Local Heroes

Local Mom is Making a Difference, One Lasagna at a Time!

By Jackie Schatell

When Molly Yearick saw Rhiannon Menn, the founder of Lasagna Love, on the Today Show, Molly felt compelled to sign up as a volunteer because Rhiannon’s message was “powerful and resonated strongly” with her. Molly had been looking for a way to give back during the pandemic and realized that joining Lasagna Love was the perfect way to make a difference while doing something she loved – cooking!

Lasagna Love is a national movement with thousands of volunteers in every US state cooking and delivering meals weekly to families in their communities that need a break from pandemic-related stress, whether from income loss, general overwhelm, or any other reason.

Molly, who is the Regional Team Leader of Northern NJ, says that Lasagna Love, which just celebrated its one-year anniversary, and is powered by over 20,000 volunteers nationwide, has already impacted the lives of over 200,000 people, by cooking and delivering on average, 4,000 meals a week. Nationally, the organization has delivered over 45,000 meals—and counting.

The tenets of Lasagnalove.org are simple. They are to feed families, spread kindness, and strengthen communities. “Our mission is not only to help address the incredible rise in food insecurity among families, but also to provide a simple act of love and kindness during a time full of uncertainty and stress,” says Molly.

According to Molly, the movement chose lasagna because, “lasagna is a warm and comfortable meal that can feed many people at once and provide leftovers that can last for a few days.” However, Lasagna Love doesn’t exclusively make Lasagnas. Volunteers have also delivered chicken pot pies, enchiladas or other familystyle entrees. Volunteers graciously tailor deliveries to any dietary restrictions and allergy needs of each family.

Most volunteer chefs are everyday people, like Molly, who like to cook and help others. Signing up to volunteer is easy and may be done on the website, LasagnaLove.org. There is no pressure, and volunteers can opt to cook as often as they desire. Likewise, there is also a spot on the site to sign up as a meal recipient. According to Molly, “there is no judgment, all food orders are kept confidential between the chef and the meal recipient, and recipients can sign up every 30 days.” In addition, recognizing that not everyone is computer savvy, there is also an area on the site for people to nominate others as meal recipients, such as older neighbors and others who may not be comfortable signing up for themselves.

While all volunteers purchase their own ingredients, those who want to help in other ways are invited to donate directly to the organization or sponsor a Lasagna Chef. Donations help Lasagna Love keep growing and making it easier to reach families in need. They also welcome support from local businesses in the form of in-kind or financial donations.

Molly loves what she is doing and says, “as long as there is food insecurity, and people struggling that need a helping hand, I will keep on cooking lasagna.”

Molly Yearick

Books Over 30,000 Vaccine Appointments for Those Needing Help the Most

By Jackie Schatell

Helping others is not new to NJ native Amy Heller, who founded WGIRLS INC 12 years ago with a mission to empower women and children in underserved communities through fundraising, volunteerism, and outreach. When the pandemic hit, Amy pivoted her non-profit so she and her team of over 500 volunteers could help people needing assistance secure COVID-19 vaccine appointments. In seven weeks, the team, which offers aid in 16 languages, had already secured over 20,000 appointments.

The army of volunteers at WGIRLS work round the clock in all NJ counties including Morris and Essex, and some NY counties, to book vaccine appointments for those needing help because according to Amy, “many appointments drop at night and in the early morning hours.”

The process to gain assistance is easy. Those needing an appointment simply fill in a form on the WGIRLS.ORG website and are then paired with a volunteer. The volunteer reaches out via cell or email to find out the client’s availability for an appointment as well as their preferred vaccine locations. Next, the volunteer gets to work securing an appointment, which generally happens pretty quickly because the WGIRLS volunteers “know the ins and outs of navigating the vaccine scheduling systems.” In fact, the volunteers “often share tips with one another on a private Facebook page, as well as heartfelt stories about those they have helped.” When the pandemic first hit, WGIRLS raised over $25,000 to provide much-needed PPE for frontline workers at Overlook Medical Center. Then, after Amy’s neighbor, who is in her 80s, casually mentioned she was having trouble booking an appointment, Amy realized that other seniors and those with other barriers also needed help. So, she created her own system and quickly rolled it out across the state.

The founder of WGIRLS, who “plans to help until everyone who wants a shot can get one” says, “to play a role in reducing the fear and anxiety this pandemic has caused for so many is truly gratifying.”

Amy Heller

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