Smooth Salesmanship

COLD CASH  On a hot July 15, eight-year-old Evan Pidane (left) and his brother, 10-year-old Justin, both students of St. Anthony School, Hawthorne, operated a stand on Lincoln Avenue in Pompton Lakes, during the borough-wide yard sale. They raised $130 to benefit the food pantry of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne. The boys not only raised the money, but also shopped for food — with the help of their parents Jamie and Kevin — and delivered it to the food pantry.

HAWTHORNE  The blazing summer sun had pushed up temperatures into the 90s in Pompton Lakes on July 15 — as well as drink sales for Justin and Evan Pidane and their well-stocked lemonade stand outside at the curb on Lincoln Avenue there. All day, profits kept soaring with sales of their soft drinks, power drinks, ice teas and water, as shoppers — and browsers — stopped by the stand to quench their thirst, during the popular borough-wide yard sale on that Saturday.

But 10-year-old Justin Pidane and his eight-year-old brother, Evan — both students at St. Anthony School here — can chalk up the secret of their success to something more than the July heat: smooth salesmanship. Fifth-grader Justin, expertly ran the stand — organizing drinks, refilling coolers and handling money. Meanwhile, third-grader Evan got out from behind their table — actually an old desk — and used his sunny smile and bubbly personality in walking up to shoppers on the blocked-off street. He approached them with a sales pitch mixed with a heartfelt plea: “Ice cold drinks…for charity” — a winning strategy that helped them net $130 for St. Anthony Parish’s food pantry.

“In St. Anthony School, we get the message that some people in this world are lucky and others are not and that everybody should help [the poor],” said Justin, who serves as an altar server at the parish and plays basketball and volunteers in the safety patrol in school. “We didn’t want the parish food pantry to be empty, so we raised money.”

The boys operated a full-service outreach to the hungry at St. Anthony by not only raising money for the food, but also shopping for it — with the help of their parents Jamie and Kevin — and delivering it to the food pantry, located in St. Anthony’s rectory. This past July marks the brothers’ third time running a lemonade stand in Pompton Lakes for the food pantry — and their best profits yet. Three summers ago, they made $80. Last summer, they netted $100 — $30 less than this year, said Jamie Pidane, an elementary and middle school art teacher.

The boys’ lemonade stand stood in front of their maternal grandparents’ house on Lincoln Avenue. They also advertised their cause with a sign in front of the table that displayed the following sales pitch: “Ice Cold Drinks. Donations appreciated. All proceeds will benefit a local food pantry. Last year, we were able to provide 100 items for the pantry. Please help us beat that goal.”

“We sat under an umbrella, because it was so hot that day,” said Justin, a member of the Service Club in school and also an altar server in the parish. “Some people accidentally grabbed the sample bottles on the table that weren’t cold. The largest bill that we got was $5. People encouraged us. Some people just donated money without even taking the drinks,” he said.

When Justin and Evan — with their parents — went shopping for the food, they were careful to buy groceries on sale, so they could get the best value for their money. Before setting up the lemonade stand, they asked the pantry for a list of needed food — non-perishables, including cake mix, canned fruit, vegetables and applesauce. A week after running the lemonade stand, the boys delivered five boxes and several bags of groceries. Justin made the food list and led the shopping trip, while they both organized the food afterward. The brothers plan to run another lemonade stand next year, Jamie Pidane said.

“St. Anthony’s food pantry was thrilled,” said Jamie Pidane. “When Justin and Evan came to us three years ago, wanting to start a lemonade stand, we thought that they wanted money for a video game or something. When they said that they wanted to give the money to charity, we were surprised. The parish and school teach the boys that they have so much and should give back. We’re so proud of them,” she said.

Rooted in faith and Jesus’ message of social justice, St. Anthony’s School instills service through various activities throughout the year. Students have come together to raise money for lunches for poor children through Table to Table and for UNICEF during Halloween. In addition, students have collected toys for underprivileged kids for Christmas, baskets of food for the parish pantry for Thanksgiving and canned goods for the pantry during Lent. They have written postcards to children with cancer, performed community service during Catholic Schools Week and collected school supplies, personal items and gift cards for students of a classroom in a school in Bay City, Texas, which was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. The school’s Service Club has organized these outreaches, said Michele Hancewicz, St. Anthony’s administrative assistant.

“We teach the students to give to those in need — a component of our Catholic faith, which the parish and school promote,” said Salesian Sister Colleen Clair, St. Anthony’s principal. So impressed by the Pidane brothers’ selflessness, the principal sent a photo of them and a blurb for publication in the parish bulletin. “The boys contributed to the good work that the parish was already doing. The more we publicize [good works like the Pidanes], the more other kids will be inspired to do the same,” she said.

All year long, St. Anthony’s parishioners — as well as Ambassadors Against Hunger, a local organization — regularly donate to the food pantry, where the Pidanes brought their food contributions. Volunteers stock the shelves of the pantry, located in the rectory basement, pack the bags for clients and then place the bags in a hallway closet upstairs, so office staff can distribute them to clients. The pantry offers other non-perishable items, such as pasta, cereal and soup. Clients are required to register with the pantry first, said Victor DePauw, who with wife, Arleen, belong to a group which runs the pantry, under the supervision of Deacon Gerald Fadlalla.

“The brothers took it upon themselves [to raise money, buy food and deliver it to the pantry]. They are doing good things. We are grateful for it,” DePauw said. “Some clients have a short-time need for food — we help them survive and get back on their feet. The people of our parish are very generous.”