MOREHEAD CITY — Two days after longtime local educator Suzanne Jenkins's home completely burned down, the community has stepped up in a big way, donating thousands of dollars to the Carteret County Public School Foundation in support of the Jenkins family.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 14, a devastating house fire on Midyette Ave. in Morehead City destroyed the Jenkins family home as well as two vehicles. Since then, the Jenkins family's support has been greatly aided by the foundation.
“The Carteret Public School Foundation is a non-profit that was established in the 2000s and became active in 2010,” said the director of the foundation Erica Jones. “The foundation’s purpose is to bridge the gap for our educators and our students in innovation, intervention and investment in our community.” Since 2010, the foundation has invested $2.4 million back into the community through a variety of programs and scholarships.
Following Sunday’s incident, the foundation set up a fund to help bridge the gap in support of the Jenkins Family Fire Fund, where they’ll work hand-in-hand with the family to determine where they can help going forward. In less than 24 hours after the fund's development, more than 300 contributors had donated close to $30,000 to the fund as of Tuesday at 1 p.m., according to Jones.
Jenkins has over 25 years of experience as an educator in the Carteret County Public School System. She has taught English language learners at Morehead Primary School for most of her tenure in the county. Although Jenkins declined to comment at this time, her coworker, Amanda McCall, says that Jenkins is a pillar of the education system and the community. “Suzanne is a dedicated educator who works with students to build their English language capacity and confidence as they are immersed in a new setting,” she said. “She works as a liaison between parents and educators when language barriers arise. She makes herself available to those in need both during and after school hours. Ms. Jenkins is a dependable and valuable resource to both our school and community, and we are grateful that she is part of the Morehead City Primary School family.”
According to Jones, anyone can make further donations to the Jenkins Family Fire Fund by visiting the Carteret County Public School Foundation website or by texting the word "Carteret" to 53555, which will take you to a donation link.
Comments