The Harrison school district teamed with the township’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Advisory Board and its Rotary Club on Jan. 16 for an MLK day of service at Pleasant Valley School.
Volunteers created comfort gift bags for Ronald McDonald House on the district holiday inside the school’s cafeteria. Dozens of students, teachers and parents participated.
“Grade levels collected comfort items (juice, water, granola bars, crackers, cookies, etc.) to be donated to the families at the Ronald McDonald House,” said district Superintendent Missy Peretti. “On Monday, student volunteers assembled over 800 comfort bags for families and created cards that were added to the bags with words of encouragement …”
The three-hour event also allowed volunteers to become certified for service hours. Harrison police officers also took part.
“Thank you to all that came out to help,” said the township school district’s Facebook page.
The cafeteria also had a small display dedicated to the works of Martin Luther King on the holiday named for him. It included some of King’s notable quotes and a timeline of his most significant speeches, including the “I Have a Dream” speech he delivered in Washington, D.C., in August of 1963.
“This day of service was a coordinated effort of multiple offices within the Harrison Township community and was extremely well attended by students, parents, local leadership, representatives of our police departments, etc.,” Peretti noted.
“The Harrison Township School District’s part of this important day was spearheaded by our building principals, Ms. Annalisa Rodano and Dr. Karen Russo,” Peretti added, “and we are looking forward to expanding the day of service in 2024.”
