Kids with compassion at the Montclair Pre-K was the subject of a report on NBC news last night, showing that even our youngest citizens can make a difference.  You can’t help feeling good when you hear how tiny tots are helping their buddy Nigel, a victim of Hurricane Katrina. Nigel fled New Orleans after Katrina hit, finding a safe haven in Montclair, where he attended the Pre-K for four and a half months. Befriending Nigel, and hearing how his home was destroyed by floodwaters made a huge impression on the kids. After Nigel returned to New Orleans, they  came up with a very creative idea to help Nigel and his family:  From WNBC.com:

Nigel's New Jersey classmates decided they wanted to help their friend and his family recover from the disaster. They put together a book, with each student illustrating and writing a page about Nigel, describing their friend in their own words. "He used to play with all of us," reads one page. "He's a really nice boy."

The book also conveys the students' sadness when Nigel left.
"We feel very sad," said Sarah Stack, 4. "When we lined up, we always said how much we loved him."

Alpha Graphics on Bloomfield Avenue, and Scholastic Books donated printing services to make the idea a reality, the Pre-K's Executive Director Eve Robinson told us. The response from last night's broadcast has been great, Robinson said, and they already need to go into their second printing.To order a copy of the Nigel Book, write to mtcprek@verizon.net  or call 973- 509-4500. "We're going to sell it for $10 and then we're going to give the dollars to Nigel's family," said Eve Dillingham, 5.

Meanwhile, first graders at the Montclair Co-Op School are doing their bit to help kids suffering from the effects of Katrina.  They have donated their Legos  - and have a collection box at Learning Express so others can donate too.  You’ll have until Wednesday to contribute new or used legos; the Lego Company will match the number of blocks collected, one for one, and send them off to New Orleans.  So far, about 5,000 pieces have been collected.

April 28, 2006 in Civic Virtue | Permalink