When tragedy hits a community, it can respond in one of two ways: either the pain of loss can cause individuals to be isolated in their sorrow, or the magnitude of the event can bring a community together to help in the healing process.
In light of the deaths of two small children in the Lillard family after an unexpected house fire in Myersville, and the death of Middletown High School special education teacher Ronn Cross shortly afterward; the MHS community has decidedly settled on the second option.
During the few short weeks following the events, a variety of student groups have responded in hope of giving back to both families.
From Feb. 11 through Feb. 15, the MHS Student Government Association collected monetary donations for the Lillard and Cross families from MHS students eager to get involved.
“It was a very easy decision (to organize the fundraiser),” said Amy Hoffman, MHS senior and SGA president, “One of our biggest goals is to help out our community and make sure everyone can benefit from us, and this was a great way to do that.”
Members of the SGA collected donations during all lunch shifts, but the giving did not stop there. The SGA promised to match the total student donation up to 500 dollars, and MHS English teacher Daria Baldovin-Jahrling also collected donations from her classes to put toward the SGA collection.
Altogether, Hoffman said that the fundraiser collected $2000.65, with $785.15 coming from cafeteria donations, $715.50 from Baldovin-Jahrling’s classes, and the remaining $500 dollars from the promised SGA donation.
“During the collection, many students asked ‘Who is the Lillard family?’ or ‘What happened?’,” said Hoffman, “but when (the SGA) explained the situation, all students were moved and sympathetic; many were upset when they didn’t have money to give. The Lillards are a family, and people really connected with that.”
Connections to those involved in the tragedy prompted one of the latest efforts to provide aide to the Cross family.
MHS English teacher Lisa Loughry co-taught a merit English class with Cross for two years, and over time, “it turned into a friendship,” said Loughry.
Loughry said Cross had a son who is the same age as her own son, and the two “would often talk about our children and what they were doing.”
Naturally, the news about her co-worker and friend had an indescribable impact. “It was just devastating,” said Loughry.
“It gives me cold chills (just talking) about it. This is a person I laughed with. It just didn’t seem real.”
From these mingled feelings grew compassion to give back to the family that Loughry had heard so much about.
The MHS English teacher organized an effort throughout her classes to gather a variety of household items that will be distributed to the Cross family through their church, Faith Christian Fellowship in Williamsport, Md.
Her classroom is currently littered with dozens of boxes lined up against the front wall, all filled to the brim with everything from containers and tissues to toothbrushes and sponges.
Loughry is amazed at the generosity that her students have shown, citing that on many occasions students are bringing in bags full of items, instead of one item. “If you added up all (of the items), how much money is that sitting there already? A lot.”
Students also have expressed the desire to go beyond the ordinary. Several students told Loughry they would like to stay after-school to organize items before they are shipped out.
However, the collection might not be ending on March 1 as previously planned, since Loughry has discussed extending the project due to interest from other teachers in getting involved, including MHS English teachers Hannah Ricci and Debbie Leonard.
“I have been impressed by the reaction for both of these families by the community. For me, I’m dealing with the loss through service, and it’s amazing how healing that can be,” said Loughry.
