Business teacher Al Catarro and the student body hosted several fundraisers to land him a spot at TruMark Financial’s 8th annual Kiss-A-Pig
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
He may not have six-pack abs like most contestants on The Bachelor. But Raines still had dozens vying to pucker up for him.
On the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 3, the pink, plump pot-bellied pig ventured from his Ross Mill Farms home to be the star of TruMark Financial Credit Union’s eighth annual Kiss-A-Pig Financial Literacy Fundraiser.
Held at the Abington Art Center in Jenkintown, the event brought together educators, community and business leaders, and credit union employees, all of whom raised money for the privilege of kissing Raines. Each year, proceeds go toward providing local schools with tools needed to teach the basics of personal finance and how to secure a future of financial success.
To date, Kiss-A-Pig, along with other TruMark Financial initiatives, has raised $300,000 for area schools, covering the cost of resources such as calculators, computer software and textbooks. In addition to funding these items, TruMark currently runs six student branches at local high schools, including Bensalem and William Tennent, and hosts annual events like financial Jeopardy, which awards more than $11,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors.
“Financial education is near and dear to our hearts,” said Randi Marmer, assistant vice president of community relations. “Without proper education, students often use credit cards and quickly max them out. They don’t understand that not paying their cell phone bill on time impacts their credit score immediately. They are often overwhelmed with student loans, which affects their purchasing power.”
So what exactly does kissing a pig have to do with financial literacy? According to Marmer, it’s an attention grabber.
“It certainly is a different event, much like Gritty, the Flyers’ new mascot. Kissing a pig has a lot of people talking about the need to raise money for financial education,” she said. “This pig is a socialized, friendly pig and I think people have a misconception. They think, kiss a pig? But it’s a fun, whimsical event that has really heightened awareness.”
Hosting the fundraiser for the third time was 101.1 MoreFM radio personality Bill Tafrow, who kicked things off by serving as the guinea pig (no pun intended) to demonstrate how to properly kiss Raines. Participants had to choose either a Cheerio or chip, partially place the snack in their mouth, and allow the pig to grab it from the other end. At a quick glance, it looked as though the pig was receiving a kiss right on his snout. Though he’s usually a self-described “chip guy,” Tafrow went for the Cheerio this year.
“This is gonna be a little more of an intimate experience,” he said, crouching down to Raines’ level as the crowd cheered him on.
After the first successful “kiss” of the night, Tafrow called participants to the stage one by one to have their moment with Raines. Representatives hailed from businesses such as Kershner Office Furniture, KYW News Radio 1060, La Salle University and TruMark Financial.
Some, including Philadelphia Union forward CJ Sapong, were hesitant first-timers. But many were Kiss-A-Pig veterans and were determined to prove it, choosing the Cheerio over the chip and attempting upside down “Spiderman” kisses.
Taking one for the William Tennent team was business teacher Al Catarro, whose student body sold T-shirts, lollipops and snacks to land a spot at Kiss-A-Pig.
“It’s very meaningful because it gives our kids a lot more experience. We have students working in the branch,” he said. “And financial literacy is such a good cause. It’s something that’s very deficient in our schools, so we appreciate all they (TruMark) do for us.”
Acquainting himself with Raines on behalf on Bensalem High School was business education teacher David Miller, who donned one of his best suits for the occasion. Miller, whose students were the top fundraisers this year, shared a similar sentiment to Catarro on the necessity of financial literacy.
“It’s extremely important. Money is the number one reason for divorce,” he said to a chuckling audience.
By the end of the evening, more than $27,000 had been raised, and, according to Marmer, large checks were still flowing in.
“Who would ever imagine that puckering up with a pig would raise enough money to allow schools to purchase items like Chromebooks, computer programs, updated personal finance resources and calculators,” she said. “Each year it gets better and better, and it’s so nice to see the schools come out and cheer for their teams. I never imagined that it would evolve into a big event like it did.” ••
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
