Milltown students' book bags packed by goodwill in Grand Falls-Windsor
Town organized school supply drive to help students transition to temporary school
As fast as flames destroyed the school in Milltown, the good will of residents in Grand Falls-Windsor has re-packed students' book bags with supplies lost in the fire.
The town organized a school supply drive to offer help to a community that "experienced the unimaginable," according to a post on the the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor Facebook page.
Two donation times were scheduled to gather supplies for the 250 displaced students.
The community needed only one.
"We got pretty much everything covered on the list in the first day," said Mayor Barry Manuel, standing beside a stack of boxes filled with pencils, notebooks, glue sticks and more.
"It's always great to see when someone experiences this kind of tragedy and the community rallies around them," said Manuel.
"As Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, that's what we do, right? It's communities helping communites."
Tragic event triumphed by support
The community of Mlltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir was hit by a string of fires that destroyed the town hall, RCMP detachment and school last Wednesday.
The RCMP has charged 48-year-old Donald Craig MacHaight of Morrisville with arson. MacHaight told a provincial court judge days after the fires that he did not want to leave jail.
MacHaight appeared before a judge in Grand Falls-Windsor Friday, and was then sent to the Waterford Hospital in St. John's for a psychiatric assessment
Meanwhile the students of Bay d'Espoir Academy are preparing to finish the school year at a temporary school in St. Alban's.
Manuel said the supplies will be shipped to the school Friday, in time for the first students to unpack on Monday morning.
"I'm sure that will be a nice scene, to see these kids accepting all these donations," Manuel told CBC News.
Paying it Forward
Even though the second donation drop off was cancelled, people still showed up with more supplies. Manuel said it shows the community's desire to help a nearby town get through a tough time.
"When something so tragic happens — and I'm sure as young kids it's difficult for them really to grasp what went on in Milltown — but when someone is doing a good deed for them like this, I hope it really sends a strong message to them as something to hold on to for the rest of their life," said Manuel.
"This is the way we react when those moments take place."
Fort McMurray residents donated school supplies to Milltown through <a href="https://twitter.com/towngfw">@towngfw</a> donation drive after GFW raised donations after wildfire <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CBCnl?src=hash">#CBCnl</a> <a href="https://t.co/mWMzkotTsu">pic.twitter.com/mWMzkotTsu</a>
—@ChrisEnsingCBCAnother donation drive in Grand Falls-Windsor this summer raised money for people affected by the Fort McMurray wildfire.
"It's funny. There were people from Alberta this time who saw this post and because the support was thrown their way at the time they decided they were going to do a collection in Alberta and send the school supplies down," said Manuel.