On September 9th, our history teacher Rob Melillo took four students to the Danbury Fair Mall to assist with the “Stock up for Success: Back-to-School Teachers’ Supply Drive.” ACE students played an important role in sorting more than 1,000 school supplies to donate to teachers’ classrooms, showcasing their dedication to supporting the educational community. The Danbury Fair Mall set up a large area where many school supplies like notebooks, pencils, and backpacks were collected. Once the supplies were sorted, they were transported to the NEA Danbury supply closet for teachers to collect as needed.
This trip was an amazing experience according to the students that went. As one of them, I can confidently say that I would go again and help if another opportunity came up to do so. Even though it was a little difficult separating more than 1,000 school supplies, working together enabled us to complete what we were doing without taking too long. Additionally, we were also able to explore some exclusive parts of the mall like the office, which was very exciting. Another student who went said, “It was a fun experience and I hope that all the kids enjoyed their back-to-school supplies.”
Overall, students should be more involved in our community because in addition to helping out, it is enjoyable. It allowed the volunteers to get to know each other more and have conversations that we wouldn’t think to have with each other if we weren’t on the trip with one another. The mall working on this project together with NEA Danbury provided an opportunity to support our teachers and students in addition to highlighting the importance of giving back to the community whenever possible.
