 5 p.m.
Anyone interested in donating to the team should contact Mr. Sferrazza at [email protected].

