Thursday, October 1, 2026
When East Rockaway High School student Angelina Sarro messaged her Social Studies teacher Don Poland, he knew he had to act.
Angelina’s message was a simple one: she wanted to pay it forward to the folks of West Virginia whose water had been left undrinkable and unusable due to a chemical spill in the area. The spill affected nearly a half-million people.
“I received [the text] and the journey began,” said Poland. “Her dad, Frank offered his van, his driving and his love for his daughter. I was blessed to come along on this inspirational trip to help our new friends in Clendenin, WV.”
So, after collecting about 250 cases of water from generous families of students and residents, Poland, Angelina and her father, Frank, made the 12-hour trip last weekend in her father’s trailer, bringing the cases of water that other students and volunteers had helped load onto the truck.
Poland was featured in the Herald last year when he spearheaded a trip to Moore, OK after tornadoes hit the area there, and says that this is all a community effort. “There are literally hundreds of people who make our pay it forward work,” he said. “Other teachers, students, parents, strangers, community members, elementary schools, both public and private.”
“I just want to say how humbled and honored I was to be the unofficial representative of our wonderful community,” Poland wrote on the Pay it Forward Facebook page. “I am blessed to both live here and to teach in East Rockaway! I can honestly tell you all that we all made a difference in the world this week.”
A Clendenin resident wrote on Facebook, “So many benefitted from your kindness and generosity … we, too, will pay it forward.”
