Showing compassion to those in need

SPARTA  Students at Pope John XXIII Middle School here know the importance of being compassionate to those who are in need.

All students in fifth, sixth and seventh grades try to act this way every day while working in the classroom, walking the hallways, playing sports, participating in clubs and volunteering in the community.

For the last six weeks, the students have demonstrated this sentiment while bringing in 887 Christmas gifts to donate to Project Self-Sufficiency’s fourth annual Stuff the Stocking contest.

As a result, their great generosity helped the school win the contest for the first time and, more importantly, give children of all ages from low-income families in Sussex County and northern Warren County a chance to have a wonderful holiday.

“I’m happy about this, but it is better to know that we made a lot of kids’ Christmas Day’s happier this year,” Pope John sixth-grade student Evelynn Austin said. “It’s a great feeling.”

“I honestly didn’t know there was a contest,” Pope John fifth-grade student Miles Masone said. “I was just giving because that is what God would want us to do and we just wanted to give as many toys as we could across New Jersey.”

The contest is a friendly competition among area schools that is part of Project Self-Sufficiency’s 2017 Season of Hope Toy Drive. Each school was asked to give new, unwrapped gifts for the contest.

By winning it, the school received the Stuff the Stocking trophy — a big gold trophy with its name on it — and a $250 contribution to a student activity fund on Wednesday during a brief ceremony at the school. The middle school’s Leadership Council accepted the award from Project Self-Sufficiency’s Lisa Pagnos.

The middle school outdistanced 31 other area schools, including Rev. George A. Brown Memorial School, for the top prize. North Warren Regional finished in second place with 625 gifts and Hardyston Middle School took third with 473.

However, students in the middle school were not thinking about winning a shiny gold trophy or earning great recognition. Rather, they were thinking about all the children who would have possibly had no presents to open on Christmas.

“We didn’t plan this, it just happened,” sixth-grade student Amanda Lo said. “We were just trying to help out kids in New Jersey who didn’t have a lot. We were pretty focused on bringing in as many presents as we could. Even if it was two gifts, it still meant a lot.”

When the students started the contest, there was a lot of work that went into getting these gifts organized. But, they rallied as a community, according to Leadership Council moderators MaryEllen Russel and Kristin VanBenschoten.

“The kids were so into it and the Leadership Council took it very seriously,” said Russell, a fifth- and sixth-grade science teacher. “They went around to all the homerooms every week and would count the gifts. They would make announcements in the morning to tell everyone to don’t forget to bring in your gifts. They posted reminders on their Google classrooms. They did a phenomenal job.”

“This activity strengthened us as a school,” said VanBenschoten, a sixth- and seventh-grade science teacher. “The students were so enthusiastic about helping other families. It was amazing to watch.”

By the final day of the contest, the students had collected so many toys that they stuffed an entire school bus that Project Self-Sufficiency used to pick up the gifts. Though they did receive recognition for it, the students felt that they accomplished their mission of giving from the heart.

“We didn’t just give gifts to people,” fifth-grade student Ally MacMullin said. “We gave them happiness. We are proud to be a part of this.”