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could become one of the greatest ongoing fundraisers in the history of Easterseals. If the door the White Sox has auto- graphed raises the funds it should, would a collectible series of doors from the Hawks, then the Bulls, of course the Bears and especially the Cubs be in order?
“If so, we can sure get more doors,” confirms Graham, who hopes to make the rounds on some of the local morning televi- sion shows to promote the auction and the cause.
And why stop there? Fort Pitt Lodge 1 in Pittsburgh, where the FOP was founded, could have one of its department doors signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Or Crescent City Lodge 2 in New Orleans could have a door signed by the Saints for the 2019 National Convention it’s hosting. This could become
a new approach for the FOP to add to the $12 million it has raised nationally for Easterseals.
“All you need is a little imagination to come up with the ideas and you’re ready to go,” assures Rocky Nowaczyk, the Illinois FOP National Trustee who, as the National FOP’s Easterseals Chair, is renowned nationally as its most enthusiastic advo- cate.
Chicago Lodge 7 opening doors for Easterseals support goes back to the inaugural days of the union, when President John Dineen and his sergeant-at-arms, Bill Nolan, were con- stantly trying to sort through the multitude of requests from local charities. They presented the idea of making Easterseals the Illinois FOP charity of choice in the late 1960s. After the State Lodge approval, they took it to the national conference in Nashville in 1975, and from then on, it’s been a relentless series of door prizes from FOP to Easterseals.
When Mark Donahue was Lodge 7 president during the 2000s, the organization raised more than $100,000 to contrib- ute toward building the school, cafeteria and other facilities for Phase 1 of the Easterseals Terrence J. Hancock campus on West 13th Street in the 12th District. Past President Dean Angelo, Sr., initiated a program to have Easterseals young adults work in the FOP Gift Shop.
“You should have seen the look on those kids’ faces,” Nowaczyk recalls. “Doing something to earn a paycheck really helped in their development.”
And this latest fundraiser is a doorway to Phase 2 of the Chi- cago campus: “Building a Healthier Tomorrow,” a fitness, well- ness and recreation center with access to a variety of physical education activities including sports, exercise groups, weight training and social opportunities for students. The center will include a gymnasium, running track, fitness loft, locker rooms,
36 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ AUGUST 2018