Herrlich Kids Surprise Unsung Heroes in Highway Departments
February 11, 2015
A group of young children reached out recently to thank those responsible for removing all of the snow from town and county roads in Putnam. Youngsters registered in Camp Herrlich’s Before and After School programs chose to celebrate the ‘unsung heroes’ in area highway departments by creating special Plow Packs for the drivers.
The project came under the direction of Matthew Paterson Elementary School Site Director Beth Mahoskey, Camp Herrlich After School Program Site Director Doreen Smith, and Kent Elementary School Site Director Heather Duben. The Before and After School participants ranged in age from kindergarten through 8th grade and their families contributed to the undertaking by donating the items to be assembled in the Plow Packs.
“Each Plow Pack contained things like snacks, bottles of water, packs of tissues, hand warmers, and other items that we thought would help our highway department workers get through the long shifts ahead of them in a winter that is forecasted to be cold and snowy,” said Mahoskey. “The students also wrote thank you notes that were included in the bags.”
The children assembled 100 gift bags that were then delivered to the highway departments for the towns of Kent, Carmel, and Patterson, and Putnam County.
“All of our highway workers, whether the county team or the crews in our towns, were well deserving of the thoughtful thank you gifts from the children,” said County Executive MaryEllen Odell. “These drivers have a huge task in front of them each time they go out in a storm. How nice that they’ll have some extra goodies on hand as they plow us out.”
“The bright blue bags were received with gratitude and students enjoyed giving back to the people who help keep us safe on the roads,” said Camp Herrlich Program Director Jessica Vanacoro, LMSW. “Many thanks to everyone who contributed!”
Photo caption for Plow Pack 3: From left to right: Putnam County Highway Department snowplow drivers Joseph Petti, Dean Hanaburgh, Craig Moran and Carl Frisenda show off their Plow Packs and the colorful thank you notes created by children in the Camp Herrlich After School Program. Photo submitted by Putnam County Highway Department.
Photo caption for After School Kids 1: Children participating in Camp Herrlich’s After School Program at the Kent Elementary School helped to make Plow Packs for highway department drivers. Photo submitted by Camp Herrlich.
Photo caption for After School Kids 2: It was thumbs up for highway department personnel as Camp Herrlich After School Program participants at Matthew Paterson Elementary School gathered to make Plow Packs for the snowplow drivers. Photo submitted by Camp Herrlich.
Photo caption for After School Program 3: After School Program students at Camp Herrlich in Patterson show some of the donated goodies that were used in making Plow Packs for highway department snowplow drivers. Photo submitted by Camp Herrlich.
