Memorial Day Event will Raise Funds for Homeless Pre-K Teacher

Belleville resident LaMonica Carter could use a little help.

Parents Who Rock, Patch, , musician Meg Beattie Patrick, and others will band together on Monday, May 28 to host a Concert for the Carters from noon until 4 p.m. at 12 Church Street in Montclair.

The aim of the event is to amass as much of a fundraising haul for as possible. The beloved teacher, who has worked at the for the past 11 years, is still homeless nearly two weeks after a fire destroyed her Belleville home and everything she owns on Mother's Day.

The event will boast varous Parents Who Rock bands, giveaways, and a bake sale. (Anyone who can help bake or help man the bake stand should contact Julie Earl at julieknyc@yahoo.com.) The outdoor concert fundraiser will be held indoors if it's raining.

Need an added incentive to come out and donate? A donor who wants to remain anonymous will match every dollar donated 1-1 up to $5,000.

Any checks should be made payable to Parents Who Rock, LLC, with Carter family in the memo. You can drop off on Monday or mail to: Parents Who Rock, LLC, 72 High Street, Montclair, N.J. 07042.

All of the Parents Who Rock performers are Montclair Community Pre-K alumni who are thrilled to be helping the cause, said Parents Who Rock founder Alma Schneider.

Carter said she and her four children, ages 7 to 14, had no renters insurance and can't afford the security deposit on another apartment or home.

"A lot of families have provided us with food and clothing, which is great, but we need somewhere to live," Carter told Montclair Patch. "I haven't been able to work because I've been out each day visiting all sorts of agencies, trying to get some sort of help, but to no avail.

"I went to officials in Belleville but they have no funds. Other places said they can't help because we didn't live in their town, but lived in Belleville," she said. "I've been out each morning by 7 a.m. and coming back home each afternoon at 4 or 5 p.m. I've been to 10 different agencies, at least."

Carter, a single mother, said she doesn't earn a lot of money from her job at the preschool and that it will cost her a few thousand dollars for the security deposit on a new place alone.

Carter said she's hoping to find a rental property either in Montclair, Bloomfield, or Belleville.

On Mother's Day, May 13, Carter and her four children salvaged nothing but the clothes on their backs when a fire broke out at their wood-frame Belleville home, incinerating everything inside.

Fortunately, no one was home at the time of the afternoon three-alarm blaze that grew so hot it melted the siding on the house next door.

Carter has been a full-time teacher at the Montclair Community Pre-K for 11 years and has touched many lives in the community.

So please come out on Monday and be generous with your donations. We'll see you then!