“Operation Christmas Child” Brings Bergen Together
PARAMUS, N.J – Bergen Community College students, faculty and staff partnered with relief organization Operation Christmas Child to collect donations of toys, school supplies and hygiene products for distribution to poverty-stricken communities throughout the world.
Led by Associate Dean of Nursing Darlene Zales-Russamano and Personal Counselor Lois Carmichael, students from the nursing department, Office of Specialized Services and other student clubs collaborated to fill nearly 200 boxes of donations, which they assembled during a “packing party.” The students also raised $1,980 through bake sales and donations to cover shipping costs and included handwritten notes in the boxes.
“This was a huge success due to the collaboration efforts of student clubs, staff and faculty,” Zales-Russamano and Carmichael said in a co-signed statement.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls more than 13,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.