Jewish day school students in Marlboro and Howell have created a patchwork quilt to brighten the lives of Israeli terror victims and their loved ones.

The quilt will hang in the headquarters of the OneFamily Fund in Israel, and will symbolize the connection between the New Jersey students and the fund, which provides direct financial, legal, and psychological services to Israeli victims of terror.

Thirty seventh- and eighth-grade students at Solomon Schechter Day School of Ocean and Monmouth Counties in Marlboro and the Solomon Schechter Academy in Howell Township contributed to the quilt.

In addition to creating the quilt, said Chaya Friedmann, director of the Marlboro school, the students had the opportunity to learn more about the current situation in Israel and the meaning of klal Yisrael, or Jewish unity.

The schools made the connection with the OneFamily Fund through school parents Nancy and Izzy Steinberg of Oakhurst.

The Steinbergs, along with other parents of students, had been asked by their respective synagogues to host OneFamily representatives who recently visited the Monmouth County area.

“This is an amazing organization to be connected with — they do so much good,” Nancy Steinberg said. “Solomon Schechter students wanted to be a part of that goodness.”

The Steinbergs also learned that the newly opened OneFamily center in Jerusalem was in need of wall decor to brighten up the atmosphere for Israeli terror victims who visit the facility to make use of its services.

Friedmann, who is always on the lookout for ways to teach the concept of community responsibility to her students, invited the students from the Howell Township academy to join with the Marlboro day school group to make a colorful patchwork quilt for the new OneFamily facility.

Many of the quilt’s squares contain good wishes from the Solomon Schechter students. The students were also given a series of quotes from religious, humanitarian, and political sources that represent the Israeli spirit, and were asked to create squares inspired by the quotes, Friedmann said.

For example, eighth-grader Nathan Buchbinder, a Marlboro resident who attends the day school there, illustrated his quilt square with a menora.

“In Israel, you must believe in miracles,” he said. “I drew a menora because it is a sign of miracles, and the lights offer hope and spread joy.”

The students also enjoyed meeting peers who share their commitment to community and support for Israel, said Victoria Czabafy of Jackson Township, who attends the school in Howell.

“I like the fact that I was doing something for the soldiers in Israel who protect us and who stand proud for Israel,” she said. “I also had a chance to meet like-minded students from the other [Solomon Schechter] school.”

This isn’t the first time Solomon Schechter students have expressed their support for Israel since the school year began, Friedmann added; the students created New Year cards for Israeli soldiers who were injured during the summer’s violence in the country’s northern region, she said.

In addition, the students at the Marlboro facility plan to sell wristbands that bear the inscription, “We are all one family,” with proceeds to be donated to the OneFamily Fund.

Although the mitzva projects are significant learning experiences for the students, the Israelis who use the OneFamily Fund greatly benefit from its services, according to Yehuda Poch, director of communications in the center’s Jerusalem office.

“In a manner of speaking, the center provides Israelis with a quilt against the cold, harsh realities with which they live — their pain, their memories, and their anguish,” Poch said. “The quilt prepared by the Solomon Schechter schools is a perfect symbol for what we are doing here every day.”