VINELAND – The Bishop Schad Regional School and Christ the Good Shepherd Parish communities are mourning the loss of two students, Valery and Gissel Cardona Gómez, who died in an April 10 house fire in Millville.
School and parish staff are helping to coordinate efforts to support the parents and surviving daughters through financial assistance, donations of essential items and gift cards, a GoFundMe campaign and spiritual support.
According to local news outlets, the fire broke out at around 11 p.m. April 10 on the 300 block of South 4th Street in Millville. The flames spread to six homes, displacing more than 20 people. The girls, a fifth-grader and seventh-grader at Bishop Schad, were originally unaccounted for; Gissel Samanta, 11, and Valery Mariana, 13, were discovered the following day.
Immediately upon hearing the news, Sister Olga Cano, MDPVM, school principal, brought in guidance counselors to be available for students and staff. Among those that sent guidance counselors to support the school’s efforts were Saint Mary School, Vineland; Our Lady of Hope Regional School, Blackwood; and the Vineland Public School District.
On April 11, a Mass was celebrated at the school to remember the girls and support the community spiritually. “In such a short time of life, they gave the gift of love, smiles and joy,” said Father Junior Flores, pastor of Christ the Good Shepard Parish. “The way we will honor Gissel and Valery is by honoring the way they lived.”
Christ the Good Shepherd Parish will host a special memorial Mass to honor the lives of the sisters at Sacred Heart Church, Vineland, in the coming weeks.
New clothing, household items or gift cards to local stores like Target, Walmart and grocery stores can be dropped off at Bishop Schad Regional School, 922 E. Landis Ave., Vineland, NJ 08360, c/o Sister Olga Cano.
To support the GoFundMe campaign, visit https://tinyurl.com/bde934dt.
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