April 12, 2022

Even though he’s only in the second grade, Dominic DiFrancesco already has a history of helping people.

A student council representative from his classroom, Dominic recently helped lead the way during a food drive this spring for the Fairview Park Hunger Center. His donation included cases of canned goods.

“I like doing it because I like to help out other people,” Dominic explained. “I think everything should be the same, as in everybody getting the same amount of food.”

According to Dominic, his entire family helped during the donation process. His parents helped him carry the large palette of food into the building, while his grandparents donated money for the drive. He used that money to go to the grocery store and purchase items to be donated. 

“I felt really happy, and I felt really good about myself,” Dominic expressed. “I never want anyone to feel left out by giving them the food.”

“When Dominic started Kindergarten he was in our building,” Cheryl Kotlarsic, second-grade teacher explained. “At that time, we did a competition between grade levels and between classrooms, specifically. There was a pizza party for the class that donated the most canned food items, sponsored by our student council. Dominic brought in a ton of food at that time for his class. However, another classroom ended up beating his class in the competition. But, Mrs. Stevens did treat his classroom to something special because of Dominic’s big effort as a kindergartner.”

Dominic has also collected money for leukemia/lymphoma research in addition to his generosity with the canned food drives. His generosity, caring nature, and positive attitude are just one of the many reasons he was selected to be a student council member by Kotlarsic.

“I chose Dominic as my student council rep for second grade, along with one other student in the classroom,” Kotlarsic explained. “From day one of meeting Dominic, I could tell he was very genuine about being a student leader, someone who cares and wants to help out with others. It’s a really good quality that he has.”

Besides being a student leader in the school, Dominc enjoys playing basketball and soccer. His favorite subjects are both technology and art at the school and he is a big fan of the Pigment app, which combines the two. As a leader on the student council, he is responsible for announcing the food drive, making posters for the school, and collecting donations each day from other students in his classroom.

“He’s just a really good representation for the classroom,” Kotlarsic said. “You try to choose someone who is really going to be involved, and he really likes to do those kinds of things.”

Dominic continues to work diligently on behalf of his classroom and the school, to make things better for everyone in the Fairview Park community. 

“It’s really good to do that kind of stuff, and it’s really nice to help people who don’t have the homes or families to get them food,” he said. “I’ll tell [friends] to get a couple of dollars or something, and then you can spend that money to get food. You can buy the food or take the money to donate so they can buy food at the place you’re giving it to.” 

PHOTO CAPTION: Dominic stands with his collection of donated food for the food drive at Gilles-Sweet in March.