From Saint Matthew School
When the student leaders of the Saint Matthew School entrepreneurial business, The Rescue Aid, began discussing ideas for their first service project, wanting to say thank you to area first responders was at the top of the list. That project became a reality on November 15 when twenty-three Tyrone area first responders joined the school students and staff for lunch.
“We wrote down all the people who help keep us safe and sent them an invitation,” said fifth grader and business CEO Nadia Jeffries. “Our list of first responders included Tyrone Police, Tyrone Borough officials, all four area fire companies: Bald Eagle, Hookies, Neptune, and Warriors Mark, and healthcare workers.” In addition, reporters from the Daily Herald, Altoona Mirror, Philipsburg Journal, and WTAJ-TV attended and were recognized for their service to our communities.
CFO Elyana Hewitt added, “It was fun eating with our guests because we got to know them better and learn about what they do to protect our town.”
“What was such a great learning experience for the students was that they saw the sacrifice these men and women offer on a daily basis as one fire company could not attend due to an alarm and two police officers had to leave for a short time to assist in a situation,” explained advisor Steve Stoner. “It was a great conversation we had about how being a first responder means you often have to go help others even if it means you have to miss something you would like to do. This is the true meaning of sacrifice that Jesus calls us all to live in our lives.”
The company’s Public Relations Specialist, Lucy Hawthorne, helped distribute a gift bag to each responder that included a Saint Matthew School mug, pen, special cookie, and handmade card. Earlier in the week all of the students helped bake chocolate chip cookies that were served as dessert. After lunch the Warriors Mark Fire Company had the students visit their fire truck and the Tyrone Police cruiser was open for students to see.
“The desire these students have to help others and their drive to get things done is such a wonderful thing to see,” commented Principal Pauline Wiley. “All of our students were so anxious to welcome the first responders to Saint Matthew School. They now feel as if they know these special people and can wave hello to them when they see them in town.”
Tyrone Borough Administrative Assistant Kimberly Gurekovich shared, “We want to thank the students for taking the time to recognize this group of people. We all enjoyed ourselves so much!”
