Driver students collect emergency supplies for Sandy victims

C.S. Driver Middle School students assemble supply kits
for victims of Hurricane Sandy in Rockaway Beach, Queens.

After witnessing the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy on large swaths of the Northeast, the National Junior Honor Society at C.S. Driver Middle School responded by rallying classmates to help. 

The society distributed lists of needed supplies – for health and school supply kits – to all middle school grades. As the donations poured in, society members and other student volunteers pitched in to sort them in Mrs. Kathy Rein’s classroom, and then assemble the kits.

Students put together a total of 69 school supply kits and 88 health kits, which last week were loaded onto National Grid trucks bound for Rockaway Beach, a section of Queens devastated by the storm. The life-changing provisions were delivered in time for Thanksgiving, Mrs. Rein said

“That's some 157 people that we were able to help out directly with some much needed supplies, and then many more with the extra miscellaneous items,” Mrs. Rein said. “You should have seen my room on the last day of collection. It looked like I had done a year's worth of shopping! Once we gave the lists to each grade level, the kids did the rest.”

In addition to the kits, the Driver Middle School community donated extra supplies, such as pencils, notebooks, loose-leaf and construction paper, bandages, toothbrushes, combs and more.

Two classes received special recognition (and a pizza party) for the sheer volume of goods collected: Mrs. Audra Sevey's class, which brought in 210 items, and Mrs. Anita Pawlewicz's class with 109 items. 

Great job, Driver Middle School!