More than two weeks after Hurricane Sandy hit, some New Jersey schools are still struggling to get students back in the classroom. School buildings, books and equipment are unusable, and many students lost all the supplies they need for their studies. There are efforts in Verona to aid two of the hardest hit schools, in Lavalette and Union Beach.
The Verona High School Student Council and VHS English teacher Dr. Stacey Smith are adding to efforts by Forest Avenue School to help Lavalette. They are looking for supplies for a K-5 school, and are asking anyone who can help to leave donations in the main lobby of the high school.
Cheryl Nardino, the business administrator for the Verona Board of Education reached out New Jersey School Boards Association to find schools that needed help and was directed to Memorial School in Union Beach. The K-8 school took on more than 1 1/2 feet of water from a Raritan Bay surge and more than 100 homes in the community were destroyed. The nearly 800 students who once attended Memorial will be scattered to three other schools starting on Monday–without any of the supplies they once had.
Union Beach Superintendent Joseph Annibale told Ms. Nardino that his students will need the basics: “pens, pencils, loose-leaf paper, art supplies, notebooks, calendars, agenda books,etc.,” he wrote in an email. The community at large needs clothing and food, and you can read about those needs here.
To help Union Beach, email Nardino.
