A Peddie School event sought to unite the less privileged with volunteers.
By: Scott Morgan
HIGHTSTOWN On Sunday afternoon, The Peddie School campus looked like something of a snow globe. Without the games and classes and commotion, the open fields and old buildings and snow-dusted pine trees sat quiet and settled.
But things were about to get shaken up.
Over at the Ian H. Graham Athletic Center, teachers, students, faculty and at least one benevolent dragon waited for the low-level buzz to bubble over. By the time a far-off bell tower sounded 12 peals, it did exactly that. And when the first yellow school bus rolled into the athletic center parking lot, Peddie School Community Service Day, 2003, officially kicked off.
Community Service Day is an annual event at Peddie, which seeks to unite the less privileged with volunteers from the Peddie community.
On the bottom floor of the center, 6-year-old Chelsea Thomas and her 4-year-old sister Amber immediately lined up to make pinecone ornaments with Peddie freshman Kim Creel. Chelsea and Amber are the daughters of Carla Thomas, a teacher at the Hedgepeth/Williams Middle School in Trenton (formerly Junior 2). And for the girls, Ms. Thomas said, coming to Community Service Day is a chance to "get out and have some fun."
"The kids don’t get out of Trenton much," said Thomas Harrington, a counselor at Hedgepeth/Williams. "They come here and have a really good time."
Though Mr. Harrington himself is a veteran of such events (there is a similar event held at The Lawrenceville School each spring), he said bringing out the kids, who largely are unable to enjoy the luxuries of such schools as Peddie, is a great step in a great direction.
Hedgepeth/Williams, of course, was not the only outside group. As Amber and Chelsea tried their fortunes at the Crazy Hat beanbag toss (Chelsea won some candy, by the way), kids from HomeFront (a Lawrence-based nonprofit group that helps the homeless and working poor) traced their silhouettes and chanced the ring toss.
Then, of course, there was that dragon. Fierce though it might have looked, the children willingly crawled into the mouth of the great beast and giddily worked their way down its gullet. For those not brave enough to chance a tangle with a fire-breathing monster, there was a friendlier-looking elephant who doubled as a jungle bounce.
But most kids ended up trying both.
On the other side of the wall, kids too big to grapple with inflated animals and knock-a-block games tested Peddie kids on the basketball court. It wasn’t obvious who was winning, but it didn’t really seem as if anyone cared enough to keep score.
One more step to the left, though, it was a different story. This was where a handful of Peddie students squared off for a game of kickball against a troupe of Special Olympics athletes from various area schools. Unofficially, the Peddie kids were not supposed to win. But as orange T-shirt after orange T-shirt strode over home plate, it became obvious that Peddie needed no help in losing.
The revelry, of course, was not limited to kids from the less advantaged side of life. Children of Peddie teachers attacked just as many ferocious beasts and had their faces painted just as often as anyone else. For Peddie English teacher Tris Wood, this was a major point.
"This is a great community event," Mr. Wood said. "We try to come down and meet as may kids as possible."
Meanwhile, Mr. Wood’s 3-year-old daughter, Bridget, her face painted to resemble a puppy, took him to his word and ran off to play with children she hadn’t met until about an hour ago.
Upstairs, away from the carnival atmosphere, there were reminders of the more pragmatic side of Community Service Day. There was the book drive, the toothbrush giveaway, the snack tables, the clothes collections. All of which were staffed by volunteer parents and students, all of which were designed to help as much as entertain.
And this, after all, was the heart of the day. Sure it was about having a good time, but it was about lending a hand, too.
"We have so much," said Peddie Freshman Caitlyn Cook, who managed the Make-a-Valentine table. "This gives us a chance to give a little back."
The day also featured a blood drive and a food drive to some folks in the area who are unable to leave their homes.