Warren Schools Offer Hope For The Holidays

WARREN, NJ — Across the district, volunteers from the Parent Teacher Organizations (PTO) devote countless hours to the students of Warren Township Schools. Additionally, each year the PTO’s incorporate community outreach and charitable initiatives into their programs.

During the holiday season, the PTO from Angelo L. Tomaso (ALT) School runs a two-part program titled “Hope for the Holidays.”

Part one of the two-part series kicked off the week before Thanksgiving with a school-wide food drive. Each grade level was invited to participate by collecting specific food or personal care items. This year the ALT community donated over 425 pounds of food and personal care items to the Somerset County Food Bank.

Thank you to the event Chair and PTO Co-President Melissa Morano and volunteers Sandra Natale, Erica Valenti, and Meghan Horster for organizing and coordinating the food drop-off.

The season's second program is called the “Spirit of Gifting.” The PTO teamed up with Hearts of Watchung, an organization that focuses on helping families in need celebrate the holiday season.

The ALT community generously donated 110 gifts to the Hearts of Watchung to be shared with local families. Grade 4 ALT students created handmade cards; grade 5 students decorated the gift bags.

On Dec. 2, dressed in grinchy green, grade 5 students assisted the PTO with a gift pass to load up the donations. PTO Co-President Jessica Bodajlo reminded the students of the popular Dr. Seuss story, How The Grinch Stole Christmas; Bodajlo emphasized how the Grinch’s heart grew three times larger when he gave back to the community of Whoville.

The students formed a line in the hallway from a classroom to the front door and worked together to get every last gift bag from the school to the parking lot while happily smiling along and wishing each other a happy holiday.

Thank you to PTO Co-Presidents Melissa Morano and Jessica Bodajlo and PTO members Kathleen Anderson, Natalie White, Kruti Ramani, Kristin Gardner, Lilia Utz, Joanne Purpora, Meghan Horster, and Karen O’Reilly for creating a wonderful opportunity for the students and families of ALT to give back to the community.

— Submitted by Warren Township Schools