Fort Lee Elementary School SADD Students To Raffle Off Mets Tickets

The Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) organization at is once again raffling off New York Mets tickets—really good ones.

Last year, a similar fundraiser brought in slightly more than $1,500 for technology equipment, said School No. 1 guidance counselor and SADD advisor Marisa Buonomo.

Raffle tickets are $2 apiece, with the winner receiving four field-level tickets—valued at more than $250—to the game on May 16, when the Mets host the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field.

“They’re great seats behind the dugout,” said Paige Soltano of the School No. 1 PTA.

Buonomo said SADD is hoping the fundraiser proves to be as successful as last year’s, if not more so. She also said that success was thanks in large part to the efforts of then third-grade SADD representative, Jordan Sarnoff, whom she called “the moving force behind getting the whole thing together.”

“He is just so articulate and so savvy when it comes to pushing for something he believes in,” Buonomo said. “He had this contact over with the New York Mets and basically ran the whole show himself.”

As from April 2011 described it:

[Jordan] penned a letter to Mets owner Fred Wilpon and included a Powerpoint presentation, hoping to hear back from his favorite team.

Surprisingly, the Mets did respond, and Jordan spoke on the phone with the team’s marketing staff last fall.

“From there, we started working on this Mets project to sort of get them some good publicity and to raise some money for the school,” Jordan said.

Buonomo said Jordan came to her again this year with a similar proposal.

“He decided to do it again and was able to acquire four field-level tickets for the Mets,” Buonomo said. “He was the SADD representative last year; he’s not a SADD rep this year because it’s through an election process that we run the SADD organization. But he still wanted to do it for the school.”

SADD’s founding mission was teaching kids about the perils of drunk driving, but several years ago, the organization expanded that mission and changed its name.

“I would prefer to be really specific about that, but I think destructive decisions covers all bases, like bullying and drug abuse, alcohol abuse, being biased or prejudiced,” Buonomo said. “I think that’s why they changed it.”

In the Fort Lee school district, SADD organizations in the public schools have done everything from sponsoring or simply , to raising more than $2,800 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through a , to forming a to raise awareness about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse—to name just a few recent events.

“The SADD organization does so many great things here,” Soltano said. “This is just another example of a fundraiser they’re doing.”

The deadline to enter the drawing for Mets tickets hasn’t yet been determined, but Buonomo said SADD is shooting for about April 30, with the drawing to follow shortly thereafter.

To enter the raffle to win tickets for the game at Citi Field on May 16, you can pick up a form at Fort Lee School No. 1, located at 250 Hoym St., and mail it back to the school to Buonomo’s attention, with checks payable to “Fort Lee School One.”