by Jacky Gerzema
"I'll admit, when I first came to Lenox, I thought the Lenox family idea was kind of corny," Ford said with a smile. "But what impressed me the most was that when something happens, everyone really is there for one another....Other places help, but here you genuinely feel it. In New York, in icy cold New York, we do have a heart."
Lenox School has students from two families -- the McAleeses and the Hobbs -- who lost a parent in the World Trade Center. Teachers, parents, school employees, administrators and students, who collectively call themselves "The Lenox Family," have worked together to provide support to these children and their families in the wake of the disaster, and the efforts haven't waned. More fund-raisers and continuing activities are scheduled in the near and far future.
"Our long-term goal is taking care of these children and their families," said Gary Griggs, principal of Lenox School. "We are talking about layers of support. We've been through the first layer and the second layer is more long term. This will incorporate the entire community. Our primary focus is on the children of the individuals."
From dinners to scholarships
In addition to raising money, the Lenox family tries to show they care through everyday gestures of kindness. PTA members take turns preparing dinner for the two families and bring them over every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Ford said when it's her turn to deliver dinners, her two children, 11-year-old Catherine and 7-year-old Kristen, help prepare the meals.
Ford said delivering meals to the two families has become an enlightening experience for her two children, especially Catherine.
"We delivered a meal one night, and when we left the house, she [Catherine] began to cry," Ford said. "She told me she realized how lucky she was to have her mom and dad and that she is glad we live where we do, because all of our neighbors and her schoolmates care so much."
The school has raised roughly $1,000 through bake sales and raffles and the PTA raised enough money to buy flowers for each family's memorial service.
A few months ago, the Lenox family made a "human flag" for an aerial photograph that was given to local businesses who have helped donate items and money. Toys R Us donated $100 gift cards to each student and child who lost a parent from Lenox, and a total of $700 was raised.
Maldonado said she and the Lenox family are working to consistently continue their support efforts.
"We are always trying to come up with new ideas," she said. "We made almost $400 selling stuffed animals and we've talked about hosting a large garage sale to raise money."
The Lenox PTA has established two new annual memorial scholarships for graduating fifth graders. Families and teachers will send in criteria for eligible fifth graders and PTA members will choose two scholarship winners. The winners will receive a monetary scholarship in the name of the Hobbs and McAleese family.
In the near future, first-grade teacher Tara Mintz is helping to organize a community volleyball tournament fund-raiser for the Baldwin Cares for Children fund that will be held on March 24 at the Baldwin Senior High School. A $20 fee for each player and a $3 admission fee will go to the families, Mintz said.
"To be honest, it's [volleyball tournament] so fun," Mintz said of her idea for the fund-raiser. "I've done this before, and so many kids come because they want to see their parents and teachers. They can laugh at their parents because most of us will just be awful."
Showing support, near and far
Mintz said her students and the Lenox children have been emotionally supportive to one another.
"They [students] really knew what was going on," she said. "I found out that it really helped everyone to just talk about things. It gives the kids a chance to exchange information and talk about how they're feeling, to get things off their chest."
Allison Hobbs and Dawn McAleese, the wives of Thomas Hobbs and Brian McAleese who were lost in the World Trade Center attacks, are especially grateful to the Lenox Family and the Baldwin community.
"They're over and above, the PTA and Lenox," McAleese said. "They've been outstanding, Mr. Griggs and everyone. They've been a great source of comfort and extremely supportive."
"I wish I had the vocabulary to express what everyone has been for me and done for me," Hobbs said. "Mr. Griggs and Kristin Maldonado deserve so much gratitude -- everyone does. The school system has been wonderful. They've seen me cry, laugh...they've seen me through it all. We have gotten food, and we're still getting food. I like them all, I love that school. I wish I didn't have to know all of them under these circumstances. From day one they have been there."
Hobbs said each of her three children have been dealing with their loss in their own different ways. Lenox schoolmates have also offered support and friendship to the Hobbs children.
"It was so cute, my 8-year-old [son] has a friend at school and everyday he [the friend] would ask him how he was doing," she said. "Not out of curiosity, just out of concern."
Not only has Hobbs received tremendous local support, she is also seeing a national desire to help those affected by the World Trade Center attacks.
"It's funny because people find out who you are," Hobbs said.
A family in California wanted to help a family in New York, though they didn't personally know anyone affected by Sept. 11. The family obtained a list of names and the wife chose Hobbs because it was her maiden name.
Hobbs said she was skeptical at first of accepting support from the strangers, because they had originally chosen a Tara Hobbs whose number was unlisted, so Allison was next on the list. The Californians proved they weren't strangers at all.
"For people who didn't know us, they sent us pictures and a beautiful letter," Hobbs said. "My brother-in-law set up an educational fund for the children in Georgia. In lieu of Christmas cards this season, they sent e-mails to their friends and family asking them to make donations to the Thomas Hobbs Educational Fund."
The Lenox family is not the only educational clan helping the Baldwin families affected by the World Trade Center. Teacher Kristin Maldonado's friend Karri Harmon and her school district in Indiana joined Lenox to offer support.
Southmont High School and school district sent care packages, letters, pictures and stuffed animals to Lenox School in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
One Southmont High School teacher will be helping a Lenox student for the next 12 years. English teacher Nancy Estelle sent a praying doll to Brianne McAleese, a Lenox kindergartner who lost her father Brian on Sept. 11. To express their gratitude, Lenox sent her a thank you card with a newspaper article about the girl and her family.
"I saw this article about a lady with four children," Estelle said. "It was very touching and we decided to set up a college fund for the daughter in kindergarten to see her through her entire education. As an educational institution, we decided this would be a good idea."
Estelle said that money from any fund-raiser her school or community hosts will go directly into the college account. The Indiana school district recently raised $4,000 through a patriotic t-shirt sale, which will be used toward the kindergartner's college education.
"We don't want to give to a fund we don't know," Estelle said. "It's much nicer to have it more personalized. We'd like to stay in contact with her [kindergartner] through e-mail and have our students write her letters. We want to see her through her education."
Though Sept. 11 tore countless families apart, the attack has ultimately brought the Lenox family closer together.
"This event [Sept. 11] affected us each in a different way," Ford said. "I was standing online in Pathmark one day and I didn't realize I had started crying. Have you ever felt compelled to do something? This compelled me to go door-to-door to ask people for any help they could give to these children and their families. Nobody has had to be asked twice."
