By:JOSEPH KELLARD
Enter Sue Samaroo, who approached the school her son attends about conducting a fund-raiser for such kids, whom she knows a lot about. Samaroo is the director of services for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island, presiding over its offices in Levittown, Hauppauge and Southampton. School 4 had given to the organization previously, donating books and clothes. But Samaroo asked Stacy Madden, a fifth-grade teacher and student council advisor, about conducting a broader fund-raiser.
Madden, who coordinated the effort, which began Jan. 24, got all of the district's lower-grades involved. Each elementary school and the kindergarten center were asked to donate items. Some schools are giving arts and crafts materials, some are giving school supplies, and one is donating clothes. School 4 is focused on school supplies: Fifth-graders are giving pens, pencils and pencil cases, and sixth-graders are providing notebooks.
Big Brothers Big Sisters works with children, mostly between ages 7 and 16, "in need of positive role models to steer them in the right direction," Samaroo said. The children see their volunteer brothers or sisters once a week, and they do activities together, such as going to the library and throwing a ball around. Each child who enters the program is encouraged to set goals, whether it's to enhance his or her academic performance or social skills or to build self-esteem.
"It's really about the time they spend together and the relationship they develop," Samaroo said, adding that more big brothers are sorely needed. She sees the district-wide fund-raiser as "an opportunity to teach students the difference between needs and wants, and what donating things means."
School 4 Principal Bruce Misher agrees. "We feel that an important aspect of character development, which is emphasized throughout the school district, is children helping other people," he said. "We think it's important to teach them to help out people in need."
Peter Connell, a sixth-grader and president of the Student Council at School 4, said, "We feel that if we weren't able to afford these things, we would love it if people donated supplies to us."
School 4 itself offers a number of mentor programs, and tries to do things for people whether they attend their schools, live locally or live overseas. The students there recently sent donations to the victims of the tsunami in south Asia. "People should know that the kids here really care about helping other children, and the Student Council did a wonderful job promoting Big Brothers Big Sisters," Madden said. "It's a worthwhile organization, and the students were very excited about this project."
Come Feb. 8, trucks from Big Brothers Big Sisters are due to stop at each Oceanside school to pick up the supplies and clothes, and the organization will eventually distribute them to the children enrolled in the program. "What I think is nice about this fund-raiser," Samaroo said, "is that it's going from kids to kids."
Said David Sheynberg, a fifth-grader at School 4, "In my opinion, the real goal is to make someone's life a little easier, a little happier, a little nicer. Even if it means donating one pencil or one paint brush or any little thing, someone's life will change."
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