Christmas comes twice a year for some city residents.
Since 1991, volunteers have gotten together for one day in April to go to the homes of approximately a dozen elderly or disabled residents to make repairs on their property. This program is known as “Christmas in April.”
The residents seeking assistance fill out applications found at churches and grocery stores year-round. Then is up to a 15-member committee to decide which residents are most in need of help. The committee makes its determination according to the available manpower and severity of each person’s case, according to Christmas in April member Elizabeth Spinelli, who is also the executive director at Hudson County Economic Development Corporation.
“So many people’s lives have changed,” Spinelli said last week. “To be able to help out people is very gratifying. This is an overall positive experience for the community. Life is all about giving back to people.”
The program, which is exclusive to Jersey City residents, will have a fundraising dinner on March 30 starting at 6 p.m. at Puccini’s restaurant at 164 Westside Ave. Tickets are $65 per person and $600 for a 10-person table and includes a night of music, food and a four-hour open bar, Spinelli said.
“The dinner is designed to spread awareness about the organization,” Spinelli said. “We need volunteer help to complete our projects this year.”
In addition to the dinner, the program receives financial contributions from local businesses, and corporations. One of the event organizers, Rose Nichols, an employee at United Water in Jersey City, said the dinner is an opportunity for people interested in volunteering to join the program.
Nichols expects about 150 people to show up to the third annual dinner.
The program is part of a nationwide organization based in Washington D.C. that partners with local communities to rehabilitate the homes of low-income, elderly, handicapped persons and families with children at no cost, according to Nichols. The previous year, Christmas in April saw an over 500-volunteer turnout in Jersey City to rehabilitate 16 homes. Since its inception into the community a decade ago, 161 homes have been repaired.
Volunteers in the past have installed a first floor bathroom for a handicapped elderly woman, painted a women’s shelter, installed a hot water heater and repaired the heating system for a low-income single-parent family.
“In a single day, the hardworking volunteers build walls, weatherize homes, repair leaks, paint, install fencing and new kitchens, and beautify homes in any number of ways,” Nichols said. “In one day, a family’s standard of living is vastly improved. Best of all, the homeowner incurs no cost.”
This year’s community volunteer effort day will be April 21. Nichols said anyone interested in attending the dinner or becoming a member can contact her at 222-2636.
Christmas in April sponsors include United Water Jersey City, Trust Company Bank, the Home Depot, the St. Patrick School, Provident Savings Bank, Muralo Paint Company, Malta Auxiliary, Hudson City Savings Bank, Fleet Bank, Dow Jones and Company, Inc., Chase Manhattan Foundation, Bankers Trust Foundation, and AllTel Corporation.