They’ve been the best of friends since entering Wydown Middle School in Clayton — seven of them, all in the same grade. Three of the seven played together as babies; a fourth befriended those three in kindergarten.

After graduating from Clayton High, they left home to attend college elsewhere. Five eventually moved back to raise families; they now live within three miles of one another. A sixth, Elizabeth Murray, lives in Denver with her husband and child. Sarah Kornblet, the singleton of the group, has spent the last year and a half traveling the world. 

They’ve been in one another’s weddings. In fact, Dana Emmenegger’s husband says that when he married her, he married seven women. 

“We are a force to be reckoned with,” jokes Dana, 35, as friends Anna Reby Bertman, Sarah Merlmelstein, Stefanie Sanger and Beth Lehrer laughingly nod. 

I recently met up with the five in-town members of the “Jew Crew,” which is the nickname they were given in high school that stuck. You know how that is — there’s “The Mean Girls,” “The Cool Kids,” “The Nerds,” “The Jocks,” and, in this case, “The Jew Crew,” because the seven happen to be Jewish. 

Judaism is important to these women. It’s not so much the religious aspects that resonate for each, but more the values of the faith and tikkun olam, wanting to make the world a better place.

Those tenets are what got us together last Friday at Kaldi’s coffeehouse to talk. The friends want to spread the word about the annual Joey Eidelman Memorial Blood Drive, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 at Clayton High School. Joey, the son of Sarah Merlmelstein and Tom Eidelman, died suddenly in January 2011 when he was 15 months old.

As you can imagine, Sarah and Tom were beyond devastated by the loss of their firstborn. Joey had gone down for a nap and didn’t wake up. His death was ruled SUDC, which stands for Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood.

“They were able to resuscitate him in the ICU but he never regained consciousness,” says Sarah. “Among the things he needed were a lot of blood products.

“I remember being in the hospital thinking that no matter what, I had to find a way to give back. The amount of blood products Joey received — red blood cells, platelets — was amazing.”

The call Sarah made to the American Red Cross would come months later. First she and Tom needed time to mourn and figure out how to survive their toddler’s death. 

There’s an old saying that goes: “Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don’t say.” That more or less sums up how the group saw their role in helping Sarah and Tom.

“I don’t know how I would have survived without them,” says Sarah. “One of them was on my front porch everyday.”

Adds Beth, “We didn’t want to hover but we did want to be present.” 

When Sarah decided to host a blood drive in Joey’s memory, the Jew Crew took the idea and sprung into action. Elizabeth, a.k.a. Denver, a logistics maven, designed a project plan that would make Bill Gates’ head spin. Then the rest of the crew fulfilled each task, which included gathering supplies, planning children’s activities, picking up food, coordinating volunteers, erecting signage and scheduling blood donors. 

 “The Red Cross underestimated the heck out of us,” says Anna, explaining that some potential donors had to be turned away the first year because there weren’t enough medical personnel on hand. Ensuing drives have attracted up to 125 donors; the women hope to increase the number every year.

This upcoming drive marks the fourth annual in Joey’s memory; the event was designed to coincide with his October birthday. Joyous in spirit, with a beaming smile and curious, playful personality, Joey will never be forgotten, say the friends. A special picture book Sarah made about him is a favorite among the group’s children, as is their “Joey T-shirt,” which Sarah also designed. At the end of each blood drive, the Jew Crew gathers with their children and close friends to release balloons sending 

ove and kisses to Joey in heaven.

“We want our kids who should have grown up with Joey to know him,” says Dana, echoing the sentiments of the group. “One of the things we do as friends is keep his memory alive. He is part of our lives.” 

In the years since Joey’s death, Sarah and Tom have had two more children, a daughter, who is almost 3 and a son, 7 weeks old. 

In fact, this wonderful group of lifelong friends has had 14 children among them, ranging in age from 7 years to one month. Each woman wears a blue thread bracelet with 14 tiny knots, one for each child, including Joey. Blue was the color of Joey’s sparkling eyes.

“When we think of our friendship, it’s not just how we survived the last few years,” says Dana. “That’s not to discount how hard it was when Joey died, but our foundation is so enduring and rock solid that we can survive anything as long as we can do it together.”

Of course, jokes Stefanie, there have been some growing pains. “Some of us have very similar personalities and some of us are very different,” she says. “The ones with similar personalities (laughing as she points to Dana and Sarah) have been known to butt heads.”

But that mostly happened, the group agrees, when they were younger. “Often times friends come into your life because you are at similar points,” says Anna. “We’ve grown through different stages of life together.”

With those stages have come certain rituals, adds Beth. When a child among them is born, the others bring dinner to the hospital. They even Skype with Denver and the traveling Sarah on those occasions. Birthdays require group dinners; milestone ones, group trips. They all met in Naples, Fla. five years ago to celebrate turning 30. Another getaway is being planned for 35.

Anna notes that of the 14 children, only three are girls. “We’ve had a lot of brises to the point where it’s laughable,” she says, explaining that they use the same mohel. “At Zach’s bris (Beth’s newborn), the mohel said, ‘I love this family.’ He just assumed we were all related.”

The way they see it, they are.