A message of gratitude from the Zawadiwsky family....
COMMUNITY GENEROSITY AT ITS FINEST
Last Wednesday, March 2nd, an email blast went out to Hilltop and Mountain View school families, via the Mendham Home School Association, and to the families of The Westmont Montessori School from Alexandra and Michael Zawadiwsky, a local Ukrainian-American family.
The email asked for the support of a humanitarian aid drive requesting donations of food, medical supplies, hygiene products and clothing to be sent to Ukraine to help those suffering the ravages of the ongoing war.
The challenge: only two days in which to gather the donations in order to get them on a transport plane leaving Saturday, March 5th for Poland, with donations to then be driven over the border to Ukraine.
The community not only met the challenge but BLEW IT OUT OF THE WATER as the photos below illustrate.
Donations poured in non-stop – starting an hour after the blast went out on Wednesday – with the last car pulling up to the Zawadiwsky home on Friday night at 11:45 pm. Donations came from student families, teachers (who came before and after school to drop off) and local organizations who heard about the drive. Donations came from not only Mendham Boro, but Mendham Township, the Chesters and Basking Ridge.
Donations gathered at The Westmont Montessori School. Mendham Cooperative delivered donations from families and its own Similac supply
Market Street Mission delivered donations packed in blue and yellow bags
Not only was the volume of goods incredible, but the thoughtfulness of donated items – all clean, sorted and labeled – was greatly appreciated. Individuals donated both gently used goods, as well as clearly spent several thousands of dollars on purchases of food, medical and hygiene products, as well as gave direct financial donations.
With such generosity, the next issue was how to get all of the donations packed in a truck to get to the transport plane? This is where a group of 8th grade boys more than stepped up to the challenge.
Pictured: Frankie Zupa, Josh Simonsen, Teo Valianatos, Cameron Muir, Andrew Epitropakis, Troy D’Agostino, Max Skuraton, James Gillard, Riley Ross, Drew Merklinger, Nicholas Zawadiwsky, Beckett Harley, Hudson Loures, Anthony Khakhiashvili, foreman Michael Zawadiwsky. Not in picture: Shea Kraft, Jack Mullee
The boys worked for hours assembling boxes, sorting and packing donations and loading the truck. Work continued well into the night.
The next day the truck was driven to the Ukrainian American Cultural Center ( UACCNJ) in Whippany NJ where volunteers helped get the donations – ours and those from other communities - onto the trucks to go to the transport plane.
The Honorable Governor Murphy and Senators Menendez and Booker visited the center to lend their support – including procuring a 10,000 foot warehouse in Newark, NJ, truckers and sorters for future donations so that the center is not overrun. They even brought their own personal humanitarian aid donations.
Volunteers at UACCNJ prepping boxes for shipment.
Nicholas Zawadiwsky (Mountain View 8th grader and former Hilltop and Westmont student) greets Senator Menendez at UACCNJ.
Words cannot express the pride and gratitude we feel for how our community came together, selflessly, with such urgency and compassion, to show their Support for Ukraine and its people.
Thank you very much – your efforts make you all heroes as well.
