Margaret Strong – 91��Ƭ

91��Ƭ Thanks Its 2024 Holiday Donors

Michelle Lang — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 20:56:43 +0000

Each year, 91��Ƭ receives donations that benefit those we serve for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Thanks to the generosity of individuals and organizations, we can provide holiday meals and Christmas presents to families.

We are deeply grateful and thank the following groups and individuals for spreading the spirit of joy during the 2024 holiday season.

2024 Christmas Gift Drive Donors:

, Emerson, N.J. – Sandy Johnson, coordinator
, Short Hills, N.J. – Leslie Elble, coordinator
– Cindy Oliveira Oswald, coordinator, and coworkers
, Summit, N.J. – Brian Topping, coordinator, coworkers and students
, Short Hills, N.J. – Christy Wong
, Summit, N.J. – Margaret Strong, volunteers and parishioners

Harmony House Donors:

Loretta Bronat – Cleaning products, towel set, adult and children hats, gloves and mittens
, Lattoya Dawson – Canned goods
, Zhada Stamps Moore – Canned goods, nonperishable items
, Lumane Metullus – 15 Thanksgiving baskets, hygiene kits, detergent, diapers and cases of water
Sally Milad – Christmas party and presents
Christopher Kosseff – Toothbrushes
Lesley Michael – Christmas presents
Gita Sheth – Toys, Hess Trucks and books
, Idalia Castro – 400 new pajamas
– Meals

91��Ƭ Families Benefit from NCJW/Essex Back 2 School Store

Michelle Lang — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 15:51:27 +0000

91��Ƭ families participated in the 14th annual Back 2 School Store, sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women Essex County (NCJW/Essex). Children throughout Essex County each received a brand-new winter coat, clothes, socks, underwear, an age-appropriate book and personal care items, along with a backpack filled with school supplies, all chosen based on their specific requests.

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, children went in person to shop for items in a pop-up store, but since 2020, the event has been mobile, with items being delivered to families.

91��Ƭ Board Member and Outreach Coordinator Madge Wilson works closely with NCJW/Essex to ensure NCC children are included in the annual event.

“I would like to thank the entire NCJW/Essex committee and volunteers who gave so much of their time to make this event a successful one for the children,” Wilson said.

Wilson also thanks others who donated backpacks and school supplies to 91��Ƭ and St. Rose of Lima parish, including Kathy and Bill Hoffman, Father Owen and parishioners of St. Luke’s Catholic Church of Long Valley, Katherine Grifonetti of Old Tappan, Sister Mary of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church and Margaret Strong of Summit.

Photos courtesy of Anibal Alvelo and Jennifer Wicker-Buchanan.

Harmony House Thanks Donors, Community Partners

Michelle Lang — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 16:45:09 +0000

Dear Donors and Community Partners:

Harmony House management and the families would like to take a moment to express our deep appreciation for all the support and aid that have been offered in these unprecedented times. Even during a period of nationwide social and economic unrest, and a statewide quarantine that has disrupted the lives of so many, the various organizations and individuals have taken the time to demonstrate to those most vulnerable in our community that they are not forgotten and that their health and wellbeing matter.

Harmony House is a transitional housing program with the primary goal of helping families move from homelessness to permanent housing and from dependency to self-sufficiency. With the capacity to house 102 families in individual apartment units and a host of on-site social services, Harmony House provides much more than a shelter. It offers stability to families facing seemingly insurmountable barriers and enables them to restore their lives.

Since the COVID-19 shutdown began in late March 2020, Harmony House has received the following donations from our generous supporters:

World Central Kitchen, in partnership with Audible, has made over 70 trips to Harmony House. From early May to the end of June, they have delivered 5,580 meals.
Newark Emergency Services for Families (NESF) has increased its usual monthly donation of perishable and non-perishable goods to a weekly delivery of donations during the shutdown.
The National Council of Jewish Women in collaboration with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey continues to support us through their donation of sanitary napkins, totaling 81 boxes annually.

Throughout the year, the following supporters have also been a beacon of support and hope to our families:

Margaret Strong from St. Teresa’s in Summit, N.J., has provided our families with Christmas gifts for all the children.
Sally Milad has continuously provided our families with back-to-school haircuts and hairdos for all children year after year.
Sean Lewis from Calvary Baptist Church in Morristown, N.J., provides Christmas gifts for our children.
Ana Osario from Newark Public Schools has graciously provided toiletry items for men and women, as well as food donations.

These donations have been incredibly important to and gratefully received by our families. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a crisis with multiple dimensions: an economic catastrophe, a fear for health and life itself and above all uncertainty of what the future holds and how to move forward. Uncertainty and economic fragility already plagued our residents before the pandemic hit, and the current state has only made it that much harder for our residents to get back on their feet. On behalf of Harmony House staff and residents, we truly cannot thank you enough for doing what you can to help.

Amidst all the turmoil, a silver lining can perhaps be found in how the pandemic has brought communities together. All across the nation, everyone from community residents at the grassroots level to large corporations have come together to form relief funds and support networks to ensure that we all come through this crisis whole. I hope that we are able to sustain this momentum even once COVID-19 is a problem of the past and continue to lend each other a helping hand. Altruism and compassion are as much a part of a healthy society as vaccines and businesses.

Sincerely,
Yonette Fredericks
Director of Harmony House

91��Ƭ Thanks Our Holiday Donors

Michelle Lang — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 15:16:29 +0000

Supporters of 91��Ƭ generously donated turkeys, gifts and other goods to families in need during both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We are deeply grateful to the following groups and individuals for spreading the spirit of joy during the 2015 holiday season:

• St. Paul’s Abbey of Newton – Fr. Odilo Yi

• St. Catherine of Sienna, Cedar Grove – Eileen Rendeiro and parishioners

• Mr. & Mrs. Mark Carelli and family, Maplewood

• Weichert Realty, Maplewood – Rebecca Berenson, office staff

• Our Lady of Sorrow Parish, South Orange – Mark & Sarah Duggan and parishioners

• Millburn Fire Department – Chief Michael Roberts and staff

• Mr. Frank Consentino

• St. Helen’s Catholic Parish, Westfield – Marilyn Ryan and parishioners

• Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, Summit – Kathleen Lynch, Sarah Denaro and Brian Toppin

• St. Rose of Lima Academy, Short Hills – Patty Nascone, Barbara Bradshaw and parishioners

• Our Lady of the Lake, Verona – Margaret Gardner and parishioners

• Notre Dame Catholic Parish, North Caldwell – Donna Zarros and parishioners

• Seton Hall University School of Law – Fr. Nicholas Gengaro and the Thomas More Society

• St. Thomas Parish, Bloomfield – Lorraine McMillan and parishioners

• St. Andrews Catholic Parish, Westwood – Gail Stamatopaulas and parishioners

• Team Hope at Glenwood School, Short Hills – Penina Barr, teachers, and students

• Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Forlini, Newark

• St. Theresa of Avila Parish, Summit – Margaret Strong, coordinator, and parishioners

• Church of the Assumption Parish, Emerson – parishioners and the Social Concerns Committee

• Damascus Bakery – Wanda Hightower

• 91��Ƭ employees