The students at Bishop Schad Regional School and Carlos Mercado & Friends, a local community group, recently made a donation of more than $11,000 to the Vineland and Bridgeton Code Blue Warming Shelters.
The students at Bishop Schad Regional School and Carlos Mercado & Friends teamed up with Cumberland County Deputy Freeholder Doug Long, the Vineland Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association Local 49, the Bridgeton International Association of Firefighters Local 4822 and an anonymous donor who gave $4,500. A total of 80 coat/sleeping bags were purchased from The Empowerment Plan in Detroit, Mich. In addition 40 blankets, food and two separate $500 checks were donated to support the Vineland and Bridgeton Code Blue Warming Shelters that serve Cumberland County’s homeless population.
The distribution of the coat/sleeping bags, blankets and food was made during a school assembly that took place in Vineland at Bishop Schad Regional School in the cafeteria on Jan. 22.
Guest speakers included Msgr. John Burton, pastor of Christ the Good Shepherd Parish, Vineland; and Father Ed Friel, parochial vicar; other local clergy; and Cumberland County Deputy Freeholder Doug Long.