Annual Lighted Way Spaghetti Dinner

by Jim Lannen

We want to remind everyone that coming Monday, April 4th, we will be hosting the annual Lighted Way Spaghetti Dinner here at the Uptown Grill. This will be the 15th year that we have hosted the event, and it is something that we look forward to every year.

We'll only be open from 11am to 2pm for lunch that day before we switch into full spaghetti mode. Come one, come all!  Enjoy a plate full of spaghetti, fresh baked bread, salad, coffee and cake for an $8.00 donation.

Spaghetti Service from 4:30 - 8:00 pm

Dine in or Carry Out

Monday, April 4

What is amazing about this yearly event is that all of your charitable dollars stay local, right here in LaSalle for the Lighted Way Foundation. Lighted Way is a private day school that has catered to students with developmental disabilities since 1957. This is their major yearly benefit. Please come help support this great cause. The proceeds made from the Spaghetti Dinner will be put into the Lighted Way Foundation and dispersed to meet the needs of its students.

The Lighted Way currently enrolls over 30 students ranging in ages from 3 to 22 years old. Students are taught by certified special education teachers, and additional care is provided by teacher aides. Lighted Way has extensive programs geared towards engaging students both educationally and therapeutically: music, occupational, physical, and speech and language. The Lighted Way teachers also provide their students help to develop skills in the areas of self-help, social, readiness, independent living, motor, perceptual motor, and computer with additional training in physical education, augmentative communication and vocational preparation.

Lighted Way's Symbol is "Light" and they strive to:

• Light the way for students with disabilities
• Instill in each child a sense of self-worth
• Guide students through their educational and therapeutic programs
• Help students be an integral part of their community
• Treat each child with dignity, respecting their individual differences

Over the course of the last 15 years, we have served over 25,000 plates of spaghetti and helped raise over $220,000! Each year, we have a very dedicated staff... from the Uptown Grill employees and volunteers, to the terrific Lighted Way employees and volunteers. We always have a great turnout of help dedicated to serving our community.

It is always a wonderful night with a packed house, serving up plate after plate of pasta with a goal of helping this great cause. Thank you all for your past help and donations. We look forward to seeing you again this year!