CLARK, NJ — Gavin Ford, a seventh-grader at Carl H. Kumpf Middle School in Clark, organized a collection to donate items to children in Ukraine. Ford spearheaded the collection through the school’s extracurricular ATOMS Club. The club, led by teacher Cristina Faro, competes in academic tournaments. All the items were donated to Be the Change NJ and sent to Poland.
“Gavin did an excellent job organizing and running the fundraiser,” Faro said. “We were amazed by the number of items collected for the children in Ukraine.”
She continued, “Gavin found a post on a local Facebook group in Cranford stating that they were in need of items. He contacted the woman in charge, who asked him to focus on collecting for the kids. Gavin went to Principal (Richard) Delmonaco to get the fundraiser approved, created a flier and posted it around the school. There were two bins in the front foyer. They filled up every day! Students in ATOMS also helped organize the collected items and bring them to my room at the end of each day.”
Photo Courtesy of Christine Casale Broski