Passing along a few words of thanks

To the Editor: On behalf of Pass It Along, we would like to thank all those who participated in our Fourth Annual Youth Conference. A special thanks to the youth council and its president, Trevor Morrow. Trevor has shown an outstanding amount of leadership and we are so grateful for the time and energy he has contributed. We would also like to thank those who partnered with us to make the conference a success: First Hope Bank, Sussex Technical School and Jersey Central Power and Light. First Hope Bank has continued to give of its time and space in all bank locations, setting up collection sites and coordinating with Pass It Along to get the word out. We are also grateful for all who donated goods and services at the conference: Sutherland Packaging, Lawrence Video - SECTV, Dunkin Donuts of Sparta, Bagel Tree of Franklin, Costco, Upper Lake Deli of Sparta, Weis Market of Franklin and Newton, Shop-Rite of Newton, The Vozza Family, Sophie’s Place & Lily Inc, McGuire Chevrolet and DJ - Jarett Seitz. Your generosity was greatly appreciated. Thank you to Sunrise House, Birth Haven and SCARC for providing us with three inspiring speakers. This year’s conference was combined with our yearly Field of Hope. Eight high schools and two middle schools, volunteers and staff members from First Hope Bank worked to put together kits that helped both the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and our local non profits in need. A total of 416 health kits and 250 “Hope in a Box” kits were created for the survivors. To help our local groups in need, over 600 canned goods and baby items were collected, 500 toiletry kits were made and over 2,000 items of clothing and coats were collected. In addition, students created cards for our troops and for children with serious illnesses. Notes were made, to be placed in the coats collected. Quilt squares were made to create wall hangings for Birth Haven and Sunrise House. The day could not have been a success without the help of all who volunteered as project leaders, the students who attended, and those who went the extra mile: Judy McDonough, Mary Ellen Flynn, the DeGasperis family, John Loyer, Toni from Sussex Technical School and Kristin Hull. It took many hands to make the day a success and we thank all those who were involved. Susan Loyas, board member Diane Taylor, president Pass It Along