Behind the Scenes
Fund-raiser will fuel Disney dream
A little luck of the Irish could come in handy this year for the graduating class at the Cardinal Cushing Centers.
With a St. Patrick's Day dinner and auction, the centers are seeking to raise money to send the 20 students to Walt Disney World.
The Cushing Centers, with campuses in Hanover and Braintree, educate developmentally disabled young people. The trip is a rite of passage for graduating students such as Anthony Rios, who will turn 22 this year and has been hearing about the Disney World trip for years.
Rios tells everyone he is looking forward to having fun with his friends, classmates, and his (school) staff, who have become a kind of surrogate family, according to Claudia Cuscianna, the school's director of development.
Rios is a product of the Cushing school's highly regarded academic and vocational programs. A residential student in Hanover, he works for the Hanover campus's central supply office, its bottle redemption program, and its culinary training program in the school kitchen
Rios is soft-spoken, Cuscianna said, but confident in what he wants. What he particularly wants to do is ride the daunting Tower of Terror ride at Disney World. And while he's excited about the trip, he's also a little nervous about flying on a plane.
"He's never been on a plane and never been out of the state," Cuscianna said.
That's true of many of graduates who will make the trip.
The dinner and auction have a fund-raising goal of $50,000 to pay for the weeklong trip, including transportation, lodging, meals, and park fees for the class members and the chaperones for each student. Last year's event attracted more than 300 participants and ultimately raised $80,000, including donations from businesses. Given the down economy, that success may be hard to duplicate this year.
Saturday's event will be held at the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston, one of the region's most elegant function venues.
The evening's program calls for screening a DVD of last year's class visit to Disney World so contributors can see what the trip means for students, a performance on violin by a Cushing student, and a reading of Dr. Seuss's "Yertle the Turtle" by student Matthew Fabrizio.
The event's silent and live auctions will feature some high-end items: a trip to Aruba; a golf trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Bruce Springsteen concert tickets; Red Sox tickets; and tickets to a Bruins game plus a Zamboni ride.
South Shore Savings Bank of Weymouth has been the event's principal sponsor since the Cushing Centers restored the St. Patrick's Day dinner two years ago.
John Boucher, president and chief executive of South Shore Savings Bank and also chairman of the Cardinal Cushing Centers board, said his bank is pleased to continue its sponsorship this year.
"We appreciate the support of the South Shore community for this event, which celebrates the work of the Cardinal Cushing Centers and the accomplishments of their students," Boucher said.
Other sponsors include: Hill Holliday, the advertising agency founded in Boston; Campanelli Construction of Braintree; Shield Health
Founded in 1947 by the late Cardinal Richard Cushing, the Cushing Centers provide academic, vocational, and residential programs for students with mild to severe developmental disabilities. Some of the school's 148 students have family in the area, some are wards of the state, others come from across the state and beyond.
State educational funding for developmentally disabled students ceases at age 22. Students are taught skills to gain employment after graduation, school officials say. Anthony Rios will go to work in the community, possibly at Stop and Shop or with another employer with whom the school maintains a connection.
"We give them the skills to succeed in the community," Cuscianna said.
Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com. 
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
