Short Hills Student Volunteers To Lend Aid In Appalachia

Short Hills, NJ - For some students, summer means a responsibility-free vacation.

But for four Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child students – including a Short Hills resident – summer meant spending of a portion of their summer helping those in need during a week-long trip to Appalachia.

The students included Allison Palmeri of Franklin Lakes, Madison Dyer of Short Hills, Isabel Salas of Verona and Yahaira Torres of Elizabeth.

According to a school news release, the students traveled to the “poverty-stricken” region of eastern Kentucky from June 26 to July 2.

Based at the Father Beiting Appalachian Mission Center in Louisa, Kentucky, the students supported the center’s thrift store and vacation Bible school, in addition to repairing damaged homes.

Stacy Nolan and Sarah Sicari, theology teachers at Oak Knoll’s all-girls middle and high school, accompanied the students as they journeyed to several homes in Kentucky, as well as another in West Virginia, where the young women repaired gutters, painted a kitchen and installed insulation and drywall.

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Photo: Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child