Middlebrook School has always had a strong component of social responsibility and action as part of its curriculum. Most recently the student council organized its annual effort to collect non-perishable items for the Nick Madaras Supply Drive. The items the students collect are donated to one of two residential facilities for veterans in Bridgeport, Homes for the Brave for men and the Female Heroes: Forgotten Soldiers, for women. The FH:FS house is named after Pfc. Nicholas Madaras, a young Wilton man who was killed in Iraq in 2006 while serving in the line of duty.
The cause is close to the heart of many in Wilton, and it’s supported by Madaras’ parents, Bill and Shalini Madaras. The supply drive is a way for the teens and pre-teens of Wilton to learn about their own connection to history and the meaning of service to country. The effort is organized by the Middlebrook Student Council and linked to the school’s Veterans Day activities every year.
“The kids see the Kick for Nick effort, so there’s always a visual trigger in town. And we use the memorial outside here during Veterans Day, and sometimes classes will walk to pay tribute. Plus the soccer field here is named after Nick. So I think there’s plenty of reminders all around,” says Thomas Koch, a 6th grade reading workshop teacher, who knew Nick well when the young Madaras boy was a Middlebrook student, and who is the faculty advisor for the student government.
The student council members gathered this past Monday morning, Nov. 23, to give the collected items to Bill Madaras, who would bring them to the two veterans’ houses in Bridgeport. With enough donations to fill a car twice over, the student council members eagerly loaded the paper towels, canned goods, taco kits and more into Madaras’ car. It clearly was something meaningful.
“It’s extremely important that we’re doing this, because those [veterans] are the people that served for us and we should be giving back to them,” said Taylor LaMantia, an 8th grader who is the president of the student council.
Her fellow students agreed. “I think it’s very important to help people out, especially people who cared for us and helped us,” said Emily Fields. “It’s important to help those outside of our school and outside of our community,” said Gabby Nisco.
To appeal to the wider student body to get the donations, the student council members said they did a lot of outreach. “We made posters and put them around the school. As student council we make sure we tell everybody about the drive,” explained Alex Breaker. In addition they did P.A. announcements, and lobbied their classmates, said Kate Moran: “We made sure that everyone was informed, so that people would want to give back to the people who fought for what we believe in.
Being involved in student government has given the students the added exposure to many of the efforts surround social responsibility at Middlebrook.
“You’re able to give back to school in a way that helps everybody in the school, not just yourself. If you have ideas, you can share them with the whole school essentially,” said Parker Ward.
Rishab Raniwala agreed. “I think it’s great to be involved. We get to give back to a community that has done so much for us. The town of Wilton is such a great town, and that we get to give back is really great.”