Hope Community Charter School in Camden, New Jersey, is asking for the public’s help after flash flooding severely damaged its building, forcing the school to relocate just weeks before the start of the school year.
School leaders say the unexpected move has already delayed the start of classes by more than a week, and they are now racing against the clock to move into a new location across the city.
The flooding happened after the Fourth of July weekend, when administrators returned to find several inches of water covering the entire ground floor of the school. The flooding damaged walls, classrooms and school supplies.
The school serves 110 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
“The bottom line is the church and the insurance company felt it was not a good investment in repairing this location, so they are moving us,” Principal Jennifer Smith said.
About two dozen staff members are now working to pack up three buildings before the start of the school year.
“We need a lot of hands to get all this stuff packed up,” special education teacher Audrey Szabo said.
School leaders say they have limited resources and are asking the community for help with moving trucks, professional movers, moving supplies and volunteers.
“We need moving trucks, we need movers. We need moving supplies. We need person power,” Smith said.
Szabo said the school is also hoping a company or organization will sponsor moving services.
“We’re hoping to get the sponsorship. Maybe someone that can help sponsor a moving company to try to get everything moved,” she said.
Despite the challenges, staff members say they remain focused on giving students a successful school year, no matter where classes are held.
“We will continue to do so no matter where we are. Hope is what we have,” Business Office Manager Leah Johnson said.
If you would like to help Hope Community Charter School in Camden, call 856-379-3448, or email: szabo@hopecommunitycharter.org
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
