Day of Fun: Howell residents extend the hand of friendship
Published: November 3, 2005
As one natural disaster after another continues to strike locations outside the Garden State, the barrage of media coverage of the human tragedy becomes so great that at times, people may have to look away.
It may in fact be natural to want to look away, to want to try and forget the continuing human need that will not go away just because the images of suffering are too much to bare. At some point it may be easier not to think about the children who must try to deal with the catastrophes that have their parents struggling to cope.
However, it was the children who moved Howell police Sgt. Chris Hill to want to do something. Hill said it was the initial hit of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29 that moved him to action and continues to fuel his ongoing children’s Day of Fun events.
“After seeing on television the scope of the devastation, I thought to myself, ‘I can’t just watch this, I have to try to do something,’ ” the officer said.
Lodging and relocation for hurricane evacuees was not something Hill could provide, however, a weekend carnival with free admission, food and rides was something he could make happen. He said the idea of providing a day of fun for children — a good memory at a very bad time — seemed to be the right thing to do.
As a trustee on the national board of directors for the Police Athletic League, Hill was in a position to be able to make his idea a reality.
“I called in some favors,” Hill replied modestly when asked how he pulled off his successful recruitment of local and national corporate sponsors that are underwriting his days of fun that kicked off in Selma, Ala., in September.
One of the people he contacted was NBA player J.R. Smith of the New Orleans Hornets — who themselves have relocated from New Orleans to Oklahoma City for the upcoming season.
Hill said Smith, who hails from Millstone Township and played basketball at Lakewood High School for several years, enthusiastically agreed to accompany Hill to Selma and offered the resources of his J.R. Smith Foundation.
Hill said the result was that the Day of Fun was such a hit with the children in Selma that he ended up taking the act on the road accompanied by the members of Howell’s PAL Youth Leadership Council.
More recently, ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America” brought Hill and his troupe of merry makers along with the show’s hosts and crew to Pass Christian, Miss., this past weekend where they all worked to orchestrate another Day of Fun, this time one that had a Halloween theme.
Pass Christian was unofficially adopted by the show because of a hometown connection between a “Good Morning America” correspondent and the town.
Jaime Szyarto, 16, a junior at Howell High School, is the president of the PAL Youth Leadership Group. She and six other PAL Youth Leadership Group volunteers — Lindsay Costantin, Angela Papasso, Nicole Walsh, Brianna Dunbar, Cherelle Hill and Jasmine Colon — accompanied Hill and four adult chaperones first to Selma.
One of the adult chaperones was Helene Schlegel, who is the director of Howell’s Parks and Recreation Department. Schlegel said the girls packed some 400 bags with goods that were distributed upon their arrival in Selma.
Schlegel said she was not prepared for what she saw when she got to Selma.
“I couldn’t believe that Americans were living like this,” she said.
The parks director said one of the most remarkable things that struck her was the attitude of the people who for the most part were able to relax and take advantage of the kindness of strangers and allow themselves and their children to be carefree even if it was only for one day.
Schlegel said although the special event did not solve any of the evacuees’ material problems, it was something positive at a grim time.
Jaime and Cherelle, who is Hill’s daughter, said they fell in love with an 11-year-old boy named Richard who latched onto the group for the day. The girls said it was heartbreaking to leave the boy behind when it was time for them to head home.
Jaime said Richard and his family told the volunteers from Howell that although they loved living in New Orleans, the trauma of their experience was such they do not plan on returning even after the city is rebuilt.
Jaime, who has an 11-year-old sister and a 9-year-old brother, said she and her friends took as much personal information from Richard as they could so they will be able to contact him once his family relocates to a more permanent home.
Jaime said in addition to the personal interaction with Richard and his family that moved her to tears, she was bombarded by images she will never forget, like a 2-year-old who was walking in sandals that were at least two sizes too big.
“It brought home to me how you can go to bed with everything and wake up in the morning with nothing,” she said, adding that she was particularly struck by one man’s simple observation that he never thought he could miss a can opener so much.
Cherelle said she came away from the experience with a “feeling of sadness and at the same time, gratitude for all I have.”
Cherelle, who said she wanted to “take Richard home, give him everything,” said that since her return home to Howell she has talked with a woman in Kentucky who knows Richard and his family but could not say where they had been sent. She said she is hoping she will be able to find out where Richard’s journey ended and re-establish contact with the youngster.
Schlegel said, “Howell can be proud of these seven girls for taking their volunteer work seriously and making the commitment to help the less fortunate. [Because of them] Howell, New Jersey, definitely made an impact on Selma, Ala.”
In between his trips to Alabama and Mississippi, Hill has also been to Lexington, Ky., to coordinate an event there.
Following the successes of Selma, Lexington and Pass Christian, Hill said he will be going to Lake Charles, La., to help the national PAL coordinate a Thanksgiving event for Hurricane Katrina evacuees there.
The Howell PAL Youth Leadership Group that accompanied Hill to Mississippi last weekend was joined by two additional members, Lauren Hoenig and Brian Tulla.
Talking about the Halloween event in Mississippi, Hill said, “It was an awesome event, we put smiles on the faces of people who have nothing. No homes; everything blown off the foundations.”
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