SAUGUS — Parents raised almost $5,000 Tuesday to replenish funds stolen over the weekend from students with special needs at Saugus High School.
The Life Skills program includes seven children with special needs between the ages of 14 and 18 in one classroom, and a neighboring group of students between the ages of 18 and 22 who focus on transitioning into the workplace.
The students raised about $1,000 by creating and selling scarves, ornaments, fudge, and other small gift items. The money was to be spent on activities, including an after-school project that takes the teens to the supermarket or a fast food restaurant with a shopping list and predetermined budget.
When teachers returned to the school on Monday morning they discovered the cash, which was stored in a classroom closet, had been stolen.
An ongoing investigation revealed a thief climbed through a classroom window, pried open the closet door, and took the money, said Superintendent Dr. David DeRuosi.
“Overall, my goal was to make sure that this was something positive as a result of the negative situation they were facing,” said Lori Coleman, whose 18-year-old son Jacob is a student in the school’s Life Skills classroom. “The teachers and the kiddos work really hard fundraising to be able to go out and do community service and job training.”
Coleman started an online fundraising campaign on GoFundMe. In one day, donors raised more than five times as much money as was stolen.
“This is a positive and overwhelming situation that has occurred here,” she said. “It’s a good thing. It’s always my goal to create awareness, acceptance to some of the challenges that these kids go through to do some of the things that typical people take for granted every day. It’s overwhelming but I’m not surprised that the community has realized how important this is.”
DeRuosi said the school’s Life Skills program has been evolving over the past several years as more children with disabilities have opted to stay within the district. The main goal has become helping children learn the skills they need to transition into the workplace, to have healthy work habits, and expose them to different jobs, he said.
While nobody likes to see this happen to anybody, the thieves hit a population within the school that makes the situation especially difficult, he said.
“This community tends to rally around doing what’s right,” said DeRuosi. “As a district, I know we will rally around this group and help them out to the best of our ability. Parents have stepped up already.”
