Oceanside School fundraiser earns more than $3,000

Oceanside High School spent last Friday “Creating Connections” between students and faculty in a fundraiser for the Joseph Paul Wollweber Foundation.

Nick Wollweber was a 14-year-old freshman when his brother, Joe, 24, died of a drug overdose in January 2019. As an 18-year-old high school senior, Nick has created the Joseph Paul Wollweber Foundation.

“He was a great guy, he was my role model,” Nick said. “I looked up to him and we did everything together. He really pushed me to be a better person. He would lighten up a room. I try to emulate and bring that to this foundation. It’s about being a good person and how that can change someone’s life.”

Nick was inspired by John O’Shea, who runs the Ryan Patrick O’Shea Foundation. O’Shea’s son committed suicide two days before Nick’s brother overdosed and would start his foundation soon after his son died.

“I met him [John] this past summer and the way he’s touching and helping people that have gone through what his son did and how he’s helping a lot of people through a bad situation,” said Wollweber.

“It’s very moving to me and it’s become part of my healing process,” he added. “I struggled a lot after my brother died and I was seeking purpose. I think with the inspiration from John and that I love helping people, it’s become a passion of mine. I can capitalize on a horrible situation. My healing process is trying to help other people speak up. And I want the people who are struggling to open up and feel more comfortable.”

With the help of the high school’s health teacher, Sarah Dowler, who runs the school’s youth council, Sources of Strength and Oceanside Safe Coalition, Nick launched the Creating Connections school-wide fundraiser.

“It’s a group effort,’’ Wollweber said. “Today wouldn’t have been possible without all the help from the health classes, youth council and Sources of Strength. They all just came together and knew it was a good idea.”

In the spirit of strengthening ties between students and faculty, students participated in a raffle where they would have a chance to win a free period with a teacher and bring three friends with them. Teachers, administrators and security guards all volunteered to take a period of time to spend with students. Because the Joseph Paul Wollweber Foundation is not yet official, all the money donated from Friday’s fundraiser will be held by Oceanside Safe Coalition. The money will be donated to a local organization.

“It wasn’t just about giving money to a good cause, but creating connections between students and the teacher is really helpful,” said Wollweber. “To be able to get through those struggling times, you need to have that support system around you and getting to know your teachers better is a good resource to have. Kids now can get to know their teachers, have some fun with them and also know that they’re a resource if they’re struggling.”

While Nick was struggling with the loss of his brother, Dowler and retired social worker Miss O’Hara served as a support system for him, and the Creating Connections fundraiser will help other students form those connections. 

While students could enter the raffle, donations were opened to all students and the school raised close to $3,000. Associate principal Joelle Mazun spoke about the success of the fundraiser. “It was great that so many people came together to make this happen,” he said. “It was overwhelming to see how many kids came out just being generous and with over 50 teachers putting their names out there to offer their time to spend quality time with kids and doing fun hobbies.”

After witnessing the success of the Creating Connections day, Wollweber looks forward to more fundraising opportunities. “I want to make it an annual thing,“ he said. “I want to do more fundraisers because it’s a good cause. I’m grateful for the people that are being so generous. If we can raise this amount of money in just this school, I can’t imagine what we can do when we do involve the parents, the other schools in Oceanside and also the neighboring towns.”