Gotham Avenue School’s gymnasium was filled with turkeys, the fixings for many Thanksgiving meals and plenty of good cheer as the community came together to box up the food collected by students and faculty throughout the Elmont School District and prepare it for distribution to deserving families in the community.
District bus drivers, administrators, teachers and students, along with local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, and a local soccer club organized the food to ensure that each box contained a full meal. Board of Education President Michael A. Jaime and Vice President Anthony S. Maffea Sr. joined Superintendent Al Harper as the large group worked.
Among the helpers was Gotham Avenue third-grade teacher Kim McManus and her daughter’s soccer team, the Rockville Center soccer U11 team Velocity. Also lending a hand was Sewanhaka High School senior JP Iacona, who donated $500 to the Dads’ Club from the nonprofit organization Rock Out Cures and an additional $100 from himself and his sister to buy turkeys for the families in need.
In total, 120 meals were collected and distributed to ensure a happy holiday for everyone.
“This was a tremendous outpouring of love and caring by the entire district,” Harper said. “Administrators, teachers, staff and community members all worked to provide a Thanksgiving dinner to families in the Elmont community.”
Photos courtesy of the Elmont School District
