BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — Children in the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District have opened their piggy banks and their hearts and have raised more than $12,000 to benefit victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami that struck Southeast Asia.
“Pine Brook School students are always looking for ways to help people,” said DyAnn DeClerico, assistant principal. “Griffin Brodman, a fifth grade student and treasurer of the student council, helped to coordinate a fund-raising campaign with student council advisers Jamie Lustig and Lindsay Singer.”
Student council members created posters to advertise the fund-raising event and made morning broadcasts on the Pine Brook News Network.
Through the generosity of students, parents and staff members, the school raised $1,333 in a week.
At the Taylor Mills School, staff and students raised money at the Taylor Mills Flea Market. Each child donated a toy, book or game that was sold at a school flea market held from Jan. 26-28. The flea market opened early and children were able to do their shopping throughout the day. Items cost $1.
“With our enrollment of close to 700 students plus our staff members, we were able to raise a substantial amount of money as our donation,” said Melissa Foy, assistant principal.
At the close of flea market business hours on Jan. 28, Taylor Mills School collected $2,800 for the tsunami victims.
Milford Brook School Principal Doug Dresher said he would bleach his hair blond if the pupils in his school filled four 15-gallon barrels with pennies.
“As a hoot I told the kids that if they filled all four, I would have my hair dyed blond,” said the principal. “The fourth one was filled today (Jan. 28).”
Dresher said he estimated that each barrel holds about $2,000 worth of pennies.
“I haven’t had to do this kind of math since high school,” he said, “but this is the best that I could figure. We’ve had kids bringing in their entire change bank. Parents took their kids’ piggy banks to work and told (co-workers) what was going on at school. A parent came in with $50 from where she works and teachers have been coming in with buckets of pennies. This has been really nice.”
At Wemrock Brook School, Principal Jacqueline Martin said the school community is filling a big jug with coins and bills.
Students at Clark Mills School finished their collection on Feb. 11. It was estimated that $700 had been collected as of Feb. 1.
Lafayette Mills School Principal Mel Reid said the collection at his building is called Coins for Relief.
“We’re collecting until the middle of February,” Reid said. “In addition to the regular collection, the student council is donating the proceeds from our internal post office. One boy donated his birthday money. He said, ‘They needed it more than I do.’ We’ve had a few like that.”
Principal Robert Williams said students at the Manalapan Englishtown Middle School are selling ribbons for $1.
“The kids just throw [the money] in a container in the lunch room,” said Williams. “We’re still in the process of doing it. We’ve talked about it on our TV [station] in the morning and it’s been discussed during lunch time. It’s going along fine.”
Williams said MEMS will have a final count on its donation in a week or two.