When tragedy struck in their own backyard, Mt. Olive School District staff
members responded with an outpouring of kindness. They made and donated 65 blankets to East Brook Middle School, the Paramus school whose students and faculty were involved in the recent bus accident on U.S. Route 80 that took the lives of a fifth-grader and a social studies teacher.
Every passenger who was on the bus received a blanket with a card attached that read “Sending care and warm hugs from the Mt. Olive community.” Also included in the care package were handmade heart-shaped pillows donated by three students from Mt. Olive High School.
“The East Brook students and staff were so thankful and in awe of the mountain of blankets and pillows,” said Sharon Enea, Mt. Olive second-grade teacher who made the delivery. “I heard so many ‘wow’s’ and ‘thank-you’s’ that my heart was full. I was so happy to be a part of this and so proud of everyone in Mt. Olive for their generosity and support.”
An additional 10 blankets were sold in an online auction. The funds raised plus money collected in all six Mt. Olive schools, a total of more than $800, will also be donated to East Brook.
The outreach effort began on social media. Messages of sympathy from Mt. Olive teachers evolved to plans to show support for the victims of the crash. Ann Scotland, a second-grade teacher at Chester M. Stephens
Elementary School, coordinated the initiatives.