Flower Hill PTA Responds to
Sandy’s Destruction
Superstorm Sandy devastated the Long Beach community, destroying homes and businesses and disrupting school operations for weeks. The Flower Hill School PTA quickly mobilized to assist that South Shore community’s students after Flower Hill parent Jill Carrello reached out to her old Long Beach High School math teacher to get the ball rolling.
“The Flower Hill PTA has been in contact with the Long Beach School District and we are assisting them in a variety of ways,” said Michele Kustera, who serves as co-president of the Flower Hill PTA along with Lauren Meagher.
“One of the two immediate things we are doing involves the collection, packaging and distribution of almost 300 hygiene kits that are going to displaced Long Beach High School students who do not have easy access to these items,” Mrs. Kustera said. “We delivered those to Long Beach on Monday.”
The second storm related initiative has Flower Hill students writing letters and creating artwork that will be sent to students at West Elementary in Long Beach. “This is one of the heavily damaged schools in Long Beach,” Mrs. Kustera said. “I was down there on Monday and it is surreal. This school had several large dumpsters in front of it with items like chairs, desks and tables loaded in it.”
She contacted Mrs. Kustera, who in turn placed a call to the West Elementary PTA president and asked how the Flower Hill community could help. “She immediately said getting cards and letters to the students would be so helpful and put smiles on their faces,” Mrs. Kustera said. The items were collected at Flower Hill this week and earmarked for prompt shipment to Long Beach.
This year’s Flower Hill PTA slate of officers also includes vice presidents Amy Girimonti and Erin Sclafani, recording secretary Krista McDonald, corresponding secretary Amy Fives, treasurer Steve Fox, historians Shaki Coulter and Debbie Chin and PTA Council delegates Dana Forte and Deirdre Severine.