$10K Grant Will Help Fund School Safety Kits At Central Regional

BERKELEY, NJ — A nonprofit dedicated to helping students and staff stay safe in schools has donated $10,000 to the Central Regional School District to help purchase student safety kits for every classroom.

Make Our Schools Safe (MOSS), founded in the wake of the country's deadliest school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has partially funded the purchase of the Student+ for Schools kits with their grant.

Superintendent Dr. Michelle CarneyRay-Yoder, who began her position at Central Regional in January, announced a new partnership with Survival+ for Schools in May, and hopes to raise the remaining $38,000 needed to purchase and install the kits in every classroom in the district. Read more: New Kits Will Ensure Student Safety At Central Regional

“I was thrilled when Make Our Schools Safe agreed to make the donation which will help me protect the safety of my students, faculty and staff,” she said. “This donation will help us better equip our buildings and train staff members with the knowledge they need to keep our students safe.”

The donation was announced earlier in June. To raise the remaining funds, the district is asking parents and supporters to make donations on a secure website page. “We would like to have all of these kits in the classrooms as soon as possible,” she said.

The $56,000 goal would cover the cost of the safety kits as well as special wound care training for all staff, CarneyRay-Yoder said. Besides the recent MOSS donation, the superintendent also announced that first responder and Survival+ Team member Robert Baran, Director of Emergency Services in Manchester, has donated his services to train Central Regional staff on how to use the kits, which is equivalent to an $8,000 donation. She thanked him for his generosity and making the district’s student and staff safety a top priority.

Kits would be placed in classrooms and high-traffic areas around the schools, including outside gymnasiums and auditoriums. The Central Regional School District is one of the first districts in the state to participate in this new program. The superintendent said she will also work with student leaders to add a Make Our Schools Safe Club at the high school.

“We are thrilled to donate $10,000 to the Central Regional School District to support the acquisition of life-saving emergency kits,” said Lori Alhadeff, president and founder of MOSS based in Parkland, Florida. “While we hope these kits are never needed, their presence aligns perfectly with our mission to ensure the safety and well-being of all students and staff. Our commitment is to create a secure learning environment, and this donation is a significant step towards that goal.”

MOSS was founded by the Alhadeff family following the death of daughter Alyssa, 14, in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018. The nonprofit’s mission is to empower students and staff to help create and maintain a culture of safety and vigilance in a secure school environment. They are also working to pass Alyssa’s Law, critical legislation addressing the issue of law enforcement response time when a life-threatening emergency occurs, in every state. It calls for the installation of silent panic alarms in schools that directly link to law enforcement. The law took effect in New Jersey on Feb. 6, 2019.

“This donation just filled me with a sense of encouragement that folks like Michelle and Lori have shown us all with their continued determination that we all can make our schools safer for our kids,” said Stewart Krentzman, founder of the non-profit safety organization Survival+ For Schools.

“The overall climate of our country right now calls for this kind of advance preparation,” CarneyRay-Yoder said. “I want to create a safe environment and set up the district for success so hopefully, we never have to use these kits. I also want to be overly prepared. Partnering with Survival+ is a part of that.”

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