Howell Students Help Those in Need During Holiday Season

With the Thanksgiving break now officially underway at , the student body spent the days before vacation doing their part to help families in need. 

That included the  winning softball team donating baskets for local families in need, as well as student organizations like SADD taking part in the Battle of the Classes. 

For the softball team, one of the people responsible for starting the collection was Coach Sandra Hempel Klusewicz. She said everything came together for the girls last year and it has only grown since then. "We have a list of items and the parents and kids just go above and beyond," she said.

When given the chance to help other people in their town Klusewicz said they were eager to do their part. "They jumped on it and last year we did it and they were excited about it," she said. "I think it just makes them fell good also that they're helping other people."

Klusewicz worked alongside school social worker Michelle Nichols who said the generosity of the school has continued to impress and amaze her. She said the list of who gets the baskets comes from a variety of sources including word of mouth and information from teachers in the building. 

The final product, is more than she could have expected. "They're wrapped prettier than some of the ones you get from the florist," she said. 

When it comes to the Lady Rebels, this year's squad has a core group of seniors leading the way both on the field and off of it. That includes ace pitcher Carsin Connor who said she is glad to be able to help in this project. "You take for granted a great Thanksgiving," she said. "It just feels so great that you can help someone out so they can have a great holiday."

Connor said since she arrived at the school as a sophomore, she has gained a better understanding of how important helping other people can be. "Going from being here sophomore year to now I didn't realize about bringing cans and I didn't realize what it was. This year it really hit me that this is really helping people that need it," she said. 

Fellow senior Lauren Saal said she was glad to be able to help the community around her throughout the holiday season. "It's especially close to my heart because I realize that you don't know what you have until it's gone and when it's gone it's like now what," she said. "I don't want anybody to ever experience that feeling." 

When her family gathers for the holiday, Saal said knowing that she did something to help others will make her that much more appreciative of what she has. "I feel like you really understand the meaning of Thanksgiving and you're thankful for the friends and family that you have at a Thanksgiving feast.

A third senior leader on the team is Cassidy Brozowski who said that the program also helps bring an already close squad closer together through their efforts. "I like giving back to the community and having that feeling that you know that someone who is less fortunate than you can have that great holiday that you can and still know that there's always something to look forward to," she said. 

In addition to the efforts of the softball team, the whole school worked together to collect more than 8000 pounds of food for the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. 

Camille Mussari, the school's student assistance counselor said the Rebels have been collecting food for the food pantry for the past few years and it gets bigger every year. "We're always doing something good for the community and this is a great high school with great kids in it," she said. "These are great kids and they do a lot for the school and the community."

Mussari helps to direct the school's chapter of SADD which includes seniors Emily Cofrancasco and Steven Binckes. They both agreed that they are also happy to help the community during this holiday season. For Mussari, that also means having her office filled wall to wall with food donated by the students and waiting to be brought to the pantry. 

Cofrancasco said she considers herself to be lucky to have what she has, which makes her want to give back that much more. "I try my best to give back and it's really easy through SADD and just through Howell High School in general because we have so many programs," she said. 

Binckes said that while the Battle of the Classes is a competition between the grades, the end result meant helping people outside the walls of the school. "Getting all the classes to be a part of the competition and to have them bring in cans for the competition sparks it a little bit for everybody else to bring in those cans," he said.

Zina Duerbig, the principal at Howell High School said these programs are more proof of why she is so proud of her students. "We have the most amazing student body here at Howell High School," she said. "It's not just because I'm their principal. It is so true because they demonstrate year after year, day after day their spirit, their generosity and their kindness and it extends outside of our school community."

All the students agreed that they were glad to be able to help before a much needed four day weekend and a chance to spend time with their own families to kick off the holiday season.