Paramus is Sending Support, Comfort to Children in Newtown

Boxes and boxes of huggable stuffed toys will soon be on its way to the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., from the Paramus school community.

All the Paramus district schools have been collecting teddy bears and other stuffed toys all week long to send to the kids, a gesture of comfort from one school to another, says Sandy Vanderzee, high school counselor who has been putting the collection together.

As she watched the frightening events unfold in Newtown last Friday, she thought there had to be something the school could do to help these students feel safe again and let them know that someone out there is thinking of them.

Last Friday, a 20-year-old man . He also killed his mother and himself.

Vanderzee, who is advisor for the Operation Goody Bag efforts, reached out to her students about what they could possbily do to help the kids of Sandy Hook Elementary.

They came up with the idea to collect teddy bears and began to spread the word, she says.

Knowing that the mental health and school counselors at the Newtown schools are working round the clock to help the families cope with this tragedy, they decided to also collect gift cards to Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks to help keep them running, says Vanderzee.

Word travelled fast and Vanderzee says the Paramus Police Department has also gotten involved.  Members of the police department have offered to drive the collected items to Connecticut Friday morning, she says.

There's still time to contribute to the collection as new teddy bears, stuffed animals and gift cards can be brought to the Paramus High School Guidance Department, Room 422 on Thursday.

At the end of the school day the Operation Goody Bag members will begin to box up all the items so they are ready to be driven up to Connecticut Friday morning.

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