Susana Alonso is a reading specialist at Horace Mann School in North Bergen and the moderator for the school’s student council. While speaking with the student council last month, Alonso recommended that the school should do something to try to help the troops serving the country in Iraq and Kuwait.
“At first, we wanted to make care packages to send overseas,” Alonso said.
She got the idea after speaking with a Horace Mann school aide, Luz Betancourt, whose son, John Laverty, is a sergeant in the U.S. Marines currently serving in Kuwait. Laverty had told his mother that the troops were in need of toiletries and personal items, like lip balm, hair care items, toothpaste, etc.
“We were collecting items and had the kids bringing in money to purchase the items,” Alonso said.
There was only one problem. During just the second day of collecting the items, Alonso read an article in a newspaper that said that the U.S. military was no longer accepting donations of personal items.
Alonso and her students were undaunted.
“There had to be some way that we could be able to help,” Alonso said.
Alonso read a story about a woman in Kearny who had everyone in the neighborhood sign a banner that could be sent to her husband in the Persian Gulf as a sign of support. Alonso also knew that the U.S. military officials were suggesting that people could buy phone cards to donate to members of the military, in order that they could phone home.
So she put together both ideas as a way to raise money to support the troops.
A gigantic banner was created with a message, “Horace Mann School, North Bergen, N.J., Supports Our Troops.”
All the school’s students and faculty members were asked to sign the banner, provided that the students donated $1 and the faculty donated $2. With the money, Alonso and the student council purchased phone cards that were being shipped to Sgt. Laverty, so he could distribute them among his fellow soldiers.
“I wasn’t so sure if the Board of Education was going to be supportive of raising money, so I presented the idea to our principal, Jorge Prado, and Superintendent of Schools Peter Fischbach,” Alonso said. “But everyone was so supportive of it. Everyone was eager to participate.”
After the signing, Alonso would then send the banner and the phone cards to Sgt. Laverty through his mother.
Will distribute
“The phone cards had to be sent with a specific soldier in mind,” Alonso said. “So we sent them to Sgt. Laverty so he could distribute them among his fellow Marines.”
Alonso was amazed that the school was able to raise $400, which went to purchase 35 phone cards.
“It was really rewarding to get the kids involved,” Alonso said. “We explained the project to the students, told them what we wanted to do, and they really got into it.”
Alonso said that she was moved by some of the inspirational messages that appeared on the banner.
“They were emotional and inspirational,” Alonso said. “Some made me cry.”
Stephanie Ozuna, a seventh grader and member of the student council, was happy to be able to aid in the cause.
“It feels good that so many people showed their support for our troops,” Ozuna said. “I was kind of surprised. I didn’t expect so many people to sign it. It was a good accomplishment. It feels like we were able to do something good.”
Fellow seventh grader Erik Bradley agreed.
“It turned out better than what I had in mind,” said Bradley, also a member of the student council. “I was really impressed with what the teachers wrote on the banner. They had some nice things to say. I’m glad we were able to get so many signatures.”
Among those who signed the banner as a sign of support were Mayor Nicholas Sacco and Commissioner Hugo Cabrera.
“If we opened it up to people outside of school, we would have needed a bigger banner,” Alonso said.
Horace Mann Principal Jorge Prado was pleased with the way the project turned out.
“It was good for the kids,” Prado said. “It gives them a sense of responsibility. I think this worked out better than collecting the care packages, because there really was a message behind it. Having Luz in the building gives the teachers and the students a face, a name to relate to. Luz brought in a picture of her son, so they could see what he looks like. It was a nice thing for the kids to do.”
As it turned out, Alonso said that the banner project was better than collecting the care packages.
“We wanted to do the care packages, because we figured we would be able to get more kids involved,” Alonso said. “But if we did care packages, we would have needed 50 boxes to send them. It would have cost more money. This worked out well.”
Ozuna said that she can’t wait to get a response from Laverty and his fellow Marines, which will probably take a few weeks to a month.
“Then we’ll know for sure that we did something great,” Ozuna said.
They already have.