buzzworthy
Andrea Prezwodek, a physical therapist at St.
Joseph’s Wayne Hospital, was among medical
staffers who received a meal donated by the
Wayne Education Association.
Wayne
Wayne
MEALS FOR MEDICAL HEROES
Boosters at WAYNE HILLS HIGH SCHOOL recently found a new cause to rally
around. The school’s Football Booster Club kicked off a fundraiser to collect money
to buy meals from local restaurants and give them to doctors and nurses at three
area hospitals. The benefit, called “Meals for our Medical Heroes,” raised enough
cash for almost 300 meals for health care professionals in its first three days of oper-
ation.
The boosters are matching every donation, dollar for dollar. “Wayne Hills football
has a storied legacy of winning championships,” says Dawn Dellechiaie, the club’s
president. “Winning is great, but what always has been instilled in our players, and
our extended football family, is that helping those in need is more important than
any accomplishment on the field.”
In four weeks, the group was able to donate 1,350 lunches and dinners to workers
at CHILTON MEDICAL CENTER in Pequannock, ST. JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY MEDICAL
CENTER in Paterson and ST. JOSEPH’S WAYNE HOSPITAL . Depending on how much
money is collected, Dellechiaie says, food will also be delivered to workers at
HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER.
Food has been provided by Positano’s, Preakness Gourmet Deli, My Salad,
Anthony Franco’s, Jersey Mike’s, Pizza 1, Primo Pizza, Sunrise Bagels, The
Brownstone, Manhattan Bagels and Outback Steakhouse. “Many went above and
beyond to not just provide delicious meals, but gave discounts and extra food,” says
Dellechiaie.
To donate, mail a check, payable to Wayne Hills Football Inc., to 4 Farm View
Court, Wayne, NJ 07470. You can also pay by credit card at waynehillsfootball.com/
store, or transfer money through Venmo to Marco Brunetti (@marco-brunetti). Make
a note of “COVID-19” when processing the payment.
8
MAY 2020 WAYNE MAGAZINE
Thousands of dollars intended to be
used by Wayne public schools for end-of-
year festivities were instead used by the
teachers’ union to buy equipment for
hospitals in short supply.
Electronic items include baby moni-
tors and iPads, says EDA FERRANTE,
president of the WAYNE EDUCATION
ASSOCIATION. The monitors allow nurs-
es to keep an eye on patients while main-
taining a safe distance during the corona-
virus pandemic. The tablets connect the
terminally ill with their loved ones.
The money, totaling $30,000, was
pooled together by the 850-member
association, and smaller unions of custo-
dians and special education aides. Each
union kicked in a $10,000 PRIDE in
Public Education grant that it received
from the New Jersey Education
Association.
The teachers’ share originally was
allocated to cover costs for field days at
each of the K-12 district’s nine elementa-
ry schools, and for a fair to be hosted by
automotive technology classes at Wayne
Hills and Wayne Valley high schools.
Those events were canceled, Ferrante
says, so teachers looked for a different
way to spend the money. Had it not been
spent, she says, it would have been
returned to the NJEA for future grants.
Neither the aides nor custodians had
grants, at first, but their unions applied
for one to add more money to the teach-
ers’ donation drive, Ferrante says, adding
that 30 monitors and 40 tablets were
donated. Recipients included medical
staff at Chilton Medical Center in
Pequannock, Preakness Healthcare
Center, St. Joseph’s University Medical
Center in Paterson, St. Joseph’s Wayne
Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital
in Passaic.
WAYNE EDUCATION
TEACHERS UNION
SUPPORTS HOSPITALS