East Hanover Life May 2019

Vol. 2 • No. 5 • May 2019

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One Day, One School: A Day of Giving for the Kids Pictured are: Manager of East Hanover Public Works Dept. Mark Macaluso, Ralph Politi, Sr., Rosemarie Politi, East Hanover Council President Brian Brokaw, Sr., Hanover Township Committeeman Thomas “Ace” Gallagher.

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GREATER HANOVER EDITORIAL

Greater Hanover Life You can also visit our website www.greaterThank you for reading this issue of “Greater hanoverlife.com or on Facebook under “ GreatHanover Life.” er Hanover Life.”

“Greater Hanover Life” serves the Hanovers, Please support our advertisers in our publiFlorham Park, Whippany and parts of Morris cations as they make this magazine available Plains. This area is a great place to work, live free to all with their advertising support. We and play. There is so much here for the residents want to help the local businesses and your supto enjoy that we have decided to dedicate a port of them is appreciated. magazine. The people that make up this comWe would also like to thank our advertisers munity are caring people who never hesitate to because we know that you have many choices help others in need. of where to spend your marketing dollars and by Our goal is to provide you with articles about supporting My LIfe Publications you are sending people, places and things all Hanover. a message loud and clear that your communiEach month you can pick up a copy of the ty matters. We are in the business of building magazine at local businesses or visit www.iwanstronger communities. It takes a village! tmypaper.com and sign up for a free emailed We are happy to have Barbara Freda as our copy that will be sent directly to your email.

Barbara Freda sales representative for “Greater Hanover Life.”

We are also asking our readers to send us in Freda has been very active in the Greater Haphotos and information on your life events, parties, birthdays, weddings, engagements or any other milestones. nover Life business community.

Thank you for choosing “Greater Hanover Life” to read and You can send them to editor@mylifepublications.com. enjoy.

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East Hanover, Hanover, Florham Park: Time to Applaud Your Moms

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By Steve Sears he month of May means many things.

The first of the season’s flowers bloom, the incoming heat of summer pervades the atmosphere, and, of course, the annual celebration of Mother’s Day. Rating the be-

May 2019 • Page 5

fore mentioned in order of importance, the latter would be top of the list, and should be on a daily basis, year-round.

While every Mom is East Hanover, Hanover and Florham Park is special, we highlighted four Moms who embody what good motherhood is all about.

H

Lorelei Kelly anover’s Lorelei Kelly had a great Mom. “My mother was a great mom. She was loving, compassionate, gentle and yet a disciplinarian. She and my dad married in 1933 during the depression. They worked together to raise 4 children and had 12 grandchildren. They showed us a strong work ethic and encouraged us all to be good, responsible, independent people. My mom only went to third grade, so education was import-

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ant to her. She managed the money and the household, was a great cook, loved to read, was a role model of how to treat others. But I was the first girl in my Italian family who graduated college. She encouraged me and was proud of my accomplishments.”

Kelly is now proud of the accomplishments of her own children. Alissa, age 48, is married with five children (ages 15-23), and son Michael, 45, is also married, and dad to two girls. “There is no one “proudest Mom Moment”; the moWhen Alissa was 3 and Michael was ments are watching my children raising 10 months old, I started selling their children to be Tupperware. I could do the parties responsible, indeat night when their Dad was home pendent, compasand be with them during the day. sionate people.

Also, knowing my daughter and son are friends as well as siblings is a great joy to us.”

Kelly echoes what many moms state: You may think you are prepared to be a mom, but you never know what is really going to happen. “My older sister had four children by the time I got married. My husband-to-be Mike and I babysat and helped her a great deal, so we were both pretty knowledgeable and ready. But we had some health issues with the births which you are never really

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prepared for, but it is all part of the process. You have to be flexible.” Also, motherhood is all about adjustment.

“I learned to adjust to many situations, to listen differently, to love unconditionally. I think those life lessons have helped me in my marriage, in my relationships with friends and family and in my various careers. I have been truly blessed, ‘changed’ in many ‘special ways.’”

Kelly worked as a Medical Technologist in a large hospital until Alissa was born, then opted to stay home with her. “When Alissa was 3 and Michael was 10 months old, I started selling Tupperware. I could do the parties at night when their Dad was home and be with them during the day. I loved doing the parties, met many wonderful people (fellow Tupperware managers are still my dear friends). Once the children needed me to be at home at night, I did a variety of jobs until I retired in 2012. The children saw us work together to build a life based on mutual respect, consideration, love and hard work.”

“The most challenging was finding a balance of being a mom, friend, disciplinarian amid outside influences,” says Kelly. “I feel a mom sets the tone of the family. You need to be fair, honest and listen to your children. We made sacrifices for the kids and they appreciated us and their lives. Many of the values we taught them (and they observed) I see them instilling in their children.”

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B

Beth Vecchio

eth Vecchio is big on the topic of adoption.

She should be. She lived it.

Four times. On the same day.

“On the same day, they are from the same family,” she says, happily, of David (33), Michael (deceased at age 29), Kyle (30), and Julie (29). They were ages 6, 5, 4, and 2 ½ when Beth was named as their adopted mom. “They were beautiful, kind of, sort of looked like me. We fell in love after the first day. They came to my house as fosters. I did not know they were going to become adoptable. Apparently, the social workers did, but that was hidden from me for quite some time because they were observing me – they wanted to make sure it was going to be a good fit.”

A few months later, she was asked if she wished to adopt the four children. There was no question what her response would be.

This story gets better. Vecchio is single; always has been. In her thirties, she was very interested raising “a” – that’s one – child. “I specifically told the agency that I’d like a young girl that was school age, because I was a teacher and didn’t want to miss any days of school. They said, ‘Okay,’ and what I got was four chil-

dren, three of them boys, and only one was in a grade for school. The others were in kindergarten, Pre-K and Pre-KK,” she recalls with a laugh. But there was a tint dilemma.

“I said to my co-worker that day, ‘Oh my gosh, they just called me. I have to go and pick up four children. What am I going to do – I have to come to work tomorrow?!”

That same day, her co-worker’s mother-inlaw had lost her job, so the woman instantly became nanny to the four Vecchio children for a year.

“It just all worked as it’s supposed to.”

Motherhood has changed Vecchio, who is Choir and Music Director at Saint Virgil’s Parish in Morris Plains, in every way. “They matter more to me than anything. Your job is to make sure they’re fine, and that continues for a long time, even after they’re grown. It’s very important. And it doesn’t matter if you’re an adoptive mom or you bore the children, it really is the absolute same.”

For Vecchio, her mom was the most devoted. “She believed that her family was a million times more important than anyone else she knew. She didn’t disregard others, she certainly helped out others in need. She wasn’t exclusionary, but she made it very clear that her family mattered the most.”

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She then speaks to the challenges of being a mother. “When they’re young, it’s all about safety. Keeping them safe. When they are getting to be their own people, it’s giving them the mentoring, the space to find themselves. Guiding and giving freedom at the same time.”

For Vecchio, her proudest moment was when the four children sat next to her on a chair after officially being named their

mom. “Yes, the adoption day. We went to see the judge, and because the kids were all so little, he said, ‘Come on, guys, come into my chambers.’ He let them twirl around in is big leather chair and touch all his stuff. He really wanted it to be an experience for them, and he said, ‘This is the best day of my life as a judge. Usually I help families tear themselves apart. Today I’m helping put a family together.’”

M Vicky Davey

eet Vicky Davey, mom to Kyle (22), Connor (19), and Nicole (18).

“Motherhood is the best thing that has ever happened to me. The day you become a mom is the day you no longer think of yourself. Your whole world changes for the better.”

“I was incredibly happy but so nervous when we brought Kyle home from the hospital. By the time I had Nicole I realized you do not need to worry half as much as you did for your first born.”

Davey is a working mom, she and her husband, Greg, are own-

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ers of Everlast Floors in Whippany. “Some days are more difficult than others when you have your own business and are raising a family. My kids had to come with me to wait for deliveries when they were young.

You have to juggle your time between work and kids so you can make it to important events and also get into the office to do necessary paperwork and meetings.

It’s great having your Davey’s proudest moments are each own business espeof the days her kids were born. “All cially in your home three have given me so much joy it’s town. I am lucky where it provides me hard to say one moment. the flexibility to attend school functions. It also allows me to get closer to the people of the town.”

Davey’s mother and father have been married for over 60 years. “My Mom is the greatest mother in the world. My parents work as a team, and so do my husband and I. My mom was a stay at home mother who helped my family any way she could. My mother taught me the true meaning of being a loving and caring mom.” Davey follows suit. “The most challenging aspect is trying to do absolutely everything for your kids. The most important aspect of being a mom is just to let your kids know you love them and will be

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there for them no matter what. Each one of my kids is amazing in their own way. I believe kids gets their confidence from their parents”.

Davey’s proudest moments are each of the days her kids were born. “All three have given me so much joy it’s hard to say one moment. Kyle is graduating with his master’s in computer engineering from Northeastern University, Boston, MA. Connor is finishing his second year at Penn State University for Business and Nicole, who is the student council president of Whippany Park High School, will be attending Penn State in the fall.”

A day that is engrained in Davey’s my mind is the day their family was told that Connor was in remission from Leukemia. “Connor was diagnosed with ALL when he was 6 years old. Throughout his 3 1/2-year treatment, Connor was unbelievably brave, and Kyle and Nicole were amazing support for Connor. You never know how you family will deal with cancer and you never really want to know but I am blessed to be on the other side now saying my family prevailed with flying colors. I always say life is a gift and I truly believe that statement.”

“My kids have given me everything I could ever ask for in life and to say I am proud would be an understatement.”

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H Douglas Cabana H H Tom Mastrangelo H H Kathy DeFillippo H Freeholder Director 2000-2001,2017-current Attorney in Private Practice Past President, NJ Assoc of Counties Former Mayor and Committeeman, Boonton Township Former President, Morris County League of Municipalities Resident of Boonton Township

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M

Maria C. Carrell aria C. Carrell of East Hanover will, in her words, celebrate Mother’s Day with “two wonderful children,” Ryan, age 13, and Madeline, age 9.

She turns back the clock, and then comes forward. “Nothing prepares you to become a mother for the first time! Your life completely changes for the better. As my children grow, I am finding that each phase of their childhood brings different joy and excitement. You quickly forget about the sleepless nights when they were infants and begin to appreciate the milestones with your children as they grow and develop.”

Sometimes that growth is done in tandem. Consider the recent Carrell family visit to Niagara Falls. “My adventurous daughter wanted to ride the zip line across the Falls. My husband obliged to my daughter’s wishes, and they rode it together. My son and I were more hesitant to do so - we stood at the base taking photos.

The next day, I could tell that his fears were getting in the way of his ambition. I told my son that I understood his fears because I had them as well, but we would face our fears together. That afternoon, the two of us rode the zip line and experienced a tremendous sense of accomplishment. It showed my son that he could achieve anything if he puts his mind to it.”

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Carrell lauds her own mom as a prime example of the word “mom.” “My mother was (and still is) the epitome of a good mother. She exudes love and caring for others and especially has a special place in her heart for children. She and my father set high standards for both me and my brother and gave us the tools and motivation needed to reach them.”

Carrell, who has a fairly demanding job which requires many evenings outside her home says you have to learn to master the art of juggling. “My husband and I work as a team at parenting every aspect of our children’s lives - from schoolwork and dinners, to activities and athletics, we work in tandem to be sure that all aspects of their well-being are covered.”

Motherhood has definitely changed Carrell in a special way.

“It has made me a more patient and adaptable person. You learn that you cannot always fit your life into a set schedule as your children’s lives take priority.” She also views life as a mom as educating. “My most important aspect of being a mom is holding my children accountable for their actions. I need to teach them how to be kind, responsible and productive citizens. This is also the most challenging aspect of being a Mom for I must let go and not control every aspect of their life. I must learn to let them make their own decisions and understand the consequences of their actions.”

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Living Life with No Limits: The Inspiring Story of Nine-Year-Old Michaella Metz

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By Dawn M Chiossi here is no such word as can’t. When it comes to children just starting out when facing life’s challenges, it’s a beneficial motto. It not only gives the confidence that kids need, it sets up a mindset that challenges are not something to be afraid of, they are to be faced, embraced, and ultimately, overtaken.

Childhood should be filled with wonder, laughter, fun. Kids are often balls of boundless energy, and Hanover resident, nine-year-old Michaella Metz is no exception. She is a member of the cheerleading squad, a member of the competition dance team, does gymnastics, and other sports such as softball.

In short, Metz has the energy of

most nine-year-old’s, but this little girl has one issue that others her age do not: she is a below the knee amputee.

For Metz and the rest of her family, there is no such word as can’t.

A transtibial or below the knee amputation is a surgical procedure designed to remove a lower limb that has been damaged due to trauma, congenital defect or disease. Although such amputations are much more prevalent in older people, any age group can be an amputee.

According to her mother, Maria Metz, they found out about Michaella’s condition when she was in utero.

“We sat down with the doctor who advised my husband and I that he saw an issue,” she shares candidly. “He said that it looked as though the foot/ leg had something wrong. The bones looked small and/or the leg

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looked short and possibly there was an issue with the foot as well.”

That staggering news didn’t even give the Metz family pause.

It was then that they sprang into action, educating themselves, and drenching themselves in learning about what they and their baby were going to have to endure. “Before our baby was born, we sought out many specialists, cardiologists, orthopedists. I researched everything under the sun about abnormalities in legs/ feet in utero and results etc…” she explains. “When (the baby) was born, I thought she looked amazing compared to what was described to me. In my eyes she was perfect! We chose her name Michaella because it means closest to God,” Maria Metz shares, “We were meant to have this baby. Our road was meant to take us to this moment with this baby, she saved us.”

Firm in her belief and devotion to her daughter, she goes on to say, “After Michaella was born we met with a few doctors and continued to do research about her situation. We decided to meet with Dr. Richard Davidson, a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia along with consulting with her pediatrician Dr. Charles Garbarino. We were advised that there were basically two choices: We could have her live her life in a wheelchair or we could amputate her foot and put her in a prosthetic. We made the agonizing decision to amputate her foot so she could live her life as she wanted.”

Being such a staunch advocate and champion for their daughter served the Metz family well. Michaella herself inherited that

same stubborn drive and fighting spirit. The amputation surgery took place when Michaella was only seven months old. Through all of the hardship, in really observing her daughter, Maria Metz noticed something amazing about her.

“She continued to play and climb (although she had a cast on for weeks) and endure the hot summer months with poise and grace and a continuous infectious smile,” her mother

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says. “She showed us what strength was all about.”

Upon receiving her prosthetic at a mere nine months old, Metz not only endured surgeries, physical therapies, and recoveries, she also went about the business of living life, just like any other girl out there.

Through it all, Metz remained a spunky fighter who loves giving hugs, loves babies and little kids, enjoys school and writing stories, and so much more.

Embracing life with the philosophy that if there was anything that she wanted to do, they would find a way to have her do it, Metz’s parents passed down the proactive, empowering philosophy to her.

This includes physical pursuits--something that would surprise the world at large, if they didn’t know her.

At 9 months old, Metz was enrolled in Diamond Gymnastics.

She discovered that she loved running, jumping and tumbling.

She attended classes at the gymnastics club for 6 years.

Enrolled at Sharon’s Studio of Dance and Music when she was 2, Metz found another passion--Dancing. “She was able to learn the skills with no issues, and she was embraced by both the stu-

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dio and especially her first teacher, Miss Susan,” Maria Metz asserts.

For 7 years, Metz has been relishing all kinds of dances, from performing HipHop, Acro, Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, and even made the competition team this past September. Metz has performed both in team numbers and solos and she has even won.

Metz’s enthusiasm for sports even extends to cheerleading with the Hanover Tigers- something she has been doing for four years. In her routines, Metz is elated to use her tumbling ability, “Something that she absolutely lives for,” Maria Metz remarks.

Tee-ball, softball, ice skating, roller skating, even rock climbing, this dynamic nine-year-old does not let anything stop her, living life with no limits or regrets. “As Michaella started each activity, we would never tell anyone that she was an amputee,” her mother relates.

“When the teachers found out, they’d say, ‘We never would have known.’”

Perhaps that is the best compliment that Metz could receive: being admired for her skills, talents, hard work, and ability, alone. Without any notice of physical appearance, what-

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soever.

Her hero is unequivocally Amy Purdy, an inspiration to Metz. Purdy is a bilateral amputee Paralympian. She had been runner up in Dancing With The Stars and additionally founded Adaptive Action Sports, an organization that helps individuals with physical limitations get involved in skateboarding, snowboarding and all action sports.

A gregarious girl that enjoys family (and this includes grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) and friends, Metz has an extensive variety of interests including jumping on her trampoline, swimming, making up dances, and playing football with her cousins. She enjoys bowling with her dad, cooking with her grandmother. She loves the Green Bay Packers and her favorite band is Locash (she has even met and sang with them.) She even likes picking up worms with her grandfather and making slime with her friends.

“I love so many things about my daughter,” Maria Metz asserts. “I love that she lives life with no limits, I love her beautiful heart, poise and grace. I love her laugh and her sense of humor, her spirit, strength and determination. I love how when she sees someone else with a prosthetic, she always runs

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up to them and shows them hers. I love how she asks questions, how she slows things down by spending time with people. I love how she feels so deeply about everything and I especially love how she loves.”

For Maria Metz the most impressive thing about her daughter is her deep sensitivity and insight regarding the human condition. Realizing that her own condition and subsequent challenges do not get her down, instead they work to help her shine. Describing her as kind and loving, her mother relates her generosity of spirit in giving to others. “In Kindergarten, Michaella participated in her school’s Creativity Fair. For two years, she decided to have me video her telling why each of her classmates were special (for example she would say “Nico is special because he has a great heart and is really good at soccer,”) doing this with each student. She then had pictures with each of the kids in her class in a video montage.”

She relates that this year, Metz’s school had an event called a Good Character Fair in which Michaella and a friend partnered up to run a lemonade stand and bake sale to raise donations for the Amputee Coalition which is the nation’s leading

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Page 18 • May 2019

non-profit organization on limb loss, “In two hours, they raised $400.06,” she praises.

In terms of her future plans, Metz already has several goals she hopes to achieve: She wants to become an amputee peer advisor next year (10 is the age regulation) so she can share her story and help other amputees,” Maria Metz shares. Mentioning her incredible empathy and connection with others, “she believes she would be a great help in fitting prosthetics specifically because she knows first-hand what they are going through.”

Metz’s other ambition is to become a cardiac surgeon. When asked why, she states, “because I believe I’d be really good at it.”

Whatever Metz decides to do, chances are she will grab ahold of it with the same empowering zeal that she exudes in every other part of her life.

“Michaella inspires me in so many ways,” her mother says emotionally. “People should look at her, the things she does, and how she lives her life and gain an appreciation for the things they have and what they can do. She does all of this with one foot and a prosthetic.

She raises the bar.”

Maria Metz recalls one particular moment when Michaella was growing up that made everything clear. “When Michaella was 2 years old, my niece gave her a pair of her old tap shoes, she couldn’t wait to put them on. She started tapping around the house and said, “feels good, Momma. Feels good.” The next day I heard banging in the other room. When I went in there, I saw her on top of the coffee table (at 2 years old, mind you) and Michaella had those tap shoes on, dancing on top of the table. This moment reminds me of her fearlessness, confidence, and belief in herself that no matter what challenge she has faced, or will face, she will overcome it with persistence and grace. I call her my “Wonder Woman”,” her mother remarks. “The Easter Bunny is also bringing her a shirt that says ‘She needed a hero, so she became one’, and I think that’s really what she is.”

April is Limb Loss Awareness month. For further information or details on the Amputee Coalition, please visit www.amputee-coalition.org/

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Page 20 • May 2019

One Day, One School: A Day of Giving for the Kids

W

By Christine Graf

hippany’s Thomas “Ace” Gallagher was walking his son, Danny, to school in 2006 when he noticed a potentially hazardous situation. At the time, Danny was a third grader at Salem Drive Elementary School.

“I noticed some dangerous tree limbs hanging over the path,” said Gallagher, owner of Ace Gallagher’s Stump Grinding Services. He has worked in the tree industry since 1986 and started his stump grinding business in 1989. He works with a network of more than 170 landscape and tree companies. He also works on federal projects at locations including Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and Breezy Point.

When Gallagher contacted the district superintendent to report the hazards that existed on the walking path, he was told the school district had no money budgeted for tree maintenance. As a result, he volunteered to take care of the problem himself.

“I said, ‘I can come over here and take care of this myself on Saturday with a couple of guys,’” he said. “To make a long story short, we went over there and did it. It came out beautifully and took us about an hour.”

A few days later, Gallagher told his wife, Sheilah, that he had an idea. “I figured that every school was the same—that they had no budget for preventative tree care and maintenance. So, I said that if we did this on a larger scale and got everyone together at one school for one day, we could probably save the districts a lot of money,” he said. The next day, he decided on a name for the program he envisioned. It would be called One Day One School.

The first One Day One School event took place at Ridgedale

Middle School in Florham Park in June 2007. As word of the program began to spread, Gallagher said his phone started to “ring off the hook.” One of those calls was from the Tree Care Industry Association Magazine, the most widely read periodical in the tree care industry. After they published a story on One Day One School, many of their readers were inspired by what Gallagher and his team were doing. As a result, similar projects were started in several other states.

One Day One School has grown dramatically since it began in 2007. Gallagher estimates it has saved local school districts in excess of one million dollars. When the program first began, its focus was on safety. By identifying and removing hazardous trees and tree limbs from school grounds, Gallagher’s team of volunteers are able to make schools safer for students. It wasn’t until later that a beautification component was incorporated into One Day One School.

The beautification idea came from Gallagher’s lifelong friend, Ralph Politi, Jr. According to Gallagher, Politi said, “I appreciate all of the great work you do, but you have to get more into beautification and not just cutting down hazardous trees. You guys do such a great job and work so hard, but a lot of people don’t notice. When you roll into a school people notice when the plants are colorful, and the mulch is fresh.”

Politi told Gallagher he would join the One Day One School team and handle the beautification component. “He said, ‘I’ll work with you and we will make it bigger and better than ever,” said Gallagher.

Politi delivered on his promise and helped to expand the program in a very big way. “His idea of the beautification as-

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pect really put us on the map,” said Gallagher. “We started removing invasive species and putting in plants that are native to the area and putting in plants that would bloom every year. We would make the school look beautiful--not just go in and cut things down and leave it looking barren.”

During Politi’s first year of involvement, he told Gallagher that Gennaro Forte from The Godfather Pizzeria in East Hanover was going to donate 50 pizzas on the day of the event. “I said, ‘What are we going to do with 50 pizzas?’

But, Ralph always thought big. Together, we were the perfect storm,” said Gallagher with a laugh.

Gallagher never imagined there would be enough volunteers to eat 50 pizzas as well as the hot dogs that are barbecued after each year’s event. He was wrong.

“I thought if we had 50 volunteers, we would have been good,” he said. “We had 300 shirts to give out, and we ran out of them really fast.” There weren’t enough shirts for all of the

volunteers who showed up that day.

Politi, a local business owner and board of education member, was especially good at recruiting volunteers and soliciting donations. “He knew everyone. Everyone loved him. Everybody loved his family,” said Gallagher.

“He was a great, great guy.”

In May 2012, Politi was walking when he was struck and killed by a drunk driver.

He was just 49 years old and left behind a wife and twin daughters. “It’s still unbelievable to us,” said Gallagher.

This year’s One Day One School event will take place simultaneously at three different schools in the Hanover Park Regional High School District (the tentative date is the second Saturday in October with the third Saturday as the rain date). Sixteen tree companies and twelve landscaping companies will be volunteering their services. Planning for the event will begin this summer.

“There is extensive planning involved,” said Gallagher. “We have a crew of eight to ten people who meet three

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months out. We do several property walk throughs and do tree analyses and look for hazardous limbs. We make color coded maps and designate specific companies to work in specific areas. If a company is really good at removal, that doesn’t mean they are good at pruning. With our resources, we put the right tree company in the right spot.”

All tree and landscape companies are vetted and must submit proof of insurance before they can volunteer their services. “We look at their three to five-year loss plans. We want to make sure that if we don’t know them firsthand that we know that they aren’t reckless,” said Gallagher. On the day of the event, access to dangerous areas—called red zones—is restricted and police officers are on hand.

Gallagher expects this year’s event to bring out hundreds of volunteers including families, students, teachers, administrators, PTA members, Board of Education members, local politicians, public service employees, scouts, school athletes, Knights of Columbus members,

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and many others.

“When a young kid is working side by side with the superintendent of schools, the superintendent of public works, or the chief of police, it is an example of working together as a community in the truest sense,” said Gallagher. “It is a true private/ public partnership at work.”

One Day One School receives a tremendous amount of support from local businesses. They donate everything from hot dogs to work gloves. According to Gallagher, Mark Macaluso and Brian Foran from the Department of Public Works are also “great, great assets” to the program. Bandit Industries, the world’s second largest manufacturer of forestry equipment, is a major partner in the initiative.

Gallagher said it would be impossible to name everyone who works to make One Day One School the success that it is, but he credits his wife, Sheilah, 22-year-old son, Danny, and 14-year-old daughter, Katie, for supporting both the event and his involvement in it. “My family makes a lot of sacrifices in order for me to make this happen,” he said.

In 2009, One Day One School was awarded The New Jersey Green Achievement Award for Excellence in Forestry. The award is presented by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Park and Forestry Division.

When Gallagher was invited to the awards ceremony, he said his attendance was conditional. “I said, ‘I’m only a piece of this.

It’s got to be our whole group. I’m not going to do that to this

team.’ They called me a half hour later and said to bring the whole group down,” said Gallagher. “There are no heroes in this.

We are a team.”

For Gallagher, his involvement in One Day One School has led him into the public service arena. He served as a member of his school district’s Board of Education, and he is entering his sixth year as a Hanover Committeeman.

He decided to get involved in both the school board and local politics only after being repeatedly urged to do so by friends and colleagues. “People thought I had a practical way of getting things done,” he said.

Although he admits he never imagined himself in politics, he said he enjoys the job 95 percent of the time. “I like listening, getting things done, finding solutions to problems. You just have to keep your ear to the ground, care about people, and have a little bit of courage,” he said.

When asked about the other five percent, Gallagher said the speed at which things move in government can be discouraging. “It’s frustrating because you can’t get things done overnight.

Things don’t move fast enough.”

Gallagher’s schedule is busy, but he remains committed to One Day One School. Each year’s event is held in memory of Ralph Politi, Jr. “We say it’s in memory of Ralph, but we consider him still part of our team,” said Gallagher. “When we had meetings, he was the loudest guy in the room the funniest guy in the room. We feel like he is still with us.”

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Page 26 • May 2019

Halos for Angels: One Hanover Woman’s Dream Turned Reality

O

By Evan Wechman

ne night, several years back, New Jersey businessman, Nuno Pereira suffered a tragic accident while away on a work-related trip. Nuno was exhausted after a series of meetings and wanted to take a dive in the pool before dinner. Unfortunately, he dove in, not realizing the closeness of the other side of the pool. His entire life had changed as he had instantly become a quadriplegic. His wife, Shannon Pereira also had her life altered in a moment, and was otherwise left to pick up the pieces from this tragedy.

However, Karen Casolaro and her nonprofit, “Halos for Angels” was quick to get involved and help the family. After surgery and rehab at Kessler, Nino had to go back home but was informed that he needed a special ramp in his house to facilitate his needs. With the assistance of Casolaro, the East Hanover Home Depot graciously constructed a ramp for Nino just in time for his arrival. The Home Depot was generous enough to donate all costs and labor.

There are countless stories that Casolaro can share with the community which she says is comprised of “angels,” but this is just the above is just a small sample. However, there are also many nonprofits throughout the nation and even the great state of New Jersey that do wonderful things day in and day

out. However, some nonprofits fly under the radar and need to keep creating awareness about their organization in order to attract a large database of volunteers and to serve its recipients.

When first speaking with Casolaro, she had just finished going door to door in a huge corporate complex housing about 70 different businesses in Morris County. She was actively speaking to a myriad of presidents, executives, and even CEO’s about her organization’s mission which is to provide relief to the community when sudden tragedy strikes, such as the one involving Nuno. She also speaks at schools and places of worship to spread awareness and most importantly, love, throughout Northern New Jersey.

For one to fully understand how Casolaro arrived at this point in her life, one must look back at her past. In 2008, Casolaro was diagnosed with breast cancer. However, she now declares that she is happy to say she is a “survivor of breast cancer.” She talks openly about how she, a mother of five, her husband John, and her children were greeted with not only cooked meals nightly but with great compassion and love by friends and strangers as well. According to Casolaro, “all the people that helped me and my family, they are angels and I volunteer to give back to the community.”

In 2010 after her recovery, she launched Halos for An-

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gels, Inc. to help families who were experiencing a sudden tragedy with immediate assistance, as well as after care services.

Casolaro can discuss at length the multitude of people she has helped, as well as the number of service professionals such as doctors, lawyers or even chiropractors that offer their services pro bono to those in need. However, she wants people to know that this is not an ego-based mission. “It has nothing to do with me,” she says. She just wants to build a community of angels and love. Therefore, she states that “Halos for Angels represents one people, one community, one family.”

The founder emphasizes that “no one should go through a sudden tragedy without the love and support of its community angels.” She chokes up when she speaks about how her family has helped her with her work and also acknowledges her parents who helped guide her innate ability to help others.

Casolaro adds that though she has connected many people with various services, her best trait is her “ability to empathize” with others. It seems though that she has found the right touch in combining these two resourceful traits as she stares that she “likes to take action when I see a need and find the solution.”

The near future for Halos for Angels holds two things in front of them. One is a gala on June 14 at the Hanover Manor where they will be honoring their 2019 Outstanding Volunteer Angels at a “Love Is In The Air Gala.” One of the honorees is Andrew Bileci, of the Morris County Sheriff’s office who has helped the nonprofit solicit donations. The Sheriff’s department has gone so far as to operate a Hope One Truck that goes to a variety of areas throughout the county and helps the homeless and others in need. Along with the Hope One Truck, help in raising funds is being performed by Lucille Ford of East Hanover.

She has taken it upon herself to give back to the community through the sale of her hats which are designed and handmade by her. For each hat that is sold, one is given back to a person in need.

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which helped collect funds and gifts for those less fortunate.

Casolaro has become an expert in building relationships with both governmental agencies and local corporations. Another instance of this is where some local agents of Weichert realtors have donated money to Halos from each real estate transaction.

Casolaro also wanted to note that most recently her organization raised money for a local widow with burial costs for the sudden loss of her husband. This was organized by Casolaro with help from Natalee Bartlet, Superintendent of East Hanover Schools who led her team of teachers in a volleyball competition against the East Hanover Police Department. This successful event filled the entire Hanover Park High School gym. According to Casolaro, “the gym was filled with an inspiration of glowing angels that all took part in this event which brought the meaning to what a true community family is.”

However, after the gala, Casolaro will be back at work as she is looking to keep up with the demand for services. Her wish is to have a Halos for Angels headquarters which would be “a place where all can go to give back and receive; all under one roof.” She is again putting her faith in people and seeking a “guardian angel to not only underwrite all expenses that Halos incurs as a 501(c) 3 nonprofit charity, but also to help bring a halo over our entire community family with a headquarters.”

As of now, Casolaro works from her home office in Florham Park.

Casolaro notes that her organization is growing in a unique way. Apparently, many people who have suffered a tragedy and were recipients of her unique and compassionate services have now, once recovered, become volunteers themselves. Casolaro says this helps build awareness and grow their expanding database and lets other organizations know that they can assist them.

For instance, the organization receives referrals for those in need from a variety of hospitals, most notable, Overlook and Morristown Hospital. She emphasizes that the personnel call them when someone suffers a tragedy and needs various stages of care as they are released back into the community. This gives the medical staff of the hospital great comfort in knowing that Halos for Angels can step in.

There are many professionals in various walks of life that believe they have a calling to do the work they perform. This could be anyone from a doctor to a senator who has known from an early age their ultimate goal. For Casolaro, her story is both unique and inspiring. She has been helping people her whole life from the time she was a child up until now. Even before she formed Halos, she volunteered with local organizations to educate others about the dangers of drugs. She boldly states and repeats time and again what she believes is her mission in life. “I really feel it is my calling to help others. We (Halos for Angels) are so very fortunate to be on this journey to helping one another when we need help the most.”

Page 30 • May 2019

For Hall of Fame Coach Rob Osieja, It’s Always Been About Relationships

R

By Steve Sears

ob Osieja, recently inducted into the NJSIAA (New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association) Coaches Hall-of-Fame, Class of 2019, leans back in his chair, sighs, and says, “I’m going to tell you a story I’ve never told anyone.”

He pauses, then continues. “We (referring to his 1988 Chatham High School soccer team) were 11-0, and Whippany Park – tough team, Group 1, Tony Wilson, great coach – we have to go to Whippany Park and play them. My guys are joking around on the bus. I know what we’re facing. The first game against them (which Chatham won, 3-1) was a tough game. And there’s a caveat to this: those Chatham kids had never lost a game of soccer in high school. They’re seniors now; they won as freshman, they won as JVs, they won as juniors…they never lost.”

Osieja chose to not pump his team up as normal, telling himself that now might be a good time for his club to lose. The league title lead was secure, the county tournament was a week away, the state tournament was nearby, and he knew his kids had never felt what it was like to lose. “I had (lost), and I know how I bounced back after it,” he says. “They’re joking around in the bus, we get off the bus, and Whippany Park is all over us.

They’re tremendous.”

“We lost 2-1.”

At this point, Osieja’s eyes get misty. “This impressed me more than anything. Those kids came off the field, my Chatham kids who lost, shook hands (with the other team), they looked at me and apologized to me for losing – because they knew it was them – and they said, ‘Coach, when we get back, we’re all

going on the football field, and we’re running because we lost.’

And then they looked at me and said, ‘We’re never losing again.’”

“We never lost again. We won three (the 1988 Morris County Tournament, Colonial Hills Conference, and Group II State Championship) titles after that.”

“These kids,” says Osieja, referring again to his historic club, “are now 48 to 50 years old, and they’re running companies. But back then I recognized that a kid is still a kid.” The team is having a 30th reunion in June, to coincide with the Chatham Class of 1989 reunion, and Osieja, who back then awarded tiny felt soccer balls per game to offensive and defensive stars, is still being reminded by one team member that he is still waiting for his. “If you know anything about me, it’s not just about what I’ve won.

It’s about the relationships built with these kids.”

Osieja, who was officially inducted into the NJSCA (New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association of the NJSIAA) at the end of March 2019, began his coaching career in 1978 in his hometown of Irvington, when he as a 22-year-old was named head coach of the sophomore basketball team. He moved up to first assistant of the JV team in 1980, and he eventually became head coach of the varsity team. But Osieja, who played soccer at his alma mater, delivered as a head coach with Irvington’s first championship in soccer, the Watchung Conference title in 1983. He first coached the Junior Varsity team in 1978. His JV clubs had two great years, and in 1980 he took over the varsity squad, with his JV players now headed to varsity. “I was young – 25 – but I learned from college (then William Paterson College) and I learned very well in the two years I was in JV, and I had the players that I had at the lower level. They knew my style, they knew how I was,

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May 2019 • Page 31

and I was successful in getting them to do what we all wanted to do in the end.”

Irvington competed against heavyweights like Westfield, Scotch Plains, Plainfield, Linden, and Elizabeth, the latter who they defeated, 1-0, to claim the Watchung crown. “I always loved matching wits and players against the best. That’s why you’re there – that’s why you’re there!” Osieja was named Essex County Coach of the Year for soccer.

After Irvington, Osieja took a year off and then was named head soccer coach at Clifton’s Paul IV High School. He was there from 1983 – 1987, and those were the best three years for the program. In 1983, the team won 8 games for the first time in four seasons. “I think one of my greatest assets is I get kids to believe in the program. Jump on my back, I’ll carry you.” He then adds, “We won like 20 games over three years, and they had never done that in a three-year period. I made them better on the competitive end and got a lot of respect. You get respect, and it’s not just wins and losses, it’s how you handle yourself on the field and off the field.”

Osieja’s greatest coaching success – and that’s a mouthful of a statement, considering he and his teams have been winners wherever he has landed – is bookended between those successful stops in Irvington and Paul VI in the early 1980s, and Passaic Valley in the early 1990s.

His previously mentioned 1988 Chatham High School squad, when Chatham Borough and Chatham Township combined forces for the first time ever, produced a monster 21-1-2 season. It all came together – in year one. “It was the first year of the ever-combined

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Page 32 • May 2019

Chatham Borough and Township. The two most hated soccer rivals in New Jersey, and I had to combine these kids,” he says with a laugh, “who hated each other the year before. And now they’re in the same school.” Osieja finished the year by being Morris County New Jersey State soccer coach of the year.

“It was good they brought me in from the outside, because one of my quotes was, ‘I don’t know if you’re a Borough or Township kid, I just know you’re Chatham.’ So that helped a lot.”

The way Osieja saw it, for him, at age 32, it would be his greatest success or the biggest failure. The pendulum swung to the former and stayed there. “I believed in what I do and who I was, and I said, ‘I’m going to try and get these kids to jump on my back. I mean, I’m going to have real talent that I’ve never seen.’” Indeed, he had no evident weaknesses. Chatham was ranked third in the state, and also peeked its head into national rankings.

With regard to the Whippany Park loss, when he took a step back and offered no pep talk, are there any regrets in no pushing his team that day? “I have no regrets, but if I had pushed them, they would’ve been 22-0-2. But what is the real difference here? They learned from that day.

That loss is the greatest loss I’ve ever had because it propelled us.”

Osieja later won the Passaic County Tournament Championship and conference titles twice at Passaic Valley in 1990 (18-3-1) and 1991 (17-1-2), and twice winning Passaic County Coach of the Year accolades. “These kids were hard, blue collar working kids. And they jumped on my back. The kids have always given me a lot of opportunity to go with it. Once you sell them, they’re yours.” The club lost in the state tournament two consecutive years, but the success achieved makes Osieja feel he brought the Holy Grail to the school. “They were winners,” he says, “with titles now, not just wins.”

Osieja, who also coached soccer at Gov. Livingston, Saddle Brook, and was head coach at Cresskill, later turned his focus to the spring and track & field, and had successful stops at Bloomfield (“We did tremendous things there.”), Pascack Valley, Hanover Park and is the current

head track coach at Indian Hills. He has had numerous state, county and conference track champions at these coaching assignments, and huge things are transpiring at Indian Hills. “Big time program,” he says, “Boy and Girl distance programs are one of the best in the state. Our girls’ 100-meter relay is 15th in the nation, and they’re all back next year. You’re not going to get a better track and field coaching job than I have right now.”

Osieja, who has been married for 30 years to his wife, Eileen, and is a Dad to three children - Rob, 36, Elizabeth, 34, and Melisa, 20 – speaks to his Hall of Fame selection.

“You never dream of this. I grew up in Irvington, blue collar. I was going to be an FBI agent, my Dad was a detective, my brother was a Chief of Police before he passed away.

You see my background. I had a calling. I was coaching my brother’s team, I was drawing up plays for him – I was like a sophomore in college – and they were working, and the kids were doing and were successful and I’m like, ‘I really like this.’ All of the sudden the bell hit, and I said, ‘I think I’d rather do this: be a teacher coach. You’ve got to be a teacher to coach.”

Why has he coached for 41 years? “My wife said to me, ‘Rob, do you know what you’re doing now, besides that you love the kids? You are now giving back as a coach to other coaches. The young coaches. I see what you’re doing with the young coaches that you have at Indian Hills. You’re training and teaching them so that they can come along like you did, giving them the best knowledge you have, trying to lead them the right way.’ I said, ‘You know, you’re right; and I love it. I’m teaching young coaches how to be good older coaches someday.’ The other is the love of the kids. There is nothing like leading a group of people in a singular bond for a singular cause, win or lose, and you all stick together.”

He then beams, and says, “Here I am, being asked about a felt soccer ball 30 years later. What does that tell you about a bond?! He never mentioned about the wins. He said, ‘I’m still waiting for that soccer ball.’ There it is – bingo! How’s that?!”

May 2019 • Page 33

Hanover Rotary: Service Above Self

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By Dawn M Chiossi ommunity. It is the place in which people live, and every person on the earth has one. It is our surroundings, our day to day environment, filled with familiar people and places.

How many times have people chosen a community based on the location, neighborhood, school system, or any other number of matters? Community is more than the town in which people settle, it has its own vibe. It is only natural that folks instinctively want to settle in a place that makes them feel positive, uplifted, upbeat and secure.

Yet, creating such an attitude for community does not magically appear. It begins with the people themselves putting in their share of good things such as caring, compassion, altruism, and above all, a dedication to recognize the world around them and to help wherever they are needed.

Rotary Clubs are just one specific example on these kinds of beneficial groups. In effect, they are organizations where members get together to connect with others, brainstorm, share ideas, make plans, take in mind the issues and concerns of community and problem solve. Through the hard work, diligence, efforts, and creativity of these Rotarians do so much to aid others-both domestically and abroad.

Rotary Clubs are chartered by Rotary International located in Evanston, Illinois. According to them, there are approximately over more than 32,000 clubs worldwide, grouped into 529 districts and those districts into 34 zones. Rotary International is made up of more than 33,000 Rotary Clubs in over 200 countries and areas, and Hanover Rotary Club is just one of the many.

Founded in 1941, focusing on service above self, The Ha-

nover Rotary Club promotes and supports many initiatives--both community and internationally--through a myriad of service projects. Joining the Rotary is the ideal organization for people who care about their communities and the people within them.

For Lauren Hansch, President of the Hanover Rotary, it’s all about service, giving back and embracing the community in which she lives, and making a difference in the lives of others.

Something she has been doing since she was young.

Having been with the Rotary Club for a little over 7 years, Hansch can’t say enough about it. “I grew up in Bayonne and moved to Hanover in 2011 with my then boyfriend, (now husband) Henry. When I moved to Hanover, the only people I knew were my boyfriend’s friends. I felt like I needed something to call my own.”

Although she and Henry a love of helping others (he is a volunteer firefighter), Hansch wanted something more. Seeking that connection, and falling back on her love of helping others, Hansch discovered the Hanover Rotary, an organization she was introduced to by her husband’s Fire Chief, she soon discovered it was a great fit.

“I love it,” Hansch enthuses. “Everyone can join who is interested in helping people.”

She says that the Hanover Rotary Club boasts 23 members so far. “Everyone is welcome, and it isn’t just for Hanover residents either, most members have at one time or another lived or worked in Hanover, though a good number of us no longer do,” Hansch tells.

And there is no age limit, the Hanover Rotary is open to all ages.

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“Each week we meet for breakfast at Bin 37 inside the Shoprite in Cedar Knolls every Thursday,” she explains. “We have guests join us, who teach us about their organization, or a project that they are working on. Sometimes it is for educational purposes, other times they are asking for assistance (either physical or financial). In order to support them, we hold fundraisers throughout the year to raise money and do anything in our power to help them.”

“Our meetings are great,” she goes on to say. “Each meeting we start by eating breakfast and socializing with each other. The president opens the meeting by introducing the guests and then we have something called a ‘happy or sad fine.’ Essentially this acts as a small fundraiser for the club in which anyone who has either something happy or sad to report has to pay a dollar,” Hansch clarifies. “This is something that almost all Rotary Clubs do. Many times, when we have a fellow Rotarian as a guest they will even contribute also. Each week we also have a quiz,” she shares. “Where the designated quiz master will hand out a quiz to each table and the people sitting there will have to answer. If they get it wrong, they will have to pay a dollar fine. Next we’ll go over club news and then we’ll introduce the speaker who will give a presentation for about 10 to 15 minutes.”

For Hansch and the Hanover Rotary, the motto “Service Above Self,” isn’t just a motto, it’s a calling. When asked how many organizations the Rotary has helped, Hansch is unsure of the exact number, but she mentions that they have helped the community in a number of ways. From sponsoring Boy and Girl Scout Projects, to donating food and money to the Interfaith Food Pantry, to toy drives at holiday time, to giving out dictionaries to school children, to volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.

They haven’t just made a difference regarding the big causes either, the Hanover Rotary even puts their mark on smaller ones as well such as making hot dogs for Hanover Township Day. “There are endless ways that we’ve helped.”

“Our largest fundraiser is the annual Duck Race. This will be the 28th year,” Hansch says proudly. “And then there’s our Casino Night. Each year we also have smaller fundraisers such as pancake breakfasts.”

“I love being part of the Rotary and feeling like I am a part of something,” states Hansch, enthusiastically, knowing it has made a difference not only in her own life, but also in the lives of others.

“I am sad that most people don’t know what Rotary does,” she continues. “Once they find out that you have to pay dues to join, they are quickly turned off.”

The reason for this becomes clear as she explains, “The reason why our club has dues is to support a much larger organization that hosts projects around the world such as Polio Plus which is eradicating polio from even the most remote places in

the world.”

When asked what makes Hanover’s Rotary Club so special, Hansch does not hesitate, “Our group really loves one another,” she tells. “We come from all walks of life and use our resources to help the community and each other in any way that we can. My favorite thing is truly the mentorship and camaraderie.”

Hansch even recalls a time when she experienced this generosity of spirit firsthand, “When I first started with the Rotary, I was studying for my Bachelor’s degree and taking some accounting classes. Our treasurer took the time out of his life to tutor me for weeks until I finished the course, it was amazing.”

When asked what upcoming event she is most excited about, Hansch mentions their long running Annual Duck Race that is coming up on June 8th. Fun for all ages, “This is going to be a special one,” she remarks. “Because we are including some of the small businesses in town to come and have a table or give a presentation. This hasn’t been done in the past, and we are excited to help businesses get their name out there.”

“As far as activities go, I’d say that my favorite activity is Casino Night. It’s a chance for our club to have some fun while raising money for our very deserving causes,” she says.

“The club has definitely grown and changed. In recent years, like everything else, it has taken a more digital approach.

Throughout the years, the club has gone from mandatory weekly in person meetings, to allowing things like virtual clubs and webinar-based makeup meetings.” Hansch describes. She has made her own particular mark on the Hanover Rotary through that same technology by creating their website and launched their Facebook page to help improve their visibility.

It’s positive that the Rotary Club can thrive in the 21st century and beyond, a message that Hanch wants to carry to others, young people in particular. “My hope for the club is that the younger generations take more of an interest in helping others through the Rotary. We are an organization of over 1,000,000 members and it is at their fingertips. They only need to embrace it.”

For Hansch, the Rotary, and the people within it, inspire her in so many ways. “Each member has such willingness to help everyone around them. The members really embody the motto ‘service above self.’ I have made many meaningful relationships with my fellow members that come from so many different walks of life. In addition to helping the community both local and worldwide, it truly has made me a better, more understanding, and more empathetic person because of it.”

All wonderful qualities that she, and other Rotarians will bring to the community and the world at large. For further information or details on Hanover Rotary, please visit www.hanoverrotaryclub.org/.

May 2019 • Page 35

The Stoney Brook Community Farm and Garden Continues Growing in Hanover

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By Anastasia Marchese

ayor Ronald Francioli has high hopes for the town’s community garden that started three years ago. The garden has 144 individual garden plots and had nearly 80 gardeners sign up for spots in the year it opened. The first year the town hired a commercial firm to get the site ready and clear the land. In the second year, the town began to market the opportunity to local residents and rent plots out and now in the third season, Francioli says that the program has really taken hold.

Initially the idea came about because of the large number of people in Morris County who experience food insecurity. Over 5500 people utilize the services of the Interfaith Food Pantry during the course of the year. Many families are just one unexpected expense, like a car repair, away from needing food assistance to keep their families from hunger.

“We wanted to do something more to try to help people in need of food in our area,” said Mayor Francioli.

It was out of this determination that the idea to have a community garden in Hanover became a reality.

“We did not have a garden or farm for residents, so we took a couple of acres of land and made nearly 150 4ftx16ft plots where for a modest fee you can grow your own vegetables.”

Providing a space where people can have a garden of their own can be especially valuable for the many people who live in apartments and condominiums in the township and for whom having a garden of their own formally seemed impossible.

Francioli was not content to stop there but wanted to benefit the Interfaith Food Pantry by finding a way gardeners could donate their surplus or unneeded produce to the food bank. That is why there is a shed on the property with a refrigerator where member gardeners can deposit their produce which the township in turn delivers to the food pantry.

There are also a certain number of garden beds that are set apart for the middle schools. Here students can learn hands-on about agriculture and vegetable gardening. There is a certified Master Gardener that works with the township to run the community garden and also goes into the schools to teach middle schoolers some of the skills needed to be a successful gardener.

Plans are underway to build a gazebo on site in the near future that will have electricity so students can use their devices as part of the hands-on learning process. The gazebo is being funded with grants from local corporations who share the vision for Stoney Brook Community Garden as a place of learning.

There is a supply of common tools and sturdy industrial type wheelbarrows that are available for use by all the community garden members. There is a shed where all the tools are housed. The town also provides mulch, compost, top soil and wood chips on site for use in the garden. There are dozens of spigots and hoses so that all of the garden plots can be readily irrigated.

The entire garden is also secure and when members join, they get an access code for the lock. These precautions help keep the

garden a place where residents feel comfortable and safe.

The garden rules prohibit the use of any conventional chemicals and members are required to only apply substances that have been approved for use in the community garden. There is a fact sheet linked to the website that provides ample information for garden members who are having a bug or plant disease issue.

Two garden managers and a certified Master Gardener work with the Parks and Recreation Department to help members understand the basics of organic gardening and how to implement it in their own garden plots. Someone is usually available to members by cell phone during garden hours.

A garden club is also starting up among some members to share gardening tips, successes, learning experiences, seeds and young plants. The garden club is just in its beginning stages but the township has always encouraged gardeners to communicate with one another and even ends the list of farm rules with this bit of advice, “Maintain communication with fellow Gardeners.

A conversation about an issue often can lead to great ideas, suggestions, and a quick resolution.”

Most of the operating rules and regulations are just

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simple common sense and courtesy.

Some things prospective gardeners might not know though, is that there is a list of prohibited plants that can be invasive and spread to other garden plots. That list is also found on the website.

Also, gardeners are required to commit one hour a month to help with the general maintenance of the garden as well as helping with pre-season preparation. These provisions keep the weeds down in the shared garden areas and keep the facility pleasant for everyone.

More and more communities are recognizing the need that exists for residents to have access to fresh air, soil and a place to grow something green and edible.

Many people also benefit because community gardens provide access to fresh foods and vegetables that they could possibly not afford or would not otherwise have access to. Food banks often struggle to provide food that is perishable and many families need

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more fresh food in their diets.

While many people are struggling to eat healthy simply because convenience food is so much easier, many people struggle to eat healthy because of the cost of a well-rounded diet. That is one of the many reasons that Mayor Francioli wanted to provide this valuable asset to the community while also benefiting The Interfaith Food Pantry.

Hanover Residents who are interested in joining The Stoney Brook Community Garden and Farm can contact the Town Parks and Recreation Department for an application. There is a flat fee of $25.00 per garden plot. Plots can be retained from year to year if the membership is renewed. All the necessary information and rules can be found on www.hanovertownship.com/Facilities/Facility/Details/Stoney-Brook-Community-Farm-Garden-7 or by calling the Parks and Recreation Department directly.

Local Special Education School Partners with No Fuss Lunch

he Structured Learning Experience Program offered at The Calais School provides students with supervised activities designed to assist them to explore and define career goals, build workplace-readiness skills, or seek career area field experience. Depending on student grade level, SLE will occur in school or off-campus at one of twelve different work locations.

At No Fuss Lunch, students are learning basic food & safety information; how to handle food safely, proper use of various kitchen equipment, cleaning and sanitation as well as personal hygiene. Each week, Calais students and their job coaches travel to Hawthorne, NJ where they work in a 10,000 square foot facility set up with industrial grade equipment. Students assist No Fuss Lunch staff assemble fresh, wholesome boxed lunches. During the school year, No Fuss Lunch puts out over 2,000 lunches each day.

When asked about the partnership, Calais’s SLE Coordinator Lisa Vallo stated, “We are really excited about the job skills and exposure of this new opportunity.

Students will learn all aspects of the business from food prep related concerns like

cross-contamination to more organizational and financial concerns such as purchasing, inventory, storage and managing deadlines.”

The Calais School is a special education private school for students in grades K through 12 Plus with multiple learning disabilities as well as anxiety, mood, behavior and autism spectrum disorders. The SLE program is an integral component of the Transition & Career Services we offer that engages students in the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century.

May 2019 • Page 37

For Salem Drive PTA Members, Supporting School is a Fulltime Commitment

Parent Paint Night.

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By Anya Bochman he Salem Drive School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of Whippany is an organization of parents, teachers, staff members and volunteers who strive to make a positive impact on the school’s education while creating a safe and healthy environment for the students to thrive.

Meeting roughly every month, the PTA is led by President Christine Amoresano, of Whippany. A mother of three, Amoresano works as a senior project manager at a construction company and has been an active member of the PTA for ten years before deciding to run for the role of President.

In her time with the PTA, Amoresano has served as chair for the school’s Jaguar Publishing Center and has been coordinator for such school events as Hot Lunch and Fun Day. All officers of the PTA meet at least five times a year to plan PTA meetings, as well as raise and pursue resolutions for issues that concern the entire Salem Drive School community. The officers also recommend and evaluate PTA programs and activities while soliciting input from the school.

As president, Amoresano corresponds with Salem Drive’s parent community via email, and acts as primary liaison with the district principal and superintendent. She likewise oversees all committee chairs and committee businesses, represents the school as a member of the PTA Advisory Committee and participates in the Salem School Safety Committee.

Vice President Michelle Propfe is a middle school science teacher in Morristown and mother of two and is actively involved in several committees and initiatives in her school. She is a co-leader for her daughter’s Brownie Troop and was the Room Parent for the girl’s first grade class.

“It’s nice that we are all very close as officers of the [Salem Drive] PTA,” Propfe said. “If something needs to be done, we help each other out.”

Propfe’s duties include acting as coordinator for “room parents” (a sort of classroom aide) and assuming presidential respon-

PJ Bingo Night.

Photos courtesy/Christine Amoresano

sibilities when needed. Of the busy schedule of working, raising children and serving as PTA Vice President, Propfe credits her career as an educator, which allows her more leeway.

“It gives me a little more time, and I try to get as much done as possible once the kids go to bed,” Propfe said. “You just have to keep going,” she added, laughing.

Treasurer Janine DeMarsico is entrusted with keeping all the accounts for the Salem Drive PTA, writing its reimbursement checks and acting as primary liaison with the bank and accountants.

Recording secretary Nina Stanton is a mother of two children, the youngest of whom is in the second grade. Outside of her PTA responsibilities, Stanton works as a property underwriter and runs the in-town Division 6 Boys team. In her role for the PTA, she records meetings’ minutes and chairs a committee.

Corresponding secretary Kim Landers is also a parent and had attended Salem Drive School herself as a child. Landers works full time as a special education teacher; she is also a Brownie Troop Leader, runs the in-town’s pre-K soccer division and is a member of the Republican Committee for District 6. Landers writes and keeps track of all official PTA correspondence.

In addition to these roles, the committee chairs of the PTA are responsible for organizing their individual committees and corresponding with volunteers, holding meetings and communicating with Amoresano to publicize events with flyers or sign-up websites. They are also tasked with providing detailed documentation to the board including receipts, spreadsheets for accounting and copies of all contracts and information provided by vendors in a timely manner.

The members of the various committees work at events at the school, such as classroom parties or serving lunch, and often operate “behind the scenes” to facilitate programs by managing membership or working on Jaguar Publishing Center books.

The PTA hosts five different assemblies per year, as well as a number of fun runs. On April 4, Amoresano had just finished supervising the latest Jaguar Fun Run and was pleased with the “huge” turnout that allowed the organization to exceed its fund-

Page 38 • May 2019

raising goal of $10,000. Next year, she foresees less fundraising and more focus on educational activities.

“The Fun Run was great,” Propfe said. “The kids and teachers really enjoyed themselves.”

In addition to the runs and assemblies, the PTA also hosts an annual bingo night, with a general attendance of over 200 people. Children participate in fun activities such as “escape the school,” earning the chance to win small prizes.

For one of the past year’s Fun Run. assemblies, the PTA was able to secure NASA astronaut Don Thomas to speak to the children about space and scientific exploration. As a mission specialist astronaut for NASA, Thomas has flown on four different space shuttle missions and has spent 44 days in space. During his presentation, Thomas discussed his lifelong journey to become an astronaut, what it was like living and working in space, and shared some of his favorite views of planet Earth taken from space.

“It feels rewarding to help the school out and help my own child out academically,” Propfe stated. “The students have met astronauts and authors; as parents, we get to really enrich lives and help our children enjoy school.”

Another event in March featured children’s book author Audrey Vernick, who is a native of New Jersey. The PTA helped coordinate an essay contest, with the winner getting to eat lunch with Vernick.

“The school assemblies and events are expensive,” Amoresano commented. “We fundraise in order to help with things like bringing in outside vendors.”

The PTA is responsible for raising funds towards custom handmade books for each child in the Jaguar Publishing Center. The Center publishes approximately 300 books per year - one book for every student attending Salem Drive School. The process entails a theme for each year, such as cultural heritage; the teachers and PTA members choose from a progression of the students’ work on the theme over the course of the school year and bind the selected works in a specially-made book. Making the books is a collaborative process between teachers, the PTA and parent volunteers.

The work involved includes ironing, typing, sewing and illustrating for a finished product for each child at the end of the school year.

Additionally, the PTA sponsors all classroom parties, as well as funds and runs a hot lunch program for the school.

Celebrate With Books is a PTA-sponsored initiative that encourages parents to purchase a new hardcover book off the official list of suggested titles and donate it to the library, thereby expanding its collection. Participating parents can then have the opportunity to read the book during a Read-a-Thon in their child’s media class.

The organization handles teacher reimbursements by allotting a stipend for out of pocket expenses by teachers, as well as providing needed materials in the classroom.

“In addition to doing things for the kids, we also do stuff for the

staff,” Amoresano said. “We host one breakfast and one lunch per year, as well as allowing each teacher a stipend to be reimbursed for classroom supplies.”

For the fifth grade, the organization fundraises separately, a fact Amoresano ascribes to a desire to make the last year students spend at the elementary school special.

The PTA purchases books for the students, as well as throws them a commemorative pool party. The PTA also donates to a scholarship fund for a select student leaving the school.

“Each of these things requires volunteers behind the scenes,” Amoresano says of the many endeavors undertaken by the organization. “There are many things to consider, such as coordination with outside vendors.”

All the women involved with the association are managing their roles while simultaneously working fulltime or taking care of their households. Amoresano, who in addition to her job is also a Room Parent for her daughter, manages to carve out time to go on vacations, or to concerts to see her favorite singer Bryan Adams.

Asked about the busy schedule required by the organization along with the fulltime jobs held by most of its board members, Amoresano perhaps understates the commitment by saying “there’s a lot of balancing and juggling in between.”

To spread information about its many activities and fundraisers, the PTA uses its official website, to a limited extent. Other methods of reaching out include a newsletter to keep parents and teachers updated on upcoming events, text message blasts that about half the school’s parents are signed up for, and old-fashioned mailed forms.

“The PTA is a major component in communication between the parents and teachers,” Amoresano says.

The PTA president cites community support as a major factor in the success of the organization.

“We have had a great outpouring of support this year; parents are very engaged and many have volunteered their time,” Amoresano said. “People are very willing to help, so that we are able to host all the big events that we do.”

“The teachers and principal are also very supportive,” she continued. “That really helps in having the parents realize the importance of the PTA.” Propfe explains that she can see the result of her work for the PTA in her own children’s progress.

“When my daughter comes home and she is excited about something new she learned, that makes me feel proud,” the vice president said. “It’s hard work, but ultimately very rewarding.”

This year, the Salem Drive PTA is having a “hassle-free” fundraiser online. Donations can be made directly at www.my.cheddarup.com/c/sdsdonation.

May 2019 • Page 39

Comfort Zone Camp: A Place for Grieving, Healing, and Growing

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By Steve Sears

ikki Russo, 25, painfully recalls that day when she was 11-years-old.

Her dad had suffered a number of health ailments, and after a scheduled surgery to improve circulation in his legs was deemed successful, two days later he died from a massive heart attack.

“My mom and I are very close now, but me and my dad just got each other.” Russo says. “We could just look at each other and know what each other were thinking. So, when I didn’t have that anymore, it was like a piece of my heart was taken away from me. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have anyone to talk to. When my dad was sick, I would walk to my bus stop every morning – it was like a rite of passage as a 6th grader, you could walk to the bus stop by yourself – and I would call him every morning. I couldn’t talk to him anymore; it was depressing. It was such a numbing experience that I don’t even remember the first year.”

Katie Pereira, who is 24 years old, lost her dad, Franco Lalama, who was killed as he was helping folks exit the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. She was just seven years old. “As a result of my dad’s death,” says Pereira, “I was very angry and did not know how to deal with all of the emotions that came with grief.”

Both discovered Comfort Zone Camp, a bereavement group for young people, and it worked wonders for both. “It was the first time I really cried talking to somebody about it,” claims Russo, a Union City elementary school teacher. “That was the first time I told people my story and really talked about it. It was very

beneficial to me and my mom. I always say that Comfort Zone Camp saved me and my mom’s relationship, and I generally believe it saved my life, because I was going down a very bad, destructive path.”

“I felt very alone, isolated, and different from everyone else my age,” says Pereira. “Going to Comfort Zone Camp helped me learn and understand that I was not alone and never will be in my grief journey.” An Operations Specialist with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, she also adds, “Comfort Zone helped me understand my emotions that I was feeling and helped me cope with my loss in a healthy way. I was very angry as a result of my dad’s death so being able to learn how to cope with my emotions at a young age helped shape who I am now.”

Lynne Hughes founded Comfort Zone Camp in 1998, seven years before she wrote You Are Not Alone, a bereavement book for teens. Camp is currently held primarily in five states: Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California. “My parents died when I was young; my mom died when I was 9, and my dad when I was 12,” says Hughes. “I went to summer camp after my parents died and I loved it. Then, I always wanted to be a camp counselor after I graduated, and then I went to Michigan State when I was in college, and I found a camp outside of Michigan, and then I found one in the Poconos which was co-ed, and then I met someone who suggested we start our own camp.”

Hughes was aware that there were no resources for grieving kids, not when she was a child and also when she entered adulthood. The awareness and her experience in camp as a child and then camp counselor encouraged her to combine both into a resource for youngsters who suffered from loss of a sibling

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or parent. Comfort Zone Camp filled and still fills the void. “Grieving kids grow up in isolation, they might be the only ones in their school or community. When they show up and they meet 60 or 70 other kids at a camp and they visually drink in that message, ‘Gosh, I’m not alone; we’re all here for the same reason,’ it almost frees them up to step outside of their loss to get back to being a kid again.” Comfort Zone Camp has activities to allow kids to grieve, tell their stories, and teaches them skills that will help them in everyday life. The camp is open to individuals ages 7 to 25.

Mitch Decter is a Comfort Zone Camp Board member. “I volunteered for my first camp in Richmond, Virginia, and shortly after the tragic events of 9/11, we promptly started to conduct camps for the families affected by the tragic events.

Many of the children who attended the camps in 2001 now serve as “big buddies” at our camps. Eventually, we hosted many camps in the New York/New Jersey area for any child who had suffered the loss of a parent or sibling.”

Pereira, who is originally from New Jersey and now lives in North Carolina with her husband, has been involved with the camp since 2001, first as a camper, then a junior counselor, and now Big Buddy and volunteer. “It feels great to be able to give back to a place that gave me my life back.”

Russo herself has attended Comfort Zone camp 25 times. “In the beginning in New Jersey, they would let campers go more than once a year. Once it became more popular and well known, I could only go once a year. Then I started volunteering as a counselor so that I could go to every camp.”

“Many of our adult volunteers suffered a loss when they were a child,” adds Decter. “They always say that they wished there was something like Comfort Zone Camp when they were young.

While the volunteers are there to support the children, they are also afforded the opportunity to talk about their loved ones and share the ways in which their loss influenced who they are today. The bond between little buddies and big buddies is extraordinary, and many of the friendships carry on beyond camp. One of my

first little buddies was a 7-year-old boy named Tyler, who lost his dad on 9/11. He and I were paired together at camps for almost 10 years. I would visit him and his family from time-to-time and felt a responsibility to be a part of his life. At our most recent New Jersey camp, Tyler, who is now 25 years old, and I volunteered as big buddies together. I watched with such pride and felt like things had come full circle watching him be there for his little buddy.”

Per Pereira, Comfort Zone Camp is a “truly magical place.” “You walk into your first camp wondering how it will be, but then when the weekend is over you don’t want to leave. The weekend is set up like a summer camp feel, but everything you do that weekend relates to grief in some way. I took everything I learned about grief and use those learnings in other aspects of life. When someone asks how you can explain Comfort Zone Camp, one word always comes to mind, and that is “bubble.” Comfort Zone Camp is a bubble. You enter into it and you get to be in that moment for the whole weekend and nothing else in your world matters that moment. Camp helps you cope with your death that you experienced in your life, but then you also learn how to cope with other losses that you may encounter throughout life. When one of your loved ones passes away you can also sometimes lose other things that relate to that loss.”

Pereira offers the following to those who are not yet ready to share the feelings. “I would say that you do not have to share if you are not ready to. Sometimes you don’t have to say anything to get everything that you need to help cope with your loss, but I would encourage everyone to attend a camp weekend because just being there in the camp bubble will help you cope and help guide you with your grief.”

As previously noted by Russo, volunteers – aka “Big Buddies” – benefit as much as those they are aiding. “Absolutely,” agrees Hughes. “Every time you listen to how someone feels, every time you tell someone how you feel, whether you’re a child or an adult mentoring somebody, it gives it purpose and meaning as to why this adversity happened to you, so when you get to give that purpose and meaning to it, give back and pay it forward, it helps them to navigate their grief journey, and potentially make it easier for your own, it’s very rewarding.”

“It helps you stay connected to your own loved one, too.”

Decter agrees. “The most important benefit of Comfort Zone Camp is that the children who attend our camps learn that they are not alone in their grief journey. Many children report that they don’t like to talk about their loss when they are at school because they feel different and alienated. At camp, they are surrounded by other kids and volunteers who have experienced something similar to what they went through.”

Comfort Zone Camp is held on the weekends all year round. Sign-up is done via the camp website by creating an account and profile, selecting a camp date, and

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May 2019 • Page 41

then there is a screening process after sign-up. Comfort Zone Camp is free to all children. Activities are the same at all camps but could vary by time of the year. There is time for all-around kids fun, buy also time for breaking the attendees down by age into groups and placing them into grief support circles, which are called “healing circles,” led by a healing circle leader who is a mental health professional. Discussed are stories, feelings, grief in the body, how things have changed at home, talk about different skills, and more.

“We know,” says Hughes, “we’re not going to cure or fix everything up during the course of the weekend, but what tools can we give them to help them navigate their day-to-day grief journey, as well as kind of prepare them for big milestones?” Examples are graduations and the like, but also preparing for not taking part in a Father/ Daughter Dance for the first time. There are limited travel scholarships offered, so prospective attendees are directed to camps close to their home. More information is available on the Comfort Zone Camp website.

“I am incredibly proud of my affiliation with Comfort Zone and it has been such a pleasure to see the positive results of many children who I have watched grow up,” says Decker. “We teach them that their grief journey never ends, it just becomes different over time. I hope that Comfort Zone Camp continues to grow so that we can continue to support children who should never feel like they are alone. “ Speaking of ‘grow”, volunteers (who are trained) are welcome, as are donations. Hughes says there are kids on a waiting list, so the goal is to get them off the list and into more camps.

That, and camps of longer duration, are the goal. Decter adds,

“Comfort Zone Camp is free to all families. Therefore, fundraising and corporate sponsorship are what allow us to serve as many grieving children as possible. The more money we are able to raise, the more children can attend camp. Right now, we have three camps scheduled in New Jersey for 2019 -- next year we would love to double that. In addition, we are always looking for people to serve as big buddies. You do not have to had suffered a loss or have any professional experience. Instead, you can attend a training session and learn about what it means to serve as a big buddy.”

Hughes speaks to the benefit of her founded, very worthwhile 501 (c) 3. “Comfort Zone Camp is important because kids break their isolation, get back to being a kid again, and get the opportunity to have the peace of their healing. We literally see kids blossom, grow, and heal right in front of our eyes. And there’s nothing more powerful and humbling than being a part of that.”

That is something both Russo and Pereira can attest to. “It’s still a rescue for me,” says Russo. “I get choked up just talking about it,” she continues through tears. “I have a boyfriend, and I wish my dad was here now to meet him, talk to him, because I know they would get along. Just going to camp as a Big Buddy now is my saving grace. I get to give advice and talk to kids, it’s really a nice experience.”

Pereira adds, “Comfort Zone Camp changed my life. I do not know how I would have been able to cope and deal with my dad’s death if I did not have the support system of my camp family. I grew up with Comfort Zone Camp and I am forever grateful to them for changing my life and showing me that I am not alone.”

Visit www.comfortzonecamp.org for more information.

Page 42 • May 2019

An Approachable Van, An Approachable Team, All in the Name of Hope

T

By Steve Sears

he van still arrives for battle, but for a different type of battle.

Thomas Purdy visited the Hope One van when it was stationed on a frigid day outside Walmart in Riverdale. He had stopped to buy wiper blades and saw the Hope One van and approached it. “I am in a N.A. program – Narcotics Anonymous.” He then bluntly adds, “I’m a heroin addict. You’re always a heroin addict.”

Purdy had heard of the NARCAN program but had never encountered the van nor its NARCAN training prior to this day. Kelly LaBar, a Peer Recovery Specialist for the Center for Addiction Recovery, Education & Success (CARES), had given him a lesson in how to use NARCAN, a nasal spray that aids in the prevention of opioid overdose. “They help everybody,” says Purdy of Hope One. “They help by saving lives. People come to an (NA) meeting high, you hear about it at every meeting that somebody has overdosed. People are dying left and right out there now.

And it’s the Fentanyl.”

“I think that this has become much of my professional life,” says Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon of Hope One and the fight against drug addiction, “and my personal life, too. I’ve been around in the security and law enforcement business going on four decades, and I’ve seen changes occur.”

Gannon in the early 1980s was a Boonton police officer, and often arresting people for possession of heroin. Heroin at that time was 3% pure. Fast forward to 2019 and that percentage is now at 60 - 65% pure. “New Jersey is showing the purest, due

to access to the seaports and the airports. But the real issue here affecting us is more than that. It’s prescription drugs and Fentanyl (opioids pain medication). Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin.”

Gannon and others have seen the spikes in usage and death due to opioid overdosing, and Gannon is aware that roughly 75% of those currently using heroin and fentanyl started out using prescription drugs with legitimate purpose. “It started with a broken bone or a broken tooth,” says Gannon, “and now it’s ending with a broken heart. I think many times people start with a medical purpose and then they end in a tragic way.”

Gannon, who had been a homicide detective for 17 years and also worked for the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, had never run for public office, but when he started campaigning, he knocked on over 9,000 Morris County doors, asking residents in many communities what they’re biggest concerns were. Drug addiction was near the top.

“Everybody talked about opioids, whether it was a mom with a baby on her shoulder, or a grandmother or grandfather. They talked about opioids, how it affected their family, their friends, their colleagues.” In 2018, 3,118 New Jersey residents were killed or died as a result of drug overdose.

“These are guys and gals ages 13 to 80 in Morris County. They have families, they have kids - some of them have grandkids!

What are we doing about it?”

Gannon was elected and took office on January 2, 2017 and he sprang into further action, convening a team meeting with the Morris County Prosecutor’s office, the Chief’s

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The Hope One benefit is also spreading to other spots of the Garden State. “There has been statewide interest in the Hope One program as well as most recently Delaware reached out for information,”” says Valvano.

Hope One has launched in Newark, Monmouth County, Atlantic County and Cape May County.

Other interested agencies include Passaic County, Burlington County and Bergen County.”

of Police Association, the Morris County department of Human Services, addiction and mental health specialists, and police officers. All sat around a table as Gannon said, “Listen, if we have a blank piece of canvas, what can we do to curb this problem?

What can we do that hasn’t been done before?”

The focus was the at-risk population, the people minus support: the homeless, and those with mental health and addiction issues. But here was the key. Rather than dragging people to what Gannon calls “brick and mortar operations”, he suggested bringing services to them instead.

Then came the van. “I had an old SWAT vehicle,” Gannon says with a smile, “it looks like Anthony’s Bread Truck, right? I was going to repurpose it and put it somewhere else, but then I said, ‘Let’s use this for Hope One.’ And we did. We took all the police markings off it, there’s no overhead lights on it, there’s no Sheriff’s star on it, there’s not even government license plates.

The license plates read ‘Garden State – HOPE ONE’. We needed $15,000 to retro-fit the vehicle for wi-fi, so it could be comfortable, so it could be private, so the heat worked, and things like that – and comfortable to approach. We took $15,000 from drug forfeiture money; no money from the taxpayer. So, drug dealers are paying for a drug program.”

Hope One, and the qualified folks accompanying it, meet people where they are, geographically and clinically, doing it in a stigma-free manner. “We don’t judge people,” says Gannon. “A guy comes up to us, say he’s 57-years-old like me, and he’s got a long story. We don’t judge people. We say, ‘Hey, let’s

have a cup of coffee, let’s have a bun, let’s talk about which services are available to you. Maybe we can help you.’

You can’t force it on anybody, people are only ready when they’re ready. But we start the conversation, we provide people with materials to get them on their way.” Hope One also will give out toiletry bags, fresh socks, coats, and more. Gannon and the team also have resources who are treatment providers who can aid the at-risk individual.

In addition to educational material on the truck, people were needed. They’re there, no matter where Hope One pulls up to a curb, table outside the van, a welcoming assortment of buns and smiles greeting folks who wander over.

First, a Sheriff’s officer, Erica Valvano, who Gannon coins the “Mother of Hope One.” “She is totally invested in it. How she does, what she does, I don’t know.

I’m very grateful for her, because she makes it all happen.”

Valvano is a Corporal in the Sheriff’s Office. “As coordinator of the Hope One mobile outreach vehicle, I schedule locations, work with community partners and provide outreach in the community. I am also the project coordinator of our Hope One PAARI grant that the Morris County Sheriff’s Office received from the Bureau of Justice in October 2018.” She adds, “Working with the community has truly been a rewarding experience.”

In April 2019, Gannon will be starting Hope One PAARI (Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative). “It started out in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and about 45 states are involved right now. We’re going to train police officers in Morris County so that when they’re on patrol, and they see a person who’s in a bad way that’s addicted, they don’t have to wait for the Hope One truck. We can deploy specialists to the police department, free up the police officers and let them get back to their work, and we can deal with that person who has the addiction problem.”

Valvano echoes Gannon’s words about bringing services to the client, and she herself selects the spots the Hope One van visits. “We are out in the community offering services outside of retail stores throughout the county as well as reaching out to the at-risk community at soup kitchens. I select our locations based on recent overdose data from the Morris County Sheriff’s Trends and Analysis Team (MCSTAT). The Hope One calendar can be found at www.sheriff.morriscountynj.

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gov/community/hope-one/.

The Hope One benefit is also spreading to other spots of the Garden State.

“There has been statewide interest in the Hope One program as well as most recently Delaware reached out for information,”” says Valvano. Hope One has launched in Newark, Monmouth County, Atlantic County and Cape May County.

Other interested agencies include Passaic County, Burlington County and Bergen County.”

Madine Despeine, Director of Self Help, Advocacy and Education for the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris County, is also a fixture at Hope One. “As a mental health professional I provide a layer of comfort to individuals who come to the truck as well as offer mental health services to that individual. I connect them to resources such as social groups, therapist, support groups, medication monitoring, case management, housing, etc. These are services many people don’t know where or how to access.”

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The chief mental health challenge is treatment. “We know that most people who have a substance abuse issue also struggles with mental illness. Many people don’t know where they are, how to get in and how to get there once an appointment is scheduled. Through the Mental Health Association, I can connect them to

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May 2019 • Page 45

a case management program that can assist with that as well as linking them to other services. The case manager helps with navigating through a system that can be intimidating and overwhelming for an individual especially if he or she is homeless, self-medicating with drugs and/or alcohol, struggling with mental health issues, and feeling helpless.”

Despeine lauds the team she works with. “This is a unique team. We all come from different backgrounds, but we come in contact with the same individuals in our daily work and offer another layer of service/help to him or her. We can have a gentleman just released from the jail that comes to the truck. Kelly (LaBar) will work with someone in recovery but finds out he is struggling with loneliness and depression and will refer him to me. I will then get him involved with some social groups, therapy, the warm line, etc. but he is also struggling financially.

He will then go to Ashley (Reed) to see if he qualifies for food stamps and other benefits. We have to work collectively and build our community relationships in order to provide the highest level of services to everyone we help. Sometimes we get parents who are struggling with trying to help their loved one get help but we realize they (the parents) would benefit from some support, therapy and a hug.”

“A phenomenal group to partner with,” says Gannon. “These are folks who are certified and know addiction from the inside out.”

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to recovery. “I was addicted to escaping reality. Drugs and alcohol were a way to do that for me. I am in long term recovery since January 26, 2003.” She recalls very vividly her past. “I didn’t know anyone that did what I did and got sober, which left me feeling hopeless. Recovery was not something people were so open about. What changed for me was finding a community of other people that were happy and free from drugs and alcohol. Having my daughter made me re-evaluate my choices, she saved my life! My family was supportive. I have found over the years that just putting drugs and alcohol down is not enough. I had to continue to try and be a better person and help people.

Something that I discovered is a key element to my wellbeing is having a relationship with nature. I feel most connected while hiking or watching a sunrise or swimming in the ocean, or dancing in the rain. I recharge when I give myself moments to just be….I am happy to be open about my recovery both personally and professionally. When I get to help people on Hope One, I want to make sure no one feels the way I did when I was trying to get sober. I want them to know I will help them in whatever path they choose, and recovery is possible at any point. I still am in awe of the fact that I get to go out and help people every day.”

LaBar knows of no key first step to take, including admitting you have an issue. “I wish there was a one size fits all solution but getting better is just as individualized as the person. I think fostering a loving, accepting, non-judgmental model for people who are using, like all of us do at CARES, truly leads people to feel empowered in the direction of their lives. Kindness goes a long way.”

Reed represents Family Promise of Morris County, a non-profit agency serving those impacted by homelessness and poverty in Morris County through a continuum of services including outreach, shelter, and housing programs, also aids Hope One. “Family Promise is a proud partner in the Hope One project,” says Maria Fodali, LSW, Coordinator of Outreach Programs. “Our agency has funded NARCAN kits and trainings, provides ongoing in-kind donation items, and travels with the Hope One Van weekly to offer community members benefits screenings and application assistance, resource navigation through services and resources in the community, and housing assistance. Our role is to address the additional needs on the van aside from addiction and mental health, as the needs of our Morris County community members can be broad and multifaceted.”

Family Promise has also kicked off their own mobile van services as well. “From our work with Hope One, and the daily work we do at Our Promise, our Drop-In Center location, we received funding to launch our own mobile outreach vehicle in the spring of this year (2019) in partnership with Morris County Human Services – Navigating Hope! Our van, that will travel often in tandem with the Hope One vehicle, will provide case management and a variety of services to low-income and homeless individuals. The van will target hard-to-reach communities and populations and is intended to fill traditional gaps in community service provision.”

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Fodali agrees that, when a family member is addicted, the issue goes well beyond the addict. “Yes, absolutely. Addiction is simply not an individual problem, it is a family challenge.

Families often go through every avenue possible to get their loved ones help and to learn the services available for them.

We see family members of those suffering from addiction approach the van at shopping centers like Walmart in Boonton, unaware of the Hope One Program, and leave their shopping trip better educated on addiction and recovery, with training on how to administer NARCAN safely, accessible mental health services, and with resources for financial concerns and housing as appropriate. The key to this program is a holistic approach – the whole team ensures that we are addressing challenges in all needed areas and prioritize basic needs, a harm reduction philosophy, so that recovery is not only achieved but also sustainable.”

As of this interview, Hope One since January 2017 has visited locations 239 times. “Since we’ve been out, we’ve had contact with over 6,245 people that came up to us and said, ‘Hey listen, I have a friend, colleague or family member who has a problem.

Can I have some information so maybe I can slip it to them, and you can help them.’ Every 10 minutes somebody comes up to that truck and says, ‘Can you help me with something?’

I knew it would work,” says Gannon, “but I never thought it would work to the level it has worked.”

Gannon also states that over 1,600 people have been trained in the usage of NARCAN. “The kit, the mask, the gloves - we’re giving people second chances. Are we saving their life?

For now. But we’re giving them second chances.”

Purdy now knows how to administer NARCAN should he

see someone overdosing. “I’ve been a heroin addict since I was 15 years old; that’s the first time I put a needle in my arm. I’m 62 now., This (NARCAN) was not around when I was younger. There was nothing around.” Purdy’s son is a former heroin addict who has now been clean for seven years. Purdy understands what he went through. “Drugs were part of my culture. My kids can come to me about drugs. I couldn’t go to my parents; they’d wonder what was wrong with you, because it wasn’t part of their culture. But today it’s gotten out of hand.

It really has.”

Purdy’s next step is always to put one foot in front of the other and continue on. He hasn’t done drugs or alcohol for years. “I don’t feel good where drugs are going in this country. It’s a pharmaceutical drug. When I was doing heroin, it was smuggled in.”

Purdy then looked at LaBar, then around inside the heated truck. “This is a fabulous job. They need more of these vans out there. They need more people trained in NARCAN. Maybe there’d be a lot less overdoses.”

Hope One has documented 32 lives have been saved. “So, it’s been wonderful, and I have to say, Morris County’s been great,” says an excited Gannon. “The Board of Chosen Freeholders have embraced this program – they get it, they’re talking to their constituents, I’ve spoken to people in the Assembly, in the Senate, in Congress, I’ve spoken to people across the board who are looking at this program and saying, “Wow. “It’s simple, it has No impact on the budget.”

For more information about Hope One and the groups that it works with, please visit www.sheriff.morriscountynj.gov/ community/hope-one/.

Father’s Day 2019 Excursion Train Rides

O

n Father’s Day, Sun. June 16th, spend the day with Dad at the Whippany Railway Museum where you can climb aboard our mid-1900’s excursion train and enjoy an old-fashioned, pleasant Sunday afternoon with family and friends.

Our trains feature a unique collection of restored vintage cabooses from historic rail lines that once served New Jersey and the Metropolitan area. The 10-mile, 45-minute round trip excursion from Whippany to Roseland and return is a thrill for the children as they enjoy what for many, will be their very first train ride...and they can also learn about and experience the history of New Jersey’s rich railroad and transportation heritage. Passengers can combine the thrill of riding the train along with touring the Museum site, featuring its outstanding collection of historic railroad locomotives, rolling stock, operating model train layouts and vintage farm tractors.

The train ride is part of the Museum’s operating heritage railroad excursions and travels the route of the historic ‘Whippanong Trail’ through Whippany, East Hanover, Livingston and Roseland in Morris and Essex Counties. The train passes through the remnants of pre-historic Glacial Lake Passaic, a natural swamp which supports abundant wildlife, such as deer, turtles, wild turkeys, hawks and rabbits.

The ride also features the excitement of crossing high above

the Passaic River over a steel bridge.

In addition to the antique cabooses that make up the train, visitors can upgrade their excursion experience by choosing to ride in our elegantly-restored 1927-era Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) ‘Club Car’ Jersey Coast. The car has the look and feel of a private club with individual leather chairs, mahogany interior accented with stained glass, built-in tables and period ceiling fans. The Jersey Coast recalls the 1930›s when the CNJ operated its deluxe coach train, The Blue Comet between Jersey City and Atlantic City, NJ. The striking paint scheme of cream and blue reminds one of a comet streaking through space. It is the only car of its type operating in New Jersey.

TRAINS DEPART at 1, 2, 3 & 4 p.m, Rain or Shine from the Museum site at 1 Railroad Plaza at the Intersection of Route 10 West & Whippany Road in Whippany.

TRAIN FARE: Adult: $16.00 Child (under 12): $11.00 Infants (1 year and under): Free (NOTE: Train Fare Includes Admission to Museum Building and Exhibits).

PRE-ORDER TICKETS ONLINE, using a major credit card. Visit www.WhippanyRailwayMuseum.net and use the link for buy train tickets.

For more info, Call: (973) 887-8177 or visit the website at www.WhippanyRailwayMuseum.net

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