UNION CITY –The Union City school system’s students and staff have stepped up to aid the victims of the eight-alarm fire that tore through six buildings, took one man’s life, and left over 50 residents homeless on Bergenline Avenue on Jan. 18 and 19.
They raised $17,545 via a fundraise in one day, according to Superintendent of Schools Stanley Sanger.
The schools normally hold what they term “Denim Day” around five times a year. On certain Fridays, students pay 25 cents and staff pay three dollars for the privilege of wearing jeans. Each Denim Day raises between five and six thousand dollars, Sanger said.
On the evening of Jan. 19, the school utilized their district notification system to announce that a special Denim Day would be held on Jan. 20 specifically to support the residents displaced by the fire – 18 of them students in the city’s school system – and to aid in their relocation. The money will be evenly dispersed amongst them.
“The students and staff really stepped up,” Sanger said Tuesday. “There was a great outpouring of love and support for those in the community.” –Gennarose Pope