UFRSD schools come to aid of family displaced by fire

Drive organized by superintendent yields overwhelming support

BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

ALLENTOWN — The Upper Freehold Regional School District showed the spirit of giving during the holiday season by banding together to help an Allentown family whose home was left uninhabitable after a recent fire.

“People have been remarkable — really remarkable,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Richard Fitzpatrick said of the efforts.

Fitzpatrick organized a drive to help the family by rallying the district’s three schools to donate needed items for the mother and three children who were left with only the clothes they were wearing after the fire engulfed their home.

The home, located across from the Newell Elementary School on High Street, caught fire around 2 p.m. Dec. 14. The mother and her toddler son who were inside the home were able to escape largely unscathed, but the house suffered extensive damage, according to fire officials in the borough.

Firefighters were able to get the blaze extinguished within about 30 minutes of arriving on the scene, but the family’s belongings were destroyed by the flames.

Fitzgerald said he was on hand during the fire, talking with the mother of the family, and he has been in close contact with her since then.

“She is overwhelmed with the generosity,” he said. “She keeps saying to me, ‘I can’t believe what everybody has done.’ ”

The family is staying with the chil- dren’s grandparents while they work on securing a permanent home, and the district has been regularly delivering donated items to them there.

“We were going there with the pickup truck, and then we had to bring the van, and then we went to the school bus,” Fitzgerald said of the increasing volume of donations.

For the Neighbor to Neighbor Relief drive, he asked the elementary school, Stone Bridge Middle School and Allentown High School to each focus on designated essential items to help the family through this difficult time.

Those at the elementary school were asked to donate clothing for the preschool boy in size 4T, and clothing for the girl who wears a size 8 and a 2½ shoe. At the middle school, he asked that those wishing to donate provide clothes for the middle-school boy — pants size 32/30, large shirts and 11½ shoes. The high school staff was asked to focus on items for the mother, who Fitzgerald declined to identify to protect the family’s privacy.

Other items the superintendent suggested were gift cards for local restaurants, including La Piazza, Via Roma, Panera or any other local restaurant.

He also suggested other types of gift cards or prepaid Visa or American Express cards, as well as items for the children, such as learning activities, books and drawing supplies.

The Allentown Presbyterian Church is also getting in on the generosity. At its Dec. 21 community worship service in preparation for Christmas, the church was slated to take up an offering for the family, who was expected to attend.

Donations for the school drive have been sent to the schools in care of their respective principals.