Hillsborough students have embarked on a six-week-long campaign against texting and driving since mid-January.
More than 300 students who play for the St. Joseph’s Catholic Youth Ministry basketball program and their parents have campaigned the Hillsborough community to stop the potentially dangerous driving practice.
Each of the 13 girls’ and boys’ basketball teams (ages 10 through 17) staffed kiosks outside each game and collected more than 500 pledges by parents, family members and other game attendees to avoid texting and driving.
According to John Lanahan, volunteer program director and coach, “This program was a fantastic way to reach the community about an important topic — improving safety in our town and elsewhere by stopping texting while driving.”
Volunteer program leaders Paula Obenauer, Claudine Lanahan and Noreen Koval jumpstarted this campaign by having their daughters’ teams create posters advertising this campaign.
Prior year’s volunteer programs for this basketball program have included collection of cleats for children who would otherwise be unable to participate in sports, collection of cell phones to aid domestic abuse victims at the Resource Center of Somerset, and collection of T-shirts for Haiti for the earthquake victims.

