Dear Editor:
My name is Vivian Brazzell – Hemingway. For the last six years, The New Day Rehoboth Church, The Wade St. Wonders Block Association, and The Jersey City Women’s Committee has held a Thanksgiving Day Feast at New Day Rehoboth Church. We would like to thank the following people and groups:
Former Chairman O’Dea, thank you for your support. Please accept this as an open letter to you, Freeholder and Jersey City Democratic Organization Chairman Jeff Dublin and Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders as a whole for funding of The Food Pantry located in New Day Rehoboth Church, based on our effort to provide food to low income individuals throughout the City of Jersey City.
Since January 2011 we have served 500 clients in our bi-monthly program. We also serve Senior Citizens at 72, 82, and 92 Danforth Ave Senior Citizen buildings. We serve 250 bags of food per month delivering the bags to those sites.
Thanks to Thanksgiving Day meal New Rehoboth Church Bishop Wayman Wright Sr. and Trustee Kim Wright. I have 8 to 12 volunteers at any given time: Willie Chisholm, Jameelah Hardin, Trustee Steve Levant, Vera McCrae, Elder Willie Nesnick, Connie Saunders and Danielle Pinkney.
1. The Jersey City Police Community Relations Council, Organizer and Ret’d Canine Unit P. O. Bill, Captain Charles Nierstedt, and Officers Juan Cabrera and Vanessa Lamboy.
2. South and West District Police Officers Mark Husey
3. We received help from many high schools and Universities individual students from various College and High Schools with Mc Nair Academic High School and Academic’s ROTC Program, Rutgers University ALPHA students being primarily involved.
4. We received donations of Turkeys from Councilman Mike Sottolano, Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham, Councilman Rolourdo Lavaro, he also sent volunteers.
5. Jeremiah T. Healy’s foundation saved the day by purchasing a new furnace.
6. Juice from Tropicana.
Every year this group of diverse and unrelated people get together on Thanksgiving to serve 1,000 meals to local residents and to senior citizen buildings from Curries Woods to Journal Square. The students of St. Al’s have become so organized that they have reduce the time in half of delivering these meals and were the best group ever. Thanks to the input of County Executive Tom De Gise and Maureen Burns we were put in touch with Susan Mearns of the H.C.I.A. who directed us to The Sharing Place Food Pantry housed at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church under the leadership of Pastor/ President Jessica Lambert, Administrator Chris Green and Program Director Maureen Cassidy we are moving toward a more unified team dedicated to the Christian value of sharing and caring.
In closing we hope to continue in these missions of goodwill and community building. Together we are strong.
Thank you all.
Vivian Brazzell-Hemingway and volunteer Steven Pinkney Sr.