Oak Park, Illinois – At Lincoln, every day is a day of learning. But in early December at the 5th Annual Hungry Minds Pasta Dinner, 75 fifth grade students from Lincoln School in Oak Park got an education of another sort – they learned the joy that comes from working hard with your friends for a cause greater than ourselves.

The Hungry Minds Pasta dinner is a school wide event and money raised goes to support hunger relief organizations both in the U.S. and abroad. During classroom time, students are placed in small groups and asked to research a hunger organization which is worthy of the fundraising dollars. The kids then present their chosen organization to the greater group and all vote on the one they think is the best. This year, the students raised over $2,800 in support of Wateraid (www.wateraid.org), The International Alliance to End Hunger (www.alliancetoendhunger.org) and Charity Water (www.charitywater.org).

Lincoln had almost 500 dinner reservations that evening and the fifth grade students made sure not a glass went empty nor a plate of pasta un-cheesed. Samantha Braun, a fifth grader in Mr. Halter’s class said this about the event, “It was really fun serving people with the rest of my class. And I’m happy that we raised money for people around the world who are hungry.”

The Lincoln school community would like to thank all of the sponsors who donated in support of the event: Avenue Ale House, Perfect Dinner, Skrine Chops, Autre Monde, Bottom Lounge, Cucina Paradiso, DiNico's Pizza, Edwardo's, Francesca's Fiore, Il Vicolo Trattoria, Jimmy's Place, The Kinderhook Tap, Lake St Kitchen & Bar, Maya del Sol, Salerno's Pizza, Starship Subs, Trader Joe's, Trattoria 225, Turano Bakery, Whole Foods and Winberies.