Roselle receives $6,500 donation for fireworks

Fundraising for Roselle's annual fireworks show is off to a running start, thanks for a $6,500 donation secured by a village trustee.

Because the village has been unable to pay for fireworks out of its budget, officials have had to rely on donations to pay for the July 3 celebration.

That inspired village Trustee Patrick Devitt to organize a 5K run/walk to raise money for the fireworks.

"As a runner myself, I saw the potential of having another 5K on Thanksgiving, which is one of the biggest running days around the nation," Devitt said.

Devitt's Exploding Turkey Trot on Nov. 27 drew 392 participants from Roselle, Bloomingdale, Schaumburg and Bartlett.

He announced during Monday night's village board meeting that the race raised $6,500 that he was able to donate to the village.

"The great thing about this is it created an awesome community event - a buzz around town," Devitt said as he presented the check to the Mayor Gayle Smolinski. "I'm ecstatic about it."

Smolinski said she was pleased the event could be permanent way to help fund the fireworks. "It was a wonderful turnout for his inaugural event," she said.

Community groups such as the Roselle Chamber of Commerce and area businesses came to the rescue to pay for the fireworks display in 2010 and 2011. The show was canceled in 2012 after the village couldn't find a sponsor.

Then in 2013 and last year, the fireworks show was able to happen because a group associated with Mission Church of Bloomingdale made a large donation.

Even with the $6,500 donation, Roselle still is short of the money it needs to fully fund this year's fireworks. Smolinski said the village needs to raise about $18,000 to secure a fireworks vendor for July 3, a cheaper date to secure a fireworks vendor than on the Fourth.

The mayor said the village board likely will have a discussion next month about what to do next to raise the rest of the money.

"We first wanted to see how successful this event was," Smolinski said.