Wednesday fundraiser at El Mezcal to benefit Bannach Elementary

By Brandi Makuski

For its fifth consecutive year, a popular Mexican restaurant is holding a fundraiser for a local elementary school.

El Mezcal Restaurant hosts fundraisers for Bannach Elementary School twice a year. The next fundraiser is scheduled on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

Michelle Konkol, a fourth-grade teacher at Bannach who is also a faculty representative for the school’s PTO, said the restaurant holds a fundraiser each spring and fall. A percentage of the restaurant’s receipts from each event go directly to the PTO.

“It’s brought in thousands of dollars for us,” Konkol said. The last fundraiser brought in $1,350, “so it’s not small change,” she added.

The funds pay for various community-building events like family movie nights, skating and sledding events, and offsetting the costs of field trips. Some of the funds also help pay for a special day of inflatables, held in the school gym before Thanksgiving break.

A percentage of all sales between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday will go back to Bannach. Also, Konkol said, a portion of the purchase price of each El Mezcal gift card during the entire month of November will also go back to the school.

One added bonus to this week’s fundraiser, Konkol said, is that parents and school staff will be volunteering to work at the restaurant on Wednesday.

“It helps draw Bannach families in because the kids love seeing their teachers waiting on them,” she said.

El Mezcal is located at 5741 Suite E, Windy Dr., in eastern Stevens Point.