A spell of rain at midday may have cut back on the crowds but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the vendors and attendees at North Bergen’s second annual Summer Green Health Fair.
Held on Saturday, June 20 on the 64th Street Field (Stan Newman Field) from noon to 4 p.m., the event attracted more than 30 vendors from a wide variety of community service organizations and private companies.
Attendees could get their blood pressure checked and glucose tested for free from the North Hudson Community Action Corporation (NHCAC). Representatives also handed out information on the wide variety of services NHCAC offers in Hudson, Bergen, and Passaic Counties.
“Our organization has health centers and social services at different addresses,” said Project Specialist Jimena Buitrago. “We offer job placement, senior citizen assistance, housing/tenant advocacy, all under the same umbrella.”
Visit nhcac.org to find out about the services available and their upcoming health fairs to be held throughout Hudson County.
Palisade Medical Center was well represented, distributing material on the services they provide, as well as several tables full of free giveaways including water bottles, pill boxes, band-aid dispensers, t-shirts, jar openers, chip clips, and more.
Just a few tables away, the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation of Jersey City was handing out free condoms. “We’re a social service organization,” said Candace Miller. “We help not just people who are HIV positive. We have a representative that helps with housing and with energy bills. We also do STD testing.”
Music, games, education, outreach
A stage along one side of the field held musical performers throughout the afternoon, ranging from local school choruses to rock bands. Kids played competitive games to win prizes or just enjoyed cavorting on the inflatable play structures.
Visitors learned about the services the library provides, signed up for free martial arts classes at UFC Gym in Edgewater, and bought artwork from local painter Ray Arcadio.
“We’re educating the residents of North Bergen when to recycle, how to recycle, what to recycle,” said Dana Hojnowski, a teacher at the high school and co-moderator of the Environmental Club. A group of volunteers from the high school quizzed passersby on which of numerous substances would take the longest to break down naturally, including a plastic bag, aluminum, a tin can, and a glass bottle. (Answer: glass, which takes a million years.)
“It’s such a big field and the vendors are very gracious with the gifts.” –Anna Delatorre
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The kids were certainly comfortable around the fire truck from North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, clambering up in the driver’s seat and pretending to take it for a spin.
“They all just want to jump in,” said Probational Firefighter Roberto Villanueva.
A nice turnout
“There are twice as many vendors as last year but the rain scared some people away,” said Janet Castro of the Department of Health and Social Services, who helped organize the event. “We got a nice turnout though.”
Some people, in fact, came out specifically because of the rain. “Originally we were planning to go to the Meadowlands Fair today,” said Jean-Paul Mosquera, who attended with several others including his daughter, Sophie, 6. “Then the rain happened. And this was local; it’s right around the corner. I just wanted see what vendors were out here and what they were providing. It’s a nice event. I like it.”
“This is my first time here. I think it’s great,” said Anna Delatorre, attending with her six-month-old son Jair and his older brother Noah. “It’s such a big field and the vendors are very gracious with the gifts. I usually come to the Night Out over the summer. That’s always fun. And the Winter Fest. The mayor does nice things for the town. He just greeted us a few minutes ago. He greets all the residents.”
Not just humans
Animals were certainly not neglected at the event. Geoffrey Santini of the New Jersey Humane Society and New Jersey Animal Control and Rescue provided demos on microchipping and talked to attendees about rabies and how to safely handle animals.
“We do a lot of work with wildlife,” explained Animal Control Officer Aurelia Cruz, who goes by “AC.” “We do deer calls, animal cruelty calls, transporting.”
And of course they do rescues. “We have dogs that are tied up on a pole, left in the rain, sick. And they’re sweet,” said AC. “We have a lot of dogs and cats available for adoption in Cliffside Park.”
For more information call (201) 822-7333.
Also serving the animal community was Animal Life Savers Inc., a rescue group that places dogs and cats in foster homes until they can be adopted. Founded as a family project by Barbara Bellino in 2000, it quickly took off and the family turned it into a nonprofit that takes in animals, tests, neuters, and microchips them, and then finds them safe and loving homes.
Now 81 years old, Bellino still singlehandedly produces a thick, jam-packed newsletter twice a year. Her daughters, Elaine Samman and Karen Helmstetter, serve as president and secretary respectively for the organization.
“Right now we’re doing a 50/50 in August and we’re also having a tricky tray as a fundraiser,” said Helmstetter. They are also looking for foster homes for needy animals until permanent owners are found – although they warn that sometimes people don’t want to part with the animals and wind up keeping them.
“We call them failed foster homes,” laughed Samman. Visit animallifesavers.org for more information.
It was also announced at the event that a no-kill animal shelter will be opening in Hudson County in the near future. Watch the North Bergen Reporter for more information as it becomes available.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.