Standing outside Charles Street School to help raise funds for the family of Matthew Dickinson with a pop-up lemonade stand are members of the Palmyra police and fire departments, its EMS and the Return Kindness charitable group.
Still mourning the tragic death of Matthew Dickinson, Palmyra residents, emergency responders and members of the Return Kindness charity gathered on the drizzly morning of Aug. 17 to help create his legacy with a lemonade stand.
“The community outpouring has been incredible,” borough Police Chief Josiah Murphy said during the pop-up stand fundraiser outside of Charles Street School. All proceeds will go to the Dickinson family. Matthew was struck and killed by a River Line train earlier this month.
“Everyone is coming together to do something,” he noted. “It’s amazing.”
Murphy said the Return Kindness organization offered to help set up the fundraiser. Also participating were members of the Palmyra police and fire departments, its EMS and lots of volunteers from the town. A highlight of the morning was the arrival of therapy dogs from Alpha and Omega Dog Training in Moorestown that wore colorful bandanas around their necks.
“We are an outreach program for the community,” said philanthropist Troy Green, director of Return Kindness, which set up a lemonade stand for the Lumberton family of Michael Stewart earlier this summer. The 6-year-old drowned during his first day at Liberty Lake Day Camp in June.
“We do random acts of kindness,” Troy maintained.
Green was joined by 10 members of the group who set up one of two large outdoor tarps for their lemonade and cookies table, with a large donation jug to collect donations.
“We started Return Kindness three years ago, and it is a nonprofit organization,” explained Green, adding that the group hears of families they would like to help by word of mouth.
“There is a lot of love pouring out from the community for the Dickinson family,” said police Sgt. Tim Leusner, who helped coordinate the fundraiser. “It’s amazing. Matt was very nice. He was good at baseball, wrestling and soccer.”
Dickinson, a 15-year-old Palmyra High three-sport athlete, was headed to soccer practice at the Legion Fields sports complex on the morning of Aug. 8. While crossing the tracks at Chestnut and Broad streets, he was struck by a northbound River Line train headed to the Cinnaminson Avenue station.
The youth was well-liked by both teammates and classmates, and his tragic death broke the hearts of many Palmyra and Riverton residents who placed memorial red ribbons at the school, around the soccer field, all along Broad Street and at their homes. Dickinson was a lifelong resident of the borough who was preparing to enter his sophomore year at the high school. He was described as a fierce competitor who excelled at soccer, baseball and wrestling.
Family members have established a GoFundMe page that reads: “The outpouring of love and support from friends, family and the community has been nothing short of amazing. Many have requested ways to support the family, therefore this page has been created. All contributions will go directly to the family and their wishes to honor Matthew in the years to come.”
The link to donate is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mathews-family-keep-his-legacy-alive. For more information on Return Kindness, go to www.returnkindness.net.
Dickinson is survived by his parents, Tippy Woodard and Jim Dickinson; his brothers, Colin and Cameron Woodard and Benjamin and Alex Dickinson; his grandparents, Carol and Wayne Dickinson; his aunt, Kelly Veneziale and her husband Nick; his uncle, Christopher Dickinson and his wife Teresa; cousins Nicholas Veneziale, Katelyn Veneziale, Christopher Dickinson and Michael Dickinson; and his many friends, teammates and classmates.
