Giving With Empathy

Mendham Township, NEW JERSEY (November 30, 2020) – While Thanksgiving may have seemed a little bit different this year, some very young people at Mendham Township Elementary School (MTES) took a composed and sensitive stance and offered practical and emotional support to people who may be experiencing a very difficult time.

In honor of Thanksgiving last week, the students in Mrs. Parke’s third grade class were busy making “blessing bags” to be distributed by the Ellen Maguire Foundation for the Homeless. The blessing bags were filled with both practical and emotional supports for a community of users in need. Students included essential items in each bag: toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, hand warmers, granola bars, lip balm, etc. In addition, the students also wrote positive messages to let each individual receiving a bag know that they are not alone and that someone was thinking of them. As one thoughtful enclosed card read, “This is a little something to let you know that there are people in the world who care about you. I hope this brightens your day.”

Mrs. Parke explained that her students have become aware of the broader impact of the current pandemic. While these are challenging times for everyone, the difficulties endured by the homeless community can be especially hard and isolating. “With further restrictions to gaining access to public facilities, the current situation has made matters even worse for the homeless right now, if that is even imaginable,” said Mrs. Parke.

With grateful thanks from Noel Maguire at the Ellen Maguire Foundation for the Homeless for the donated blessing bags, Mrs. Parke has initiated another activity to help this worthy cause. There is now a schoolwide drive for donating 200 travel-sized hand sanitizer containers to be included in backpacks to be distributed by the Foundation in mid-December. Ms. Julianne Kotcho, Principal of MTES, echoed her commitment to the initiative. “We have an amazing community of thoughtful families with young students who have empathy and are learning how to show genuine sensitivity to the needs of others.”

For anyone who would like to participate in contributing to the hand-sanitizer initiative please note that the travel sized, hand sanitizer containers should be donated by Wednesday, December 9th. Here are the directions to follow:

• Students can bring the mini bottles of sanitizer to school with them and drop them in the designated mini-hand sanitizer drop box which will be located in the main lobby of MTES.

• Parents can also drop off the mini bottles of hand sanitizer as well. Please ring the bell for drop-off at the MTES main lobby doors during school hours.

Additional information on the Ellen Maguire Foundation for the Homeless is available at: https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/nyer-of-the-week/2020/02/17/new-yorker-of-the-week-noel-maguire-helps-city-homeless