Scholarship to honor eighth grader at who passed away due to chronic illness
By: Purvi Desai
WASHINGTON A scholarship will honor the late Alex Arcuri an eighth grader at Pond Road Middle School who passed away May 1 due to chronic illness.
The scholarship will be created by the Washington Township Uniform Fire Fighters Association Union, said its president Jason Palmer in a phone interview Monday, adding it will be funded through donations received by Alex’s parents.
"I talked to Regina (Alex’s mother) and she had wanted to donate the money to the Fire Department but wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to do with it, or how she wanted us to spend it," Mr. Palmer said.
He said he suggested the idea of the scholarship fund and Ms. Arcuri liked it.
"At this point, they’re still receiving donations," Mr. Palmer said, adding that every donation received by the Arcuris will go toward the scholarship.
"What we’re probably going to be doing, is putting the money into a CD earmarked for that scholarship fund, and every year, we’ll be handing it out to the Pond Road Middle School as a scholarship," Mr. Palmer said.
Alex was dearly loved and care for by everyone at Pond Road Middle School, said Principal Paul Gozzi. Mr. Gozzi said he was a very caring, nice young man who made a big impact on students and staff alike and had been in the school district since third grade.
Alex enjoyed working with younger students and assisted third and fourth graders in the after-school CARE program, both as a seventh and eighth grader, he said.
The scholarship will serve to be a memory of Alex to the school students and staff.
The firefighter’s union is currently involved in the academic awards handed out to graduating eighth graders, and this fund will further increase their involvement with the school, Mr. Palmer said.
"We started participating in that program last year," he said.

