Celebrating Brandon’s new house

After months of fundraising and help from more than 100 people who donated their time, work and materials, Brandon Bordt and his father, Jim, have a new home.

They moved in to a new mobile home about three months ago after the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office provided an escort for its trip. Then the Sparta police helped the Bordts move in.

Brandon, who graduated from Kittatinny Regional High School in 2011, calls himself “Kittatinny’s No. 1 fan.” He attends many of the school’s sporting events as well as most home games of the Sussex County Miners minor league team.

The end of the Brandon’s House project was celebrated May 14 with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting before the Miners game at Skylands Stadium in Augusta.

The project raised $80,435 in cash donations and at least $25,000 in in-kind contributions of services. The group running it estimated that 1,200 people contributed in one way or another.

“So really what started out as a hope and a prayer on Labor Day weekend 2023 became a reality within five months,” said Jim Fitzpatrick, who was an indispensable supporter of Brandon’s House since the beginning.

“The Brandon House group simply lined up contractors offering their time and services and then we started spreading the word by word of mouth before getting everything in line with the Hampton Township Education Fund. Once that partnership took place and we were under a 501(c)(3) (nonprofit organization), we were able to really promote it on social media. From there, the community really shined. We are very fortunate to have such a great small community with a huge heart.”

The project began when people driving Brandon to and from sporting events realized that the home he shared with his father in the Carriage Mobile Homes trailer park in Lafayette was in very bad shape.

“We were overwhelmed with responses and people/businesses offering to go above and beyond by hosting events ... yet we weren’t surprised,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Brandon has taken a real liking to the Miners baseball team since he has always said baseball is his favorite sport. The Sussex County Miners offered to host a bowling event as a fundraiser, and it was very successful. They also offered to host all the large donors and contractors on their opening night this year as well as have a pregame ceremony to thank everyone who participated in the cause. The culmination of that ceremony was Brandon throwing out the first pitch of the 2024 season.”

Dan Holdt also was an integral part of the initiative. “The event was the culmination of an entire community coming together behind some of our own,” he said. “I am so proud and humbled to be affiliated with this group of people from our community.”

Another key volunteer was Tony Cerbo. “It was great to see how this young man can bring our community together,” he said.

Barry Schwartz, who has known Brandon for years, drove him to the stadium in his convertible along with his pup, Cooper.

“Brandon is a huge sports fan ... and by sports, it’s any and all. In addition to rooting on all of the Kittatinny teams, he also likes to go to all or at least most of the Miners home games. We even went to a couple of away games against the Jackals last year.

“Last week, I gave him a ride to the stadium (for the celebration). He doesn’t drive, but he has a good network of friends who can get him to all the various sporting events.”