Ex-Newsboys, Pizza Oven Charities set for fundraiser dance

Gary Brown
·4 min read
The Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys includes a 50/50 raffle raising money for the "Ex-Newsies" to buy clothing and shoes for school children in need.
The Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys includes a 50/50 raffle raising money for the "Ex-Newsies" to buy clothing and shoes for school children in need.

"The perfect way to support our community and enjoy a night out with co-workers."

That's what an online review of a previous Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys said about the annual event. The dance held annually in January at Canton Memorial Civic Center raises money to assist in the Ex-Newsboys' mission – obtaining shoes and clothing for school children in need.

"Can't wait 'til next year."

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Well, "next year" is now. The 2024 edition of the Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys Association will be Friday night at the Civic Center in downtown Canton. Entertainment will be provided – as it is every year – by Jimmy and the Soul Blazers and LaFlavour, two popular area bands.

"The bands are worth the price of admission alone," another reviewer claims at the Pizza Oven Charities website. "Throwing in a pizza and unlimited beer is a bonus."

As this photo from a recent Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys shows, the event includes dancing and drinks; laughs with friends; and a cause worth every penny.
As this photo from a recent Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys shows, the event includes dancing and drinks; laughs with friends; and a cause worth every penny.

How the event got started

Veteran dancers at the charity event know that – beyond the money raised to help the schoolchildren – the dance remains a memorial to Pizza Oven restaurants founder Salvator Joseph "Junior" DiPietro, who died seven years ago. He was known to those close to him as "Joe" and "Papa Bear."

"We originally started this dance as a 50th anniversary for Pizza Oven," DiPietro's daughter, Stephanie DePietro Condric, corporate officer with Pizza Oven and coordinator of Pizza Oven Charities, once told The Canton Repository. "We're still holding it in memory of our founder."

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The Canton Ex-Newsboys Association, you see, was one of the causes that the late DePietro was most fond of funding through his Pizza Oven Charities, the philanthropic arm of his popular restaurant business.

"Every single penny we raise from the dance goes directly to the Ex-Newsboys," Condric told the Repository for an article about the dance in 2022.

And, every penny the Ex-Newsboys organization brings in pays for the clothing items that young Stark County schoolchildren need to attend classes in schools throughout the Canton area.

"That No School Child Shall Miss School For Need Of Shoes Or Clothing" has been the Ex-Newsboys' motto since the group was founded more than six decades ago.

While pizza, beer and dancing are good draws for the Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys, at its heart is a chance to help raise money for a good cause.
While pizza, beer and dancing are good draws for the Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys, at its heart is a chance to help raise money for a good cause.

Looking back at recent dances

So, the dance is, at once, a DiPietro family memory and a community celebration. At the 2020 event, Joe DiPietro's son Stephen DiPietro greeted many of the 1,400 guests with his mother, Georgia, at the event’s entrance.

"This is just like a giant wedding reception," DiPietro, organizing the event with his brother David, told a newspaper writer at that time. "Except you don't have to bring a gift."

The late Salvator Joseph "Papa Bear" DiPietro, known as Joe and sometimes as Junior, who founded Pizza Oven restaurants, held the Canton Ex-Newsboys high as one of his favorite charities. Now the Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys continues to be held in his honor and to raise money a good cause, buying clothing and shoes for needy school children.

And, it was a night of continuing generosity. The 2020 dance raised $30,000 for the Ex-Newsboys, which since its inception in 1960 has helped far more than 55,000 children.

The 2022 dance was, according to Repository staff writer Benjamin Duer, a "night of good vibes and music." Returning after the coronavirus pandemic caused the cancelation of the 2021 event, the dance was "nothing short of a good time."

"More than 1,000 people attended," Duer wrote in an article published in the Repository the day after the event. "They ate, they danced."

And, they gave generously to the Ex-Newboys organization.

"They provide clothes for kids in every school district," Stephen DiPietro told Duer. "They are a great community organization."

How to get tickets

Although the Ex-Newsboys charity dance can trace its roots to 2006, when Pizza Oven first held it to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the restaurant chain, it took on special meaning upon the death of Pizza Oven founder Joe DiPietro in 2017.

"His family chose to honor their father's memory by sponsoring the dance in his name," recalls the Pizza Oven Charities website.

Entertainment at the Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys is provided by two well known bands, Jimmy and the Soul Blazers and LaFlavour.
Entertainment at the Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance for the Canton Ex-Newsboys is provided by two well known bands, Jimmy and the Soul Blazers and LaFlavour.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Civic Center for this year's Pizza Oven Charities Benefit Dance. Music will be from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Discounted pre-ordered tickets are available at pizzaovencharities.com for $35, or at any Pizza Oven location. Tickets also will be sold at the door Jan. 12 for $40. All tickets include auditorium seating, live band music, dancing, unlimited beer and pizza, and free parking.

VIP sponsor tables, which enjoy waiter service at the table and recognition in the event program, are available for $350 at the Pizza Oven Charities website. Or, call Condric at 330-936-9601. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available at higher levels.

It's "a night most wait for all year long," the event page at the Pizza Oven Charities website claims. "Dancing and drinks. Laughs with friends. A cause worth every penny."

Reach Gary at gary.brown.rep@gmail.com. On Twitter: @gbrownREP.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Ex-Newsboys, Pizza Oven Charities set for fundraiser dance