Bash to Raise Cash for 'Townie Project'

You really want to make this party if you don't do anything else this summer, said Shane Messier.

The event is the "1st Day of Summer Party” at the Whiskey Republic nightclub on the Providence waterfront. It runs Saturday, June 22, starting at 2 pm.

The party is expected to be the largest fundraiser for the "Townie Project" – the gymnasium restoration at East Providence High School.

It should be “a great time for a great cause,” said Messier, the dean of students at the high school and one of the most active volunteers in the grassroots effort to renovate the gym.

There will be a pig roast, music, raffles with great prizes, and a bike run that also starts at 2 pm at the high school and ends at the club.

“The $10 bike run ticket also gets you into the party,” said Messier.

There is a goal of around $100,000 to restore the gymnasium, he said. About $35,000 has been raised so far.

“We hope to add about another $30,000 with this party,” said Messier. “I’m looking for several thousand people to go in and out through the day.”

The bleachers have been removed from the gymnasium, he said. Work on the floor and painting the walls is expected to begin in late July. Work is expected to be done in time for a reopening in September.

“We need people to get together on this,” said Messier. “We want to show that we can come together as a community and have a great time.”

You can more details on Townie Project at the website for D'Amours Step, the nonprofit organization that jumpstarted the restoration.

D'Amours Step was started by 1999 East Providence High School graduate John Carnevale, a mechanical engineer for Raytheon in California. The nonprofit is building a medical center in Uganda and providing medical care and education to other communities worldwide. 

"He wants the gym to be his first project in East Providence," said Messier, who participates in a weekly conference call with Carnevale and 15 to 50 other volunteers. 

"We want to show people we can came together and do what we need to do to make Townie Pride mean something again," Messier said. “We want to bring East Providence back to where it used to be through a facility that everyone can use." 

If you want to get a ticket, contact Messier at smessier@epschoolsri.com.