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The 60-member council has launched a two-week Baby Basics Drive that ends May 6, said adviser and business teacher Cheryl Koehler.
Any student or faculty member in the school is encouraged to leave donated diapers, formula, baby wash, shampoo, or wipes in the playpens in the hallway outside Koehler's classroom.
The goods go to the Paramus-based Children’s Aid and Family Services, a nonprofit organization that operates child welfare programs throughout North Jersey.
“Last year we literally stuffed the donations in the playpens,” Koehler recalled. “They were spewing over the tops.
“Because we have some rather young teachers here, they bring in diapers that they’re buying at home for their children,” she added. “They just buy an extra pair.”
Every extracurricular club is required to do some type of a community service, Koehler said.
Students at the Old Tappan school have a special relationship with young children -- in part, because of an in-school child care center.
“On Halloween, the little kids go trick-or-treating down the main hallway, which is cute,” Koehler said. “So there’s always a little relationship with the young kids here -- and when we do something for babies, the students want to help.”
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