Fundraiser is in memory of teacher

Anne Godlewski dreamed of a retirement filled with supplying rocking chairs and books for mothers and newborns.

Though the Lorain kindergarten teacher died unexpectedly in February about a year shy of retirement, her family stoked the dream in her memory.

“This is a good thing for Lorain,” said Tom Godlewski, Anne’s husband. “This is something good for the kids of Lorain. I think it’s going to heal us, too.”

Godlewski made those comments in announcing the creation of a Rock ‘N’ Read Foundation on www. RockNReadLorain.com in partnership with Mercy Health and Boys & Girls Clubs of Lorain County.

Rock ‘N’ Read will provide a rocking chair and a book for underprivileged new mothers and their babies, he said.

“The rocking chairs are about bonding,” Godlewski said, explaining when a child enters kindergarten, teachers can tell which ones were cuddled by mothers who read books to them.

“Teachers say they can tell right away the ones who spend time with Mom,” Godlewski said. “It’s a positive thing for the city and it will only get bigger every year. That was Anne’s dream on retirement.”

A fundraiser, Party with a Purpose, is set for 6 to 11 p.m., Nov. 4, at German’s Villa at 3330 Liberty Ave. in Vermilion.

Party with a Purpose includes live music, dinner buffet, beer, wine and soft drinks, he said. Tickets cost $50 each. A silent auction and 50/50 drawing also are planned, he said.

“What a party it’s going to be,” Godlewski said. “It’s going to be beautiful: White table cloths, band, great food. You’re coming together to do good for Lorain and keep Anne’s memory alive.

“The year 2018 was going to be her last year of teaching,” Godlewski said. “At 56 she was thinking, ‘What could she do that will be a help to the kids of Lorain?’ And that was what she came up with, which was a very good thought, and that’s the way she was.”

Their daughter, Meg Godlewski, teaches kindergarten in Berea, a career inspired by her mother.

“Meg has really taken on this project and the website and the organization and the entire Rock ‘N’ Read Foundation,” Godlewski said.

“She loves it. She grew up with it. It’s in her blood. She understands how important this is for kids who enter school.”

Anne’s influence is missed every day, he said.

“Anne was a very humble person, and she listened,” Godlewski said. “She listened to her friends in the schools, the teachers, the parents, the kids. She could downplay a potential situation and make it okay for everybody. Patience, she’s missed. It will be okay. She put it in God’s hands.”

The rocking chairs and books will be distributed by a Mercy Resource Mothers Program, he said.

And an estimated $10,000 a year will be donated to Boys and Girls Clubs of Lorain County for a SPARK early literacy tutoring program, Godlewski said.

Party with a Purpose includes comfort foods such as chicken paprikash and a cheesecake table, he said.

Speaking for friends and family, those left behind feel deeply the void caused by Anne’s death, he said.

“We enjoyed life,” Godlewski said. “In our family we laughed through life, and all our friends know that. But that is gone now. It will be a wonderful thing to get together with everybody and laugh again. We as a family can’t move on with our lives until we do this.”

Godlewski