Cape district honors Funland for work with students

Funland was named the Cape Community Champion for September during a heartfelt presentation at the Sept. 28 school board meeting, where generations of the Fasnacht family were recognized for providing a place of fun and empowerment for district students.

School board Vice President Julie Derrick said Sussex Consortium students volunteer on summer mornings to help get the Rehoboth amusement park ready to open. 

“This is one of the students’ favorite job sites, as you can imagine,” Derrick said. “Who doesn’t love walking into Funland and hearing the bells from the games and feeling the excitement in the air? Plus, it is right on the Boardwalk, so it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Not only is Funland a community vocational partner, Derrick said, but the park is also the favorite activity of the school year for high school Consortium students who visit the park each June before it opens to the public. 

“Imagine walking into Funland and the park is open only for you,” Derrick said. “The students and staff feel like royalty. It is such a special day for all of us. We especially love getting to see Mr. Al [Fasnacht] who goes around the park checking to make sure everyone is having a great time.”

Students couldn’t make their annual trip this June due to air-quality concerns from the Canadian wildfires, Derrick said. When Consortium staff were planning an August celebration for students in the summer program, they reached out to Funland to see if there was any way the park could accommodate them during the busiest time of the year, fully expecting to be told no, Derrick said.

“But in Funland fashion, they did not hesitate and we were able to take the students once again,” Derrick said.

Board member Jessica Tyndall said Funland also supports the district’s elementary schools by partnering with PTOs for ride ticket fundraisers.

“Thank you for being an integral part of our whole Cape community,” Tyndall said.

Fasnacht family member Fiona Curry said she was passing on a message from patriarch Al Fasnacht, who will turn 95 in November and who was watching the presentation live via Zoom.

“He just wanted me to say that you all have it backwards,” Curry said. “We should be thanking you, because Funland never looks better than when we have field trips.”