Franklin Lakes Schools Deliver Needed Supplies to Oklahoma Storm Victims

As news reports of the devastation beamed in from Oklahoma after a series of tornadoes tore through the state two weeks ago, for some in Franklin Lakes, the storms hit close to home.

The Franklin Avenue Middle School’s Peer Leadership Corps, a volunteer student organization, had just wrapped up an annual food drive when parent Julie Rosendorf Johnson, whose in-laws lived in the record-breaking tornado’s path, reached out to the organization through PTO president Felice Yeshion.

So the students updated their collections list from the food drive, and immediately went to work gathering supplies for victims of the storm.

“When I saw the pictures and heard the stories, I knew this community could help,” said Johnson, who began reaching out even before the dust from the twister had cleared. “We couldn’t get through to our family in Oklahoma, and I started sending out messages before we even heard from them.”

Even in the wake of a enxhaustive annual food drive, those involved said, the schools responded quickly, and with the help of the elementary schools brought in $600 in supplies and gift cards in the first 36 hours alone.

“It was really amazing how quickly the stuff came in,” Yeshion said. “We made the call on Wednesday and by Friday we were loading trucks.”

The drive started, faculty advisor Larry Burke said, with a simple lunchtime collection - passing around a bucket with a picture of a school flattened by the storm.

“I think it really started to hit home for the kids,” he said of the students, who since September have undertaken charitable initiatives for NJ hurricane survivors and the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. “They are so quick to respond to communities in need.”

The parents added that the recent memory of Hurricane Sandy, though not comparable to the devastation suffered by Oklahoma, gave the school community the experience and understanding to respond to the natural disaster miles across the country.

“Coming off the hurricane that they lived through, they can relate and see how much worse the devastation can be,” Yeshion said.

Two college volunteers, Kevin Hacket and Jake Benrubi, drove a van with the collected supplies to Oklahoma, which were distributed through Johnson's local connection to those in need. And the efforts have not gone unnoticed by those trying to rebuild.

“Thanks for the gift cards,” Jacque Willoughby, a Norman, Oklahoma resident wrote on Johnson’s Facebook page. “They are so very appreciated.”

The gift cards, Johnson said, on top of the basic necessities being shipped from Franklin Lakes, are important in helping restore a sense of normalcy to those in the path of the storm who have lost so much.

“It brings more dignity to the victims,” she said.

Through the cooperation of the Franklin Lakes Restoration Fund, which is providing shipping to Oklahoma, Johnson and students are continuing to send supplies and gift cards to those devastated by the storm.

“We take these kids as middle schoolers and show them community service,” Burke said. “Hopefully that turns into a lifelong attribute.”

Donations to victims of the Oklahoma tornado can be sent to the Franklin Lakes Restoration Fund at P.O. Box 85, Franklin Lakes, NJ, 07417.