The cheers were loud, as 225 cereal boxes fell like dominoes on May 15, the culmination of a student-led charitable endeavor at Newbridge Road Elementary School in the North Bellmore School District.
The cereal box challenge that has gained in popularity from YouTube videos made its first appearance at Newbridge Road because of the efforts of third graders Isabella Braun and Michaela Miskiewicz. After watching some of those viral videos, they wrote a letter to Principal Amanda Licci, who then invited the young philanthropists in for a meeting. From there, the fundraiser was born.
Donation bins for small, medium and large cereal boxes were placed around the school from May 5-14 so students and staff could donate. The morning after the collection ended, Isabella, Michaela and several of their classmates set up the boxes down the first floor hallway and into the auditorium where it ended in the shape of a heart in an homage to the school’s slogan, “Newbridge has HEART.”
“I think it went great,” Michaela said. “It was very fun to do this to donate to charity.”
“It felt very successful,” added Isabella, who loved the enthusiasm from other students as they lined the hallways and filled the auditorium to watch the boxes fall. “We collected a lot of food and I like that.”
The cereal was donated St. John’s Bread of Life, one of the largest emergency food providers in Brooklyn, which last year had 445,000 visits. Sisters Marie Sorenson and Caroline Tweedy were on hand to watch the boxes fall and accept the donation. They explained that each box of cereal will provide breakfast for eight people.
“They’re really helping to serve families who are in need,” Sister Caroline said of the Newbridge Road students.
The connection to St. John’s Bread of Life was made through Michaela’s mother, Nicole Miskiewicz, who works for St. John’s University. Some of her colleagues also donated boxes of cereal, which were used for the event on May 15.
Isabella and Michaela got to push the first box down and watch the domino effect take place. They said it took about an hour to set up as there was some trial and error along the way to make sure the final fall would be a success. The girls are students in Brenda Adragna’s class, which watches calming videos following their movement breaks, and one recent video they saw was a compilation of dominoes falling. That’s when Michaela and Isabella recalled seeing cereal box challenge videos and wanted to do the same at their school. Once the idea was approved, their classmates helped make signs to promote cereal box donations.
“I love when students come up with initiatives that we can put into action,” Ms. Licci said, who added that the school always strives to empower students to take on leadership roles. “It’s so uplifting when ideas come from the children, and helping others is certainly in line with our mission and our core values.”
Click here to view the Newbridge Students Spearhead Cereal Box Fundraiser slideshow.
Date Added: 5/20/2025