2021 Good Neighbor Award Winners

FIRST PLACE

KAREN DEMARCO

Award: $2,500 The Food Brigade

Karen DeMarco is a Realtor® with Coldwell Banker in Tenafly and is the founder of The Food Brigade Inc., a nonprofit corporation with a mission to provide food to local families and individuals dealing with hunger and food insecurity. DeMarco began her volunteerism journey after being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing a double mastectomy in 2017. While recovering, her neighborhood organized a meal train for her for several weeks. Her neighborhood’s kindness inspired her to pay it forward by cooking and delivering meals to others in her community who have suffered from loss of employment, illness, injury, and more. The pandemic hit and DeMarco cooked approximately 1,800 meals for seniors and the food insecure, and then formed the hunger relief charity, The Food Brigade Inc. Since its formation, the organization has distributed more than 2.3 million pounds of food to those in need in Bergen County.

SECOND PLACE

JANE MACNEIL

Award: $1,500 Turn the Town Teal

Jane MacNeil is a Realtor® with Turpin Real Estate in Mendham and has been president of Turn the Town Teal, a national awareness campaign for Ovarian Cancer for the past 14 years. She stepped up to the position following the death of her sister-in-law, who was the organization’s founder. When MacNeil assumed the role, the campaign represented just 20 towns. Today, it is represented in all 50 states, thanks to countless volunteers throughout the U.S. Beyond managing the organization, MacNeil regularly speaks with those battling ovarian cancer and their families to help guide them to resources and doctors, while also offering her compassion and understanding when they need it most.

THIRD PLACE

ALKA ANEJA

Award: $1,000 Humbled By Your Service

Alka Aneja, GRI, is a Realtor® with On Track Realty in Edison. At the peak of the pandemic, Aneja heard about a family that was in quarantine unable to cook—so she sprang into action gathering fresh food and delivering it to the family. Aneja realized there was a greater need in her community and soon others began reaching out to ask how they could help. Her one simple act of kindness turned into much more—serving meals to healthcare workers, delivering gifts to children in quarantine, and delivering food to the hungry. In December 2020, a nonprofit organization was formed, now known as Humbled By Your Service, whose goal is to fill the voids of society, wherever they may find them. Aneja now serves as president of the organization and her time spent furthering the nonprofit is unquantifiable.