The Helping Hands Hoagie sale started in Washington Township as a way to raise money for families facing dire illnesses.
WASHINGTON TWP. - For the first few years that Maddy LaVoe was teaching at Orchard Valley Middle School, she was a loyal customer of the annual Washington Township Helping Hands Hoagie Sale.
But it wasn't until five years ago - when she became an adviser with the school's Future Acts club and got involved with the sale - that LaVoe realized how truly special the event is. She's been volunteering ever since and can't imagine a time when she won't be helping out in some way.
"I feel like once you start, you're coming back for life," she said. "Every year we have more and more volunteers, but you see the same faces too, which is nice. It's incredible to see the community come out so early to help."
LaVoe was speaking in a hallway at Orchard Valley that was bustling with activity despite the early hour on a Sunday morning. About 300 students from Washington Townships' three middle schools, along with teachers, administrators and parents, were on hand to do their part in the sale, held every Super Bowl Sunday for the last 21 years as a way to raise money for local families dealing with a life-threatening illness.
Orchard Valley's Ron Lucarini, who started the event with several other teachers and organizes it every year, was running all over town as usual but took a moment to assess the operation.
"When you have 250 kids in one place, it's always gonna be crazy," he said. "But it's running pretty smoothly. This is the first time we offered turkey hoagies, so that kind of changed the way we do things. But we adjusted and we're doing fine now."
The two-foot hoagies come in three varieties - Italian, turkey and cheese - and are sold for $10 each or as part of $50 hoagie trays. The middle school students are responsible for making the hoagies, while Washington Township High School students also participate in hoagie pickups or remote selling points around town.
"So many of them come in knowing about the hoagie sale and wanting to volunteer," LaVoe said. "Sixth grade is the first year they can start and I teach sixth grade, so I start talking to them about it at the beginning of the year and they start asking questions. A lot of them have older siblings who have volunteered or their families have bought hoagies, and it's something that's just known throughout the township."
Kevin Lee, a seventh grader at Orchard Valley, actually was in fifth grade when he tagged along with his older brother Dan and volunteered for the first time. Now he comes back every year.
"I'm a runner, so I deliver all the different ingredients to the tables," Lee said. "At first it was hard because there are so many people here, but now I have the hang of it. It's a lot of fun and it feels really good to help."
Joanne Murphy is another long-time volunteer who brought her nephew, Joey Kelly, to help out. Murphy is the chair of the board of trustees of the COW (Changing Our World) Project, the charitable organization that oversees the hoagie sale.
"Every year it gets bigger and bigger," Murphy said. "It's absolutely amazing."
"I look forward to this every year," her nephew added. "This year my leg is (injured), but I didn't care, I wasn't missing this. I just like helping people."
Over at the 11-12 wing of the high school, annual volunteer Charlie Doud and his crew were busy slicing meat, cheese and lettuce for the hoagies. They usually get all the prep work done on Saturday, but this year had to come back on Sunday morning because of the addition of turkey hoagies.
"This is the first time we expanded, so we're trying to make sure we've covered and we have everything we need," Doud said. "These guys have been awesome. We've never done it on Sunday, but we realized yesterday we would have to come in. I asked them and they all said, 'Whatever you need, I'll do it.' That's kind of the mentality of this whole organization."
One of the men helping Doud was Jim Schnapp, whose family was a recipient of the hoagie sale in 2008 when his son Derek was battling sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. Derek passed away in 2010 at age 17 right before his senior year at Washington Township.
"(I help out) to keep his memory alive," said Schnapp, who also holds a car show in his son's honor every summer to raise money for the Sarcoma Foundation of America. "He fought for four years. It makes me feel good to give back to everybody who helped us out and to people who are unfortunately going through a bad time themselves."
This year's recipients include Kevin Andreas, a Washington Township junior who is recovering from a brain tumor, and Orchard Valley teacher Travis Martin, who has a rare neurological disease. The proceeds will also benefit 10 other local families, including the family of Dave Marquez, a close friend of Lucarini's who lost his battle with cancer the night before the event.
Lucarini wasn't sure how much money would be raised, but he expected to sell close to 6,000 hoagies. As he's said in the past, though, this event isn't just about selling a hoagie - it's about bringing the community together and teaching the students a valuable lesson about helping others.
LaVoe echoed those sentiments on Sunday.
"It's just a day for Washington Township service," she said. "It's not just selling a candy bar; it's not just fund-raising. This is real, hands-on service. It's a life experience they can't get anywhere else."