The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (SSBVM) Catholic School community joined the Knights of Columbus (KOC) Council 3501 in supporting Shawn Menear, a volunteer firefighter with the Middletown Volunteer Fire Department, who was injured in the line of duty on Jan. 23.

Members of the KOC passed a boot to collect donations during several Masses at SSBVM Catholic Church, and students brought in monetary donations for the Menear family as well on Feb. 1 during Catholic Schools Week as part of the "Celebrate Our Local Heroes" event. One hundred percent of the donations collected by the students that day were given to the fire department for use by the Menear family. Students also prayed for the safety of all local heroes.

The SSBVM community, including school students, parishioners and KOC members, presented the fire department with the donations on Feb. 3. In addition to accepting the donations on behalf of Menear, members of the Middletown Volunteer Fire Department brought a fire truck to the school for the students to enjoy.

According to a statement issued by Middletown Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Kenton L. Whitebread Jr., Menear was injured while fighting a fire that occurred in the 500 block of Water Street in Royalton Borough. While the first responders were working to fight the fire, the second floor of the building collapsed, and four firefighters became trapped. The three firefighters from the Swatara Fire Rescue Department were rescued by their own crew and were uninjured. However, Menear was trapped under debris for nearly 40 minutes while the on-scene Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) worked to save him. He was transported by South Central EMS to Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Later, due to the severity of his injuries, he was transported to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by the fire company to benefit Menear. To learn more, visit http://www.gofundme.com and search for "Firefighter Shawn Menear Recovery." More information about the fire company and updates on Menear can be found at http://www.facebook.com/mvfd88.

In addition to the "Celebrate Our Local Heroes" event, Catholic Schools Week at SSBVM featured an open house, community service projects, special activities for students and the National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony.

SSBVM offers classes for preschoolers ages 3 and 4 and students in kindergarten through eighth grade. For more information about the school, call 717-944-5371, visit http://www.facebook.com/ssbvmschool or http://www.sevensorrowsschool.com or follow the school on Instagram at @ssbvmschool.