There is no doubt that the Becton family has been hit especially hard by the Coronavirus, but administrators, teachers, and students have found ways to give back to the community.

Assistant Principal Mr. Bononno established the Becton Covid19 Pandemic Relief Fund as a way to secure food for students and families in need, sympathy baskets, and anything else the Becton community might need during this time.

The Fund was established first as a way to deliver the free and reduced lunches to students, but then quickly transitioned to deliver anything from pizzas to food platters from nearby restaurants. In addition, Becton has already created a #BectonStrong t-shirt fundraiser where all the proceeds will go to the Becton Covid19 Pandemic Relief Fund. The design on the short and long sleeve t-shirts is by Mr. Bonnono’s daughter, Katie.

In addition to the t-shirts, Becton is also selling custom masks. “We raised enough funds to give one high-quality Becton mask to every police officer, every firefighter, and every EMT worker in all 3 towns- Carlstadt, East Rutherford, and Maywood”, Dr. Sforza said in an email. With help from all three towns, people were able to pick up these masks at the Becton parking lot on April 28th.

When teacher-aide, Ms. Rebecca Sass learned of the Relief fund, she wanted to participate in any way she could. That is when “Doodles for Donations” was founded. Ms. Sass felt there was no better way to spend her free time than to do something she already has a passion for: drawing. “When Mr. Bononno announced that he was starting a COVID-19 relief fund for members of the Becton community, I wanted to find a way to help raise money for it aside from just asking friends and family members,” said Ms. Sass. In the beginning, she expected 25-50 drawings but has now completed approximately 350 drawings. Ms. Sass was only able to hold the fundraiser for a little over two days before she had to pause her taking of orders, due to the high demand.

In addition to the relief fund, Becton has joined the hundreds of other school’s around the nation that are lighting up their fields in

honor of the Class of 2020. At 20:20 military time, for 20 minutes and 20 seconds, Riggin Field will light up every Friday for the #BeTheLight campaign. “It was nice to hear some seniors and family members were present in a show of unity and support for each other and our school community,” said Dr. Sforza in a recent COVID-19 update to parents. Additionally, in an effort to have the class of 2020 hold an in-person graduation, the Becton community has been ‘Running for 2020’. Every day Dr. Sforza and other Becton community members will run at least 20 minutes and 20 seconds until the graduating

class of 2020 is given the opportunity to walk.

The Becton community has chosen to go above and beyond to reach their students & staff during social-distancing. The faculty has participated in various ‘Wildcat Thunder Runs’, a caravan of love and support to faculty members and families that have been hit hard by the pandemic. Additionally, they completed one of these runs on May 19th for Ms. Michele Klamerus, who retires from Becton this year after 32 years as an educator.  In addition to classrooms, board meetings have gone digital and even student of the month recipients are waking up to administrators and signs, honoring their achievements, in their front yards.

Furthermore,  the Becton Faculty Band, formed this year, used technology to bring people together and send a strong message of resilience. You can listen to their cover of “I Won’t Back Down” here. Becton has been trying to make this year’s senior class make as many memories as possible even during the quarantine. Dr. Sforza along with the Carlstadt and East Rutherford communities are decorating the lamp posts throughout the towns with banners of the Seniors. To accomplish this goal, the school had to raise a total of $10,000. However, the generosity shown by the community, teachers, parents, and students has not ceased to amaze. For the Becton ‘family’, social-distancing has not stood in the way of being together.