This year the annual For A Cause fundraiser, organized by the Leadership class, is supporting the coastal community of Union Beach in New Jersey, which was devastated by superstorm Hurricane Sandy.
Homeroom classes have been collecting money for Union Beach, a community that has suffered unprecedented damage. According to CBS, over half of the 2100 homes were significantly damaged by flooding.
Sophomore Capers Wolkom, who has family and friends in the area, brought the devastation to Leadership’s attention, proposing Union Beach as the fundraiser’s beneficiary.
Wolkom said that he was inspired by Carl Dammann, a family friend who showed him pictures of the community.
“Union Beach used to be a beautiful town, and now it looks like a nuke went off, ” Wolkom said.
Dammann said that people from all over the country have come to help in Union Beach but there is still a lot of work to be done in the fractured community.
“A large number of families have lost their homes and nearly all their possessions, are living in temporary quarters, or in many cases these same storm damaged homes,” Dammann said. “No matter how many volunteer to donate and help, the damage is so severe and extensive we are barely making a dent.”
Leadership teachers Melissa Boles and Dave Plescia were excited when Wolkom proposed the idea, since it gave the class the opportunity to help a specific community.
“To have this personal connection makes us feel more confident that the money is going to go to a good cause and that it’s going to be distributed ethically,” Boles said. “Capers’ family friend seemed to be able to watch over that process for us.”
The money raised will go directly to the community to help rebuild residential areas and businesses.
“I really like that we have this charity that benefits this one community, that community was hit very hard by the storm surge and the wave action from the hurricane,” Boles said. “There was a lot of small businesses, a lot of fishing boats, and a lot of residents that were severely damaged and entirely demolished or largely damaged by the hurricane.”
The fundraiser ends on March 11 and the homeroom who raises the most and will receive a bagel and pizza party. As of print time, Amy Benjamin’s homeroom is in the lead.
Damman is also planning on matching donations from the fundraiser.
“I will match any donations collected up to $5,000,” Damman said. “It doesn’t matter how much or how little you collect, every bit helps these people at this terrible time. ”
