Our Love Helps Children (OLHC)
Donation protected
Our Lady Help of Christians - A Peaceable School
On behalf of Our Lady Help of Christians School in East Orange, New Jersey, we, the staff, are asking for your help to assist in achieving our goal. It is through education that we succeed. Our job as educators is to provide the tools needed for our youth to succeed not only academically, but spiritually and emotionally so that our students have all the skill sets needed not only for school, but in life, overall.
Our Lady Help of Christians School has been in existence since 1883 and was the first Catholic School in the inner city of East Orange, NJ, under the guidance of “The Sisters of Charity”. In 1979, Sister Patricia Hogan O.P., became the Principal at the request of the late Bishop Joseph Francis.
Our mission has been to provide the spiritual and educational services that are conducive to the full development of the students, faculty, and families in our multicultural community. OLHC provides a viable education for grades Pre-K – 8th. We all know that children spend more time in school then they do at home and OLHC has been a “home away from home” and a haven for our students and families, both past and present.
On March 13, 2020, we closed our doors to begin what has now become the new normal; distance learning due to COVID-19. On May 7, 2020 (without any prior notification to families and staff), the Archdiocese of Newark announced that they would be closing our school for good as of June 30, 2020. This information was released to the public before we, the staff, had the chance to notify our families. This news has been beyond devastating for our students, staff, families, and the community we have served for 137 years.
As you know, this pandemic has been a true detriment in our very own communities. Lives have been lost. Jobs have been lost. Families have been displaced. In addition to all the stresses COVID has caused, parents are now having to try and find schools for September. How can this be possible when schools in NJ are closed? Our families have reached out in confusion, anger, and distress asking us Why? Why would such a rash and heartless decision be made at this time and in this manner? We have been away from one another for over two months and will continue this process until the school year ends in June. Teachers and students have not had closure, and this is definitely not the way we expected our school year to end.
Our school community has contributed to the following:
Local food pantries, Pajama Program for Foster Kids, The National Cancer Society, St. Jude's, Orphanage and CRUDEM Hospital in Haiti. We also have had projects in Africa, the Philippines, South America, and our very own state, NJ, to name a few.
Over the years, we have educated generations of children who have gone on to serve and live their purpose not only in their communities, but in this country. This institution is a landmark and it has touched so many lives that it would be a significant loss to see the doors close forever.
PLEASE help us keep our doors open so that we can continue to be a "Citadel of Hope". We need to continue our mission, for the students who so desperately need us. Pay it forward… Thank you and God bless you!
Please donate whatever you can - every little bit will help. If you would rather pay by check, please make it payable to OLHC Foundation, 23 North Clinton Street, East Orange, NJ, 07017.
In Christ's name, we thank you for your support and kindness.
On behalf of Our Lady Help of Christians School in East Orange, New Jersey, we, the staff, are asking for your help to assist in achieving our goal. It is through education that we succeed. Our job as educators is to provide the tools needed for our youth to succeed not only academically, but spiritually and emotionally so that our students have all the skill sets needed not only for school, but in life, overall.
Our Lady Help of Christians School has been in existence since 1883 and was the first Catholic School in the inner city of East Orange, NJ, under the guidance of “The Sisters of Charity”. In 1979, Sister Patricia Hogan O.P., became the Principal at the request of the late Bishop Joseph Francis.
Our mission has been to provide the spiritual and educational services that are conducive to the full development of the students, faculty, and families in our multicultural community. OLHC provides a viable education for grades Pre-K – 8th. We all know that children spend more time in school then they do at home and OLHC has been a “home away from home” and a haven for our students and families, both past and present.
On March 13, 2020, we closed our doors to begin what has now become the new normal; distance learning due to COVID-19. On May 7, 2020 (without any prior notification to families and staff), the Archdiocese of Newark announced that they would be closing our school for good as of June 30, 2020. This information was released to the public before we, the staff, had the chance to notify our families. This news has been beyond devastating for our students, staff, families, and the community we have served for 137 years.
As you know, this pandemic has been a true detriment in our very own communities. Lives have been lost. Jobs have been lost. Families have been displaced. In addition to all the stresses COVID has caused, parents are now having to try and find schools for September. How can this be possible when schools in NJ are closed? Our families have reached out in confusion, anger, and distress asking us Why? Why would such a rash and heartless decision be made at this time and in this manner? We have been away from one another for over two months and will continue this process until the school year ends in June. Teachers and students have not had closure, and this is definitely not the way we expected our school year to end.
Our school community has contributed to the following:
Local food pantries, Pajama Program for Foster Kids, The National Cancer Society, St. Jude's, Orphanage and CRUDEM Hospital in Haiti. We also have had projects in Africa, the Philippines, South America, and our very own state, NJ, to name a few.
Over the years, we have educated generations of children who have gone on to serve and live their purpose not only in their communities, but in this country. This institution is a landmark and it has touched so many lives that it would be a significant loss to see the doors close forever.
PLEASE help us keep our doors open so that we can continue to be a "Citadel of Hope". We need to continue our mission, for the students who so desperately need us. Pay it forward… Thank you and God bless you!
Please donate whatever you can - every little bit will help. If you would rather pay by check, please make it payable to OLHC Foundation, 23 North Clinton Street, East Orange, NJ, 07017.
In Christ's name, we thank you for your support and kindness.
Fundraising team: #SaveOLHC (2)
Carlotta Howard
Organizer
East Orange, NJ
Jean Morton-Brutus
Team member
Jessica West
Team member
