Coat drive aids needy in Jamesburg

Piles of clothing made it look like Black Friday at the mall, but for many it was more like Christmas.

By: Leon Tovey
   JAMESBURG — Casual visitors to the library at John F. Kennedy Elementary School on Nov. 18 could easily have thought they had traveled a week forward in time. The coating of rumpled, sorted-through clothing on every visible surface made the place look like Macy’s on Black Friday.
   But for dozens of local families, the day was more like Christmas.
   Thanks to the efforts of the Parent Teacher Association, JFK School Nurse Pat Dufty and Grace M. Breckwedel Middle School Nurse Linda Elko, the library was turned into a free closet for needy area families Friday, Monday and Tuesday.
   "I tried to do it for a very small group last year," Mr. Dufty said Nov. 18. "In the end, we found about 116 kids — something like 63 families — that were interested. So this year, we put the word out and have been collecting clothing from the district for the past two weeks."
   The result, Ms. Dufty said, was a lot of clothes.
   "I really didn’t expect to get that much stuff," she said. "And so much of it was new — with the tags still attached. We had PTA parents in yesterday for hours sorting through it all."
   The result was equally impressive on the distribution side. Parent teacher conferences were held Nov. 18 starting at 12:30 p.m. and brightly colored signs on each of the school’s doors invited parents to go to the library and take what they wanted.
   By 1:30 p.m. the neat, folded piles, which had been carefully sorted into vague categories — "little girls," "big girls," "men," "women" — were torn apart and greatly reduced. The jewelry and shoes piles were practically gone, as were several sets of curtains and throw pillows that had been donated.
   "Take a bag and help yourself," proclaimed a sign taped to the library’s checkout counter, where the remains of what looked like a once-impressive mountain of baby clothes indicated that people had, in fact helped themselves.
   As Ms. Dufty and Ms. Elko surveyed the scene, a young mother with a baby in a stroller sorted through the "small boys" pile, while a 6-year-old girl tore with glee through the "little girls" pile.
   "They made such a mess," Ms. Dufty said with a combination of exasperation and pride as she looked out at what the day’s many visitors had left behind.
   "Look mommy, look!" the little girl squealed suddenly, holding aloft a pair of pink pants printed with brightly hued flowers.
   The girl’s mother looked up from the "women" section, smiled and nodded. The little girl turned toward the two school nurses and showed off her new pants.
   "They’re very sweet, dear," Ms. Dufty assured her as the girl and her mother walked out, each carrying a bag of clothes.
   Surveying the remainders after everyone had left, Ms. Dufty sighed and smiled, thinking about the chore of reorganizing the clothes — about half of what they had started out with.
   They tidied a few things up, discussing the district’s upcoming holiday toy drive, which runs until Dec. 14. The toys, along with food and other items, will be given to families Dec. 20.
   "It takes up a lot of time," Ms. Dufty said of the district’s efforts. "But a lot of people do appreciate it. So that makes you feel good."
   Residents interested in donating a toy to the holiday toy drive are asked to contact Ms. Duffy at (732) 656-9140 or Ms. Elko at (732) 656-1108.