Bob Elfant was honored at a fundraiser for J.S. Jenks on Saturday for his contributions to the school. He was awarded a plant in a vase made by students at the school. (Photo by Elizabeth Coady)

by Elizabeth Coady

Everyone was on their best behavior Saturday night as supporters of J. S. Jenks Academy for the Arts & Sciences turned out to Seth and Diane McDowell’s Mardi Gras Ball to raise money and thank two particular school supporters for making a difference in 2018.

The McDowells opened their home on Bethlehem Pike to about 85 partygoers – most of whom paid $75 to mingle, dine on filet mignon croissant sandwiches and Mardi Gras-themed cupcakes and bid on donated items to financially support Chestnut Hill’s only public school. A few attendees paid $1,000 to be Gold Sponsors of the event.

“I just want to briefly welcome all of you and thank all of you for coming,’’ Seth announced to the assembled crowd. “I think this is a really great event, and I think that every single one of you has contributed to it.’’

“We have a really nice crowd here,’’ said Haviva Goldman, president of Friends of J.S. Jenks. “I’m excited. I’m trying to get people upstairs to our auction. But I think everybody’s enjoying themselves and that’s what we want.’’

The soiree was sponsored by the parents group, which took the opportunity to thank Bob Elfant, of Elfant Wissahickon, and Samuel Staten Jr, of Laborers’ Local 332, for their contributions to the school community.

Elfant donated $2,000 to the school after its “FunFest” was rained out last May, then $2,500 more after the school had $20,000 worth of electronic equipment stolen from its STEM lab in June.

“Mr. Elfant has been a huge supporter of the school over the past several years, and Elfant Wissahickon realtors has also been a huge supporter of the school,” Goldman told the assembled partygoers of the owner of one of Chestnut Hill’s premier real estate companies.

“My father taught me when I grew up that charity was important, that we all have an obligation to perform charitable work,’’ Elfant said after accepting his gift, a plant and pot made by Jenks students. “It’s the kind of thing that you want to do on an ongoing basis … and I think the fact that you’ve got a tremendous crowd here, in a beautiful home on a night like this, speaks to the fact that Jenks is important to a lot of people.”

Mardi Gras fundraiser hosts Seth and Diane McDowell. (Photos by Elizabeth Coady)

Staten, whose two daughters attend Jenks, spearheaded the removal of outdated lockers that were being replaced. The school’s principal, Mary Lynskey, had gotten a bid of $22,000 for the job, an immense sum for the school. After Staten learned of the potential financial hit, he arranged for members of his union to remove the lockers and discard them at a scrap metal yard. He donated the $500 the lockers fetched at the scrap yard back to the school.

“I saw the need,’’ said Staten, whose own father was active in philanthropy. “First of all, I know the problem that the school system has with money.’’

More tasteful than bacchanal, the party was comprised of teachers, parents and community members who fiercely believe in supporting their public school.

“I love Jenks, which is why I’m here.’’ said Sonya Kearney, 51, of Germantown, whose son, Zuri, is an eighth grader at the school. “I want to give back. I love everything about it.’’

Kearney said she is “grateful for the love, education – just the fact that they’ve made me feel like a member of the family.’’

Josh Byrne, a former member of the parents group whose two children previously attended Jenks, said, “I love what the Friends of Jenks does in order to bring high quality programming to the school that it, unfortunately, would not otherwise have due to it being a Philadelphia school. I love supporting it.’’

Byrne, 48, was also there campaigning for Tiffany Palmer, a Jenks parent who is running for judge on the Court of Common Pleas. He collected 15 signatures at the shindig of the required 1,000 names to win Palmer a spot on the May primary ballot.

“She’s tough but she’s also empathetic,’’ Byrne said of Palmer. “She reminds of my mother – I’ve been her friend for 25 years.”

Jenks benefactor Sam Staten Jr. and his wife Antonette.

Two other Philadelphia candidates, Brandi McLaughlin, seeking to become a judge in the Court of Common Pleas, and Melissa Robbins, a candidate for City Council-at-Large, were also at the fundraiser, which raised about $10,700 before expenses were paid.

Goldman said Jenks parents’ involvement in their public school shows their children that everyone is entitled to an education no matter what their income.

“They have seen the inequities in the education system,’’ she said of her own two children. “About how they are in a school that really needs a lot of repairs, could be a lot cleaner, could have a lot more bells and whistles, you know? But this is what exists in this city, and they see that their parents and their friends’ parents are working hard to make a difference. And they understand that … and they’re proud of their school.’’

Seth McDowell echoed that sentiment in comments to the crowd.

“When this commonwealth made its commitment to public education, when we wrote it into our state constitution, the people who decided to do that made that commitment not having benefited necessarily entirely from that benefit themselves, and what they did was they created the intergenerational trust,” he said. “And today we’re paying back that trust by showing that we, too, support public education, and we remain committed to ensuring the children of this … community get the best education that they possibly can. And every single one of us is a part of that right now, and I think that we should be very proud of that.”

Residents who want to donate to Jenks can do so at friendsofjsjenks.org/support. Elizabeth Coady can be reached at elizabeth@chestnuthilllocal.com