Hawley School Raises Nickels For Neil

By Laurie Borst

Anyone driving eastbound on Interstate 84 between November 27 and December 15 may have noticed an odd scene near Exit 8: camping out on the billboard in the parking lot of Scalzo Realty for 19 days, I-95 radio personality Neil Hedley braved the elements to raise money for United Way of Northern Fairfield County.

Students at Hawley Elementary School were inspired to help. Terry Merola, a secretary in the office, told lead teacher Linda Codeghini, about the event. Mrs Merola learned of the event through her husband, Bob, who works for United Way. Mrs Codeghini then brought the idea to the members of the student council who brainstormed, coming up with “Nickels for Neil” as a way for the entire school to take part.

Students brought in “tooth fairy” money and chore money. The staff held a “jeans day,” paying to wear jeans to work. Student council members decorated boxes that were placed in each classroom for the donations. In just one week, the school raised $400 to donate to United Way.

On the afternoon of December 14, the student council officers delivered their check to Mr Hedley. There was excitement in the air as the students and DJ rehearsed, then waited for airtime to arrive. The presentation was broadcast live on I-95 radio with the officers introducing themselves and their school. The officers are Claire Hebert, president; Hollister Olson, first vice president; Julia Faxon, second vice president; and Sinead Flanagan, secretary.

Hawley Lead Teacher Linda Codeghini and fourth grade teacher Mike Wight, as well as several parents, accompanied the students. Mrs Codeghini is also the advisor for Student Council. Mr Wight came out to show his support for the students.

This is the second year the fundraiser has been held in the Danbury area. Mr Hedley first started camping for charity 11 years ago when he worked for another radio station.

“At the time, the station I worked for was perceived by the public as not being interested in the community,” Mr Hedley explained. “The station had billboards that they loaned out to charities.”

This was not enough to appease the public and during a staff meeting the question was asked, “What more could we do?”

Jokingly, Mr Hedley suggested they have someone live up on a billboard. He was surprised when the reactions in the room were, “Hey! Good idea!”

And so, Guy in the Sky was born. While one might think Mr Hedley is a rugged outdoorsman with years of camping experience, he admitted that this is the sum total of all his camping for the year. While he withstood the cold temperatures and rain, the wind proved too much. When tornado warnings were issued on December 1, Mr Hedley spent the night in an RV parked below the scaffolding.

With humility that one might not expect from a radio personality, Mr Hedley downplayed his role. “If some crazy guy is living in the woods for three weeks, it’s not news,” he stated. “It’s the kids who bring the money who are doing the great thing.”

Mr Hedley expressed gratitude to all the businesses that stepped up and donated supplies for the event as well as all the groups and individuals that contributed money. A total of $174,871.25 was raised this year, beating last year’s donations of $140,000 by nearly $35,000.