Naperville resident John Donarski received the keys to a brand-new Chevy Corvette this evening, a nearly $80,000 vehicle he won in a raffle, benefiting Turning Pointe Autism Foundation.
“I had entered the raffle because it had been a tough year and I said, why not?” said Donarski. “What do I have to lose? And it’d be a dream-come-true if I won something like this.”
That dream came true when just over two weeks ago on December 3, his ticket was pulled from a drawing, live from the NCTV17 studio.
“It’s still surreal,” he said “With everyone having such a tough year this year, I think this a sign for me that there are good things in life so let’s get through this and look ahead.”
“John in particular was such a gracious winner –we’re excited to see him drive off today!” said Carrie Provenzale, Executive Director of Turning Pointe.
Driving Forward…With Plans for a New Classroom
For Turning Pointe, that corvette is a symbol that their organization will be able to drive forward thanks to the support of the community. With the $160,000 their raffle raised, an additional classroom can be built to support kids on the autism spectrum.
“Our waiting list has been nothing but growing this year so to have the resources available to keep our mission strong & growing new spaces for our student is incredible,” said Provenzale. “We’re just so grateful to the community in support of the raffle.”
Donarski surprised the organization with an additional donation tonight in show of appreciation.
“We can write a check and we can donate and that’s very valuable but it’s the entire staff day in and day out,” Donarski said. “That’s what’s really amazing to me.”
Cruising in the Corvette
As for his new ride, he plans to cruise around with someone very special to him.
“A coach, a mentor and now my best friend, my father,” he said. “So wherever he wants to go, I’m the driver and he gets to tell me where he wants to go.”
