OLD BRIDGE — When he heard the news, he knew he had to help.
Growing up in Brooklyn’s Canarsie neighborhood, Philip Simon goes way back with the Newman family, having been friends for years with his hometown buddy Danny Newman and his wife Fran. When Danny passed away, Simon remained a close family friend.
So when news of a tragedy began to spread — pictures of Fran’s two orphaned grandchildren, Emma and Sophia, were all over the news — Simon, now a resident of Doylestown, Pa., jumped into action.
With the help of two others, Simon set up “The Heather (Newman) Trapp Fund for Emma & Sophia” to help raise money for the two children left parentless after their father, Anthony Trapp, allegedly killed their mother, Heather, in his Old Bridge home, and later committed suicide in an upstate New York hotel where he had checked in with the children. The kids are now staying with Fran, with support from her daughter Jamie.
“I knew it had to be done,” Simon said of the fund. “They suffered enough.”
The fund had raised nearly $70,000 as of early this week, a quickly growing sum that Simon said surprised him “beyond my wildest dreams.”
He originally put in a suggested donation of $25, Simon said, an amount that people quickly matched. So he then suggested $50, and people started giving $50. He went to $100, $250 and $500, and donations kept coming from Old Bridge residents, family friends and even strangers from as far California and Florida.
As of last week, Simon said there were seven donations of $1,000, which he said will help raise the kids in this time of tragedy for the family.
“I never expected this,” Simon said. “I think there is something here we can build on.”
Supporters have also created an online store, available through the fund’s webpage, to help raise additional money for the fund.
Old Bridge Board of Education member Rich Dunn, who lives across the street from the Trapp home on Rose Lane, said he too is heartened by the amount raised for the fund. Dunn said Heather could always be seen walking around the neighborhood with her children and dog, and was a very loving, outgoing person and great neighbor.
“Everything she did was always for her kids,” Dunn said. “She loved her kids dearly and they were her world. She was just a re- ally, really sweet person.”
He encouraged residents to support the fund and help the family get through this difficult time.
“Right now, it’s all about Emma and Sophia and supporting Heather’s mom and sister,” Dunn said. “We as a community have to do what we do and that’s support them wholeheartedly. That’s what the community is for.”
The fund is accepting donations at https://www.wepay.com/donations/emma_and_sophia_trapp_1.
Contact Chris Zawistowski at [email protected].