In The Vicinity By Jackie Schatell
Florham Park Resident Publishes Kids Book that Fosters Empowerment
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chool psychologist Danielle Gasalberti of Florham Park recently published a book called, “Love Your Selfie,” a book geared to kids in grades one to five that teaches them about empowerment and building self esteem. It will become a play at Drew University in Dec. Danielle says that throughout Covid, she found herself on Facebook seeing other people’s posts, which reminded her that people put on a perfect face with online profiles. She realized that if she was measuring herself up to what she saw, others, including kids were too. Remembering her time spent at an elementary school helping children handle bullying and social skills through literature, she decided to write a book on managing social media and mental health that she hopes resonates with kids and opens up dialogues with parents. Danielle is enjoying doing events, signings, and readings and is available to do so at schools, libraries and more. She can be reached at dgasalberti90@gmail.com.
(Left-Right) Back row: Mathew Villanueva and Nathan Villanueva; Middle row: Tyler Villanueva and Arav Pahwa; Front Row: Jayden Man
Berkeley Heights PTO Collects Nearly 3,000 New and Gently Used Shoes for Honduras and Haiti
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he PTO at Columbia Middle School (CMS) in Berkeley Heights held a fundraiser for new and gently used shoes. They collected nearly 3,000 pairs. The PTO worked in partnership with an organization that recycles the shoes by selling them at a small fee to the people in Honduras and Haiti. The shoes are then refurbished and resold. The PTO also received a small fee for each pair of shoes to benefit the school. The program teaches the resellers how to become entrepreneurs, and provides the buyers with nice shoes. The CMS students placed signs at multiple locations for their on-site collection boxes and helped pair up the shoes by attaching them with rubber bands to prevent separation. “This is a win for all,” says Sue Seto, who is a member of the PTO, “as it teaches our children to give back, and save the planet through sustainability, helps the resellers and buyers, and the PTO.”
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Vicinity Magazine
Winter 2021
Chatham Holds 13th Annual Turkey Trot
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n Thanksgiving Day, residents of Chatham held their 13th annual Turkey Trot to raise funds for The Chatham Township Volunteer Fire Department, the Diabetes Research Institute, the Chatham Emergency squad and The Barton Center for Diabetes Education. To date, the event has raised nearly $200,000. The event, which was held in the Highlands section of Chatham Township included a 1 Mile Family Run and a USA Track and Field certified 5K Race. Neighbors had fun coming together as a community to kick off the Holiday Season.
