Bridgewater-Raritan Student Volunteers Expand Help Across District Schools

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A student service project that started at one Bridgewater-Raritan elementary school has grown into a districtwide volunteer effort with 250 members at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.

Known today as Operation Elementary, the club sends student volunteers to school and townwide events, where they help run activities and support parents and PTO groups.

The club was founded in 2022 as Operation JFK by Suraj Shah, then a Bridgewater-Raritan High School student, to give back to his former school, John F. Kennedy Primary School.

According to the school district, his project focused on bringing joy to younger children at school events and building a bridge between local youth and older high school mentors.

According to Michele Kussmaul, the club’s advisor, the effort quickly outgrew its original scope.

"The idea took off so fast that we expanded to all Bridgewater-Raritan elementary schools and officially renamed the group as Operation Elementary," Kussmaul said.

Kussmaul also said, "Today, our reach extends far beyond elementary campuses–we are regularly asked to support intermediate, middle school and high school and town-wide events."

Kussmaul, a health and physical education teacher at Bridgewater-Raritan High School, said the group fills a practical need at busy family events.

"As a mom of high schoolers and a former PTO volunteer, I know exactly how exhausting event days can be for parents," she said. "Operation Elementary steps in to handle the chaos, running activities so that parents can actually slow down and make memories with their kids while socializing with other community members."

The process begins when a school organization submits a request through the club’s website and help form, according to the district.

Kussmaul then passes the assignment to the club’s seven executive board members, who recruit student volunteers. The executive board members are Sophia Kelleher, Aadarsh Arvind, Nitya Jain, Olivia Greenberg, Devn Patel, Shyam Shah and Jamie McGeechan.

Several of the student leaders said they joined because of the chance to serve younger children and reconnect with their former schools.

"It is a great way to give back to the community," Nitya said.

“It helps build leadership skills and we help make life easier for parents," Olivia said.

"It is a great way to relive our childhood experiences," Devn said.

The club’s work has drawn praise from school parent groups.

After Operation Elementary helped at the John F. Kennedy Primary School Monster Mash Halloween activity on Thursday, Oct. 29, PTO co-presidents Alicia Wiecenski and Allison Abdelmalek said, "The volunteers were helpful and enthusiastic. We greatly appreciate their assistance. It is hard to get parent volunteers for events like these, and Operation Elementary helps make the evening a success."

Kussmaul reported that after helping with more than 50 events last year, the club had already worked 17 events by the end of October this school year.

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