Monroeville company hosts Sunrise School students for 30th Christmas celebration
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A long-standing tradition continued this holiday season when students at Sunrise School in Monroeville were treated to festivities at a local business.
“This is the 30th year of the Christmas celebration,” Dan Biondi, president of Biondi Motor Co., said as he welcomed his guests. “They look forward to it all year.”
Administered by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Sunrise School serves students with special needs ages 5 to 21. Members of the Biondi family have supported the school for decades, including donating substantially toward construction of a customized playground in 2015.
Leading the way was company founder Louis Bernard Biondi Jr., who died at age 96 on Nov. 30, nine days before the holiday celebration, an event he always enjoyed.
“It’s the best thing we’ve ever done,” he said during the 2019 celebration.
To honor his memory, Sunrise students presented flowers to members of his family this year.
Helping organize the event since its inception is Vera Perry, who worked at Sunrise for 30 years and serves as president of the Monroeville Arts Council. She receives plenty of assistance in making everything flow smoothly.
“Everybody I ask, they say, yes, they’ll come and help,” she said.
Lucy McDonough, Sunrise principal for 12 years, was among those in attendance.
“This has been an excellent event every year,” she said. “I had to come back.”
She acknowledged Scott and Sylvia McCormick of Hopwood for their annual portrayal of Santa and Mrs. Claus, and how they interact so well with the students.
“They also come to our school. They are fantastic,” McDonough said. “I’m so glad that we can be back in person with them. We’ve had to Zoom with Santa for the past two years. This is better.”
Support for Sunrise School extends to many of the vendors with which the Biondis work, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Also, Louis Biondi III makes donations from proceeds at his Biondi Biscotti coffee shop in Penn Township.
“They’re a wonderful family, and Vera, you just can’t say enough about her and what she does for everybody,” McDonough said.