French Club Event to Benefit Jefferson Families in Need

The Jefferson Township High School French Club will be getting in the holiday spirit on Monday when they host their second annual Café au Lait.

The night will be filled with food, drinks and musical performances by students, while supporting a good cause to help some residents in need.

The event, which is open to the public, will benefit two township families for the holidays. All of the proceeds will go toward gifts on the children's wishlists. 

The event will be a coffee-house set-up, that will have more than 20 students performing musical acts throughout the night.

"We have singers, dancers, instrumentalists, a couple of bands that are going to play," French Club Adviser Lori Castiglione-Cangelosi said.

Castiglione-Cangelosi said that there will be a five-course French dessert and hot beverages served. She said the French Club will make all of the desserts including chocolate mousse, crème brûlée, cream puffs, chocolate macaroons, and a frozen dessert.

She said last year's inaugural event had 120 attendees, and the club is hoping to see the same turnout this year.

"I think that it is a great time to be had by all, and I hope that we get a lot of people," she said.

The families that the event will benefit will be selected with the help of the nurses at the elementary schools. Castiglione-Cangelosi said the residents will be helped anonymously.

She said the families will fill out a wish-list, and the French Club will then do the shopping.

"What ever their wish list is from Santa we try to get," she said.

Castiglione-Cangelosi said she's hoping to raise around $800 on Monday night.

According to Castiglione-Cangelosi, charity events with the French Club is nothing new.

"We visit all the elementary schools for the holiday time, we do bilingual christmas carols, we show them ballet dances," she said. "We're also having a winter semi-formal for the first time in Jefferson history.

The price of the event is $5 in advance and $8 at the door. Doors will open at the high school Monday night at 6:30 p.m., and the event will begin at 7 p.m.