RFH Key Club: Loving a Little More with Memorable Donation

RFH Key Club students collected more than 50 dolls for memory loss residents at Brandywine
Photo/RFH

They’ve learned to love a little more and share the love in someone’s memory.

Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) seniors and Key Club members Bree Brown, Charlotte Hershey, and Molly O’Connell took their community service requirements to the next level this winter when they collected baby dolls and baby blankets for donation to Memory Care Centers in the local area in an effort to comfort residents suffering from various types and stages of memory loss.

After getting requests from local Fair Haven resident Katy Frissora for donations to local nursing homes and hearing the story of former resident of Shrewsbury’s Brandywine Reflection Unit, Trudy Foster, who passed away in 2021, the girls learned more about the integral role of the dolls in the lives of seniors suffering from dementia. They found ways to support them.

Residents in Memory Care are comforted by things that remind them of their past. Dolls, research has found, do the job well.

Foster was an inspiration for their mission, as she was a beloved educator at Red Bank Regional High School and area artist who, ironically, had designed dolls in her lifetime. Using what they had learned about memory loss, Brown, Hershey, and O’Connell, with the blessing of her family, created a foundation in Trudy’s honor called Trudy’s Dolls — Love a Little More. The students then used social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, to raise funds to purchase dolls and blankets for donation.

With the generosity of local community members and the support of the RFH Key Club, the girls collected and delivered more than 50 dolls and blankets to Brandywine’s Reflections Unit in Shrewsbury for distribution to local Memory Care Centers throughout Monmouth Country.

“Trudy’s Dolls is an amazing initiative that Bree, Molly, and Charlotte started to create last school year and through their own self-determination, have turned it into something that has helped bring joy to those living in memory care facilities. They have done a great job of really being leaders throughout the entire process and constantly pushing to make sure it was a success. It’s truly outstanding to see some of our RFH students making such a strong impact on the lives of others.”
RFH Key Club advisor Jeremy Schulte

Key Club is an international, student-led organization with 1000s of clubs in more than 38 countries. Its mission is to provide high school students with opportunities to provide service, build character and develop leadership through participation in acts of service in their communities. The Key Club is one of the largest and most popular extracurriculars at RFH with over 150 members annually.

While members are required to complete a specified number of community service hours through participation in local events, it is rare that students create their own large service projects like Brown, Hershey, and O’Connell did.

For more information on Key Club, visit the website. To contact the RFH Key Club with volunteer opportunities for RFH students or future donations to Trudy’s Dolls, email Jeremy Schulte at [email protected].

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office