Freehold Family Gives Back To Community With School Supply Drive

FREEHOLD, NJ — As the new school year gets underway, a local family has gone above and beyond to help families and students in need with a school supply drive.

Angello and Kelly Villarreal, two Freehold Township residents and teachers in the Freehold Regional High School District, helped put the drive together after their son, Ricky, 8, wanted to find a way to help those in need.

For the drive, the family partnered with Art Beins Karate (where Ricky is a student) and We Meet The Need, a non-profit organization that aims to help those in need throughout New Jersey.

“I remember driving back from karate one day, and Ricky asked me, ‘What does it mean when there are people in need?’” Angello Villarreal said in a phone call with Patch. “I kind of explained the background a bit on what it means to be a person in need, and [Ricky] remembered a Christmas Toy Drive one of his karate instructors previously did.”

“And so once he understood, he asked me — ‘Hey, can we do that?’” Angello said.

Once Ricky had the idea for the school supply drive, Angello said that he, his family, Art Beins Karate, and We Meet The Need helped put it all together.

From late July through Aug. 18, the drive organizers collected backpacks, loose-leaf paper, folders, highlighters, markers, colored pencils, glue, calculators, and more to benefit Freehold’s K-8 students.

Though the family was a little nervous about turnout when the drive first began, Villarreal said they were soon on the receiving end of plenty of donations, including some made by his own students from Freehold Township High School.

For Ricky, the drive served as an opportunity to help others and to give back to fellow students.

During a call with Patch, he said a highlight of the experience was helping two of his karate instructors (Master Carl Beams and Master David Jahn) put the drive together.

“As a father, I see him [Ricky] having the spark of wanting to do things for others,” Angello said. “To me, this experience really helped me understand the power of community and that when people get together for a purpose, it can support everybody."

Alongside supporting local students with this drive, Angello said it was also a good experience to bring his family to the drive (in addition to Ricky, he and Kelly have a pair of four-year-old twins) and help them understand what it means to truly help others.

“That was the most important part,” Angello said. “That we are fortunate to have what we need and are able to help others who don’t. That was really the main takeaway for us as parents.”