Highlanders Bring Humanity to Jersey Shore

West Morris Central students spend a full day in Union Beach helping with post-Hurricane Sandy cleanup efforts.

More than two months after Hurricane Sandy climbed up the East Coast, decimating portions of New Jersey’s beaches and shore towns, the cleanup effort remains and thousands are still homeless. Residents of northern New Jersey, especially Washington Township, also were impacted by the storm’s devastation, but clearly not to the degree of those along the coast. That was realized, and quickly, by the student body of West Morris Central High School, who wanted to help almost immediately after Sandy’s smoke had cleared. Highlanders for Humanity, a student-based group that meets monthly at the high school to create goods for various drives and donations, told their advisor, Chris Kling, it was time to help Restore the Shore. “The thought of …

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Shore Relief Aided by Long Valley Teen, Friends

Community effort leads to two SUVs packed with donated goods.

Nick Leloia is only in eighth grade, but he set out to make a difference in his grandparent’s hometown of Bay Head, New Jersey, which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. What happened after the Long Valley Middle School student kicked off his drive to collect donated goods was nothing short of yet another amazing community effort in Washington Township, and one that will undoubtedly help the residents of Bay Head. Leloia set up collection drop-off spots at the school and his own home, requesting cleaning supplies and pet goods, along with monetary donations that would all be funneled through the National Guard which has set up a station in Bay Head while conducting relief efforts. The efforts by Leloia led to two SUVs full of donations, …

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Teens Brighten Holidays by Restoring the Shore

Hackettstown High School seniors collecting donations with hopes of filling 18-wheeler to bring to Central Regional High School in Bayville.

Woman, Community Join to 'Restore the Shore'

Shannon Colditz helped displaced residents in a big way this week.

Shannon Colditz says she just had enough. Enough of the images on her television screen showing her beloved New Jersey Shore in shambles. Enough of the masses of residents without power, food, even homes. So on Saturday, Nov. 3, Colditz got off her couch, she says, and did something about it. What followed was a community effort of mass proportions that Hackettstown's Colditz herself didn’t expect. Colditz launched Restore the Shore, a donation drive to help those in need along the barrier islands that were devastated by Hurricane Sandy at the end of October. She used her home as a drop-off center and coordinated transportation to move the goods to shelters in Brick Township and Point Pleasant. That Saturday morning, Colditz went over to …

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