From freshmen to seniors, faculty to families, Mendham’s Service Club aims to perform charitable acts that highlight the members’ spirit of service. Over November and December, the West Morris Mendham’s Service Club, headed by teachers Mr. Dowler and Mrs. Brown, rallied the student body to help children in need around Morris County. The club had 2 separate toy drives, CASA and Toys for Tots, with CASA being the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Morris County and Toys for Tots being run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Morris County work to provide gifts to children of a wide age range, helping them to develop their talents further as they grow up. They’re part of a network of 950 community organizations around the country, working to help neglected children in need. The Toys for Tots program has the similar purpose of providing gifts for children whose parents can’t afford gifts for the holidays. Despite both being charity organizations, the gifts provided for CASA are predetermined. The Toys for Tots program provides any toys the students can donate, with emphasis on what the kids will enjoy most. Both of these organizations light up the world in their own ways, providing hope for children around the area and through further reach.
Throughout the holiday season, gifts were brought into multiple different classrooms, spreading cheer throughout the entire school. The gifts for both organizations ranged from gift cards to clothing items, and various specific items. Mrs. Brown recounted how some popular choices were: “Lego sets, arts and crafts sets, board games, and STEM toys” and different clothing pieces. Some gift cards were Visa while others showed off the personality of the child, like the Fortnite V-bucks gift cards. As the different holidays were approaching, teachers, parents, and students awaited winter break to arrive, allowing them so much time to relax. The Marine Corps Toys for Tots gathered over 600 toys for children in need across the school, with the CASA drive delivering over 100 wishes to kids. Special thanks should be given to the Brookside Fire Department, as they were able to deliver the Toys for Tots donated toys to their drop-off location at Picatinny Arsenal.
Mrs. Brown and Mr. Dowler were interviewed for their thoughts on the toy drives and they had a lot to say. When asked if the goals for the gifts in the beginning changed in any way after experiencing the actual results of the event, Mrs. Brown stated that she and Mr. Dowler “are always excited by the generosity of the Mendham community. Mendham collected over 600 toys for Toys for Tots and fulfilled 100 wishes for vulnerable children affiliated with CASA of Morris County.” The accomplishments of the Service Club inspired both teachers and students, with Mrs. Brown citing the catalyst for these toy drives as “Knowing that we bring smiles to faces of children and families at the holidays is the best gift. In my opinion, if people are in a position to be able to give, it is important to do so. We all have obstacles in our lives and need support from others.”
With the new year comes a new event for the service club and for January, care packages are in order. The club in partnership with the Mendham Chester Food Pantry provides important items to families in need during the winter months. The necessity of certain items can be overlooked by the more fortunate, so donations like these are vital to the pantry. Mrs. Brown encourages participation: “The winter donation to the pantry consists of winter care items and winter fun items. The donation will provide both physical comfort and emotional comfort to our local families. The donation list ranges from consumables like hot cocoa, herbal tea, honey, and hot cereal, to medicinal products such as chapstick, quality tissues with lotion, and neutral-scented lotion/moisturizer. Similar to the Toys for Tots/CASA gifts, Service Club credit will be awarded to those who bring donations in.
Throughout the year, Mendham’s Service Club provides a pathway for students, teachers, and individuals of the community to perform charitable activities and incite change. From running food drives to blood drives and many other events, the club is an active part of the school and the town. The club does many different things in each sector of the year and gives 110% percent into everything they do.
