This November, the Terryville and Plymouth community had an unexpected tragedy. Madeline Bell, a sophomore at Terryville High School, passed away on Friday, November 13th.
Because Maddie was a student at THS, the school and all its members were deeply shaken by the news. Several teachers, such as Student Council advisor Mr. Robert Nave and FBLA advisor Mrs. Jessica Hurd, transformed their pain at the jarring news into making a difference in the community to rally together in our profound grief and shock at her untimely passing. Along with FBLA and Student Council, the THS Pep Club, Leo Club, and National Honor Society sponsored a “Stuff the Bus” event in Maddie’s honor. School and community members could donate non-perishable food and clothing items to the school-sponsored fundraiser, all to go to the Plymouth Food Pantry and local shelters.
Students volunteer at the Stuff-a-Bus in honor of Maddie Bell.
This event ran from November 19th to November 24th from 2 – 4 PM each day, and the overall support in honor of Maddie was overwhelming. Student volunteers from the various clubs helped organize the donations as they poured in. As reported by Nave, over 3,000 pounds of food were donated, as well as around 5,000 pounds of clothes. Cash donations were also made towards the Plymouth Food Pantry.
Additionally, a community candlelight vigil was organized by locals in front of the Terryville Congregational Church on front porches the Friday night of Maddie’s memorial wake. Donna Bowary, with the help of social media and former THS students like Jordan Conklin, sold white paper luminaries with an “M” on them to raise funds for the Bell family.
There were also volunteers across the community who donated their time and money to a GoFundMe for the Bell family, as well as a food train giving food to the family.
The Stuff-a-Bus event shows how touched we all were as staff and students at Maddie’s passing, and shows that even in the darkest of times, a community can rise up together to show our love and connectedness in our grief for a student. Our thoughts and hearts go out to the Bell family as we move into the holiday season.
The obituary for Madeline Bell can be found here: https://www.rep-am.com/obituaries/2020/11/18/madeline-e-bell/
Additional information about donating to the Plymouth Food Pantry can be found here:
https://plymouthfoodpantry.org/donate-now/
Written by Mrs. Sarah Dinnan