Eighth grade language arts teacher and Education Association of Cromwell President Patricia Maher pins a ribbon to Cromwell Middle School secretary Barbara Monarca’s scarf.
Cromwell Public School employees are just some of the many around the state today who are remembering the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School and showing their support for the Newtown community by wearing green ribbons.
Educators have purchased green ribbons to support the CEA Sandy Hook Memorial and Scholarship Fund. The fund supports the Sandy Hook School Memorial Scholarship Fund at the University of Connecticut and the creation of a bronze sculpture memorializing the heroism and sacrifice that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
In Cromwell, it’s not just the teachers who are wearing green ribbons today. Patricia Maher, president of the Education Association of Cromwell (EAC), said that the Association “bought ribbons for everyone, from custodians to administrative assistants to paraprofessionals to administrators.
“We wanted to emphasize that we are all one community,” Maher continued. “We didn’t want it to be just the teachers wearing ribbons today, we wanted to all stand together.”
Maher said that the Association’s decision to support the CEA Sandy Hook Memorial and Scholarship Fund came out of a strong desire among educators to do something after the terrible tragedy.
“The Sandy Hook community was overwhelmed with donations last winter,” Maher said. “We didn’t want to do something just for the sake of doing something. Contributing to the memorial was a good way to do something meaningful.”
Maher said that EAC members are quite happy with the decision to support the fund and that other faculty and staff are touched by the gesture. “We were all affected by what happened in Newtown, and we want to continue forward being a strong community together.”
To find out more about the CEA Sandy Hook Memorial and Scholarship Fund, and to donate, click here.
