SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Students at the Slippery Rock Middle School are working on a project to help New Jersey students affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Jessica Schroeffel, a seventh and eighth grade science teacher and an adviser to the middle school student council, said the student council does an annual community service project and it was interested in responding to the devastation caused by the storm.

“We really wanted to do something with that,” Schroeffel said.

She felt students helping other students would be a good project.

In the beginning of November, she called the New Jersey School Boards Association, who put her in touch with the Toms River Regional School District in southern New Jersey. The district suffered damage to several of its buildings.

She spoke with the superintendent there and they began discussing what the school needed.

The council decided to fill shoe boxes with school supplies, wrap them and send them to the district. The project began after the school’s Thanksgiving break.

She said they are just asking students to bring in supplies and have not asked for any businesses to donate anything. The school sent a letter home with students informing parents of the project.

She said the project is seeking binders, notebooks, pencils, pens and other school supplies.

“We would be so grateful and so thankful for anything to help the project,” Schroeffel said.

Because so many people had their homes and properties damaged by the storm, she said the council decided to add a little something extra to the packages.

“We wanted to try and give some of them Christmas presents as well,” Schroeffel said.

For presents, Schroeffel said they are seeking anything that can fit into a shoe box and anything children would enjoy, such as games or gift cards.

The goal is to send 100 boxes.

To pay for the shipping, the faculty is having a “dress down” day, where they can donate money for the privilege of dressing more casually for a day. UPS also is giving the project a shipping discount.

She said any donations should be given by Dec. 14 or 15.

Anyone who wishes to donate can call the middle school at 724-794-2960.

Additionally, the council is sponsoring a food drive for the Feed My Sheep food pantry in Slippery Rock to help local people. Schroeffel said the goal is to collect 1,000 items.

People who want to donate can bring canned food, boxed food or gift cards for grocery stores to the middle school.

The deadline to donate is Dec. 13.