By Anthony V. Coppola, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE Approximately 60 students from the Pond Road Middle School allowed one California high school student and his family to get back on their feet following the wildfires that destroyed their livelihood.
Fifth-graders from Carol Hotchkiss’s and Katie Gildea’s classes discussed an article in a December issue of Time for Kids regarding the October 2007 disaster, spurring their interest to help, according to Ms. Hotchkiss.
Fortunately for the students, Lynn Bowen, a basic skills teacher at Pond Road, knew just how the kids could help.
”I told the students my daughter is working at a school in California, and she knows a student named Eddie who lost everything,” Ms. Bowen said. “Immediately the kids started saying they wanted to do something to help him.
In just under two weeks, the fifth-graders, along with assistance from students in the Early Act club, raised over $200 in spare change to help Eddie’s family purchase basic necessities. Ms. Hotchkiss facilitates the Early Act club, which aims to help those in need locally and internationally.
”Lately we’ve been doing a lot to help people in different nations,” Ms. Hotchkiss said of the club. “We thought this was the perfect way to help someone locally.”
Ms. Hotchkiss said the students started coming up with ideas of things to send the family with the fundraiser money, such as bottled water, but told them shipping charges were cost-prohibitive. It became apparent to the faculty members involved that a Visa gift card was the way to go.
Having a personal connection to the recipient of the gift card really added to experience, according to Ms. Bowen.
”The kids made a sweet card letting the family know they were thinking of them,” Ms. Bowen said. “Knowing the name of the boy definitely made it more personal.”
Ms. Bowen said the donation was sent just before Christmas to her daughter, Joanna, who gave the gift to Eddie at school.
”Joanna said his response was, ‘wow,’” Ms. Bowen said. “He thought it was really cool that we would do something like that for him and his family.”
Ms. Hotchkiss said Early Act is involved with several organizations including Lawrence-based HomeFront, United Nations Children’s Fund and March of Dimes.
The club’s two latest efforts include collecting cell phones to donate to the military and the “Souper Bowl,” a canned food drive to benefit the food pantry in the Robbinsville Senior Center. Early Act will also participate in Valentines for Veterans by sending valentines to war veterans in West Orange next month.