Making the Most Of Holiday Volunteers
Corrections or additions?
This article by Kathleen McGinn Spring was prepared for the December 18, 2002 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Giving a Last Minute Gift of Giving
What to do when you want to remember employees, co-workers,
clients, and far flung friends with a gift that has meaning, and is
just right for each of them, but you have little time for shopping,
let alone reflection? JustGive.org (www.justgive.org) has the answer.
This charitable giving website has a number of creative options for
creating interactive gifts of giving.
Its corporate gift section invites employers to create a list of charities,
E-mail the list to employees, and then make a donation tailored to
the employees’ choices. Employers may choose to send the list JustGive
has put together or to augment it with up to 12 of their own charity
choices.
JustGive breaks charities down into categories based upon the groups
they serve. Among the categories its employers’ list are aid to animals
(In Defense of Animals), children (Children’s Wish Foundation International),
community (Center for Community Change), disaster relief (Americares),
Overseas aid (Doctors Without Borders), and women (Global Fund for
Women). Broadening the choice is easy. JustGive draws upon a database
of 850,000 charities, and includes information on their financials,
a complete report on the charity where available, and links to the
charities’ websites. Most, but not all, local charities are included.
A search for HomeFront and Mercer Street Friends turned them up right
away, but the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen was nowhere to be found, either
listed by its full name or by its initials.
A nice thing about the JustGive gift is that it gives recipients a
choice. It’s sort of like a gift certificate to a mall. Choices are
not unlimited, but there are a satisfying number of them. This may
feel better than receiving a card saying that XYZ Corp. has decided
to donate X number of dollars to cause Y. The choices let employees
have some input.
Once all of the employees have E-mailed or called in their choices,
JustGive lets the employer know how many people have chosen what charities.
It then divides the employers’ donation proportionately among the
choices.
For individuals, JustGive offers a number of creative last-minute
gift choices as well. It has grouped a number of popular charities
into 12 “baskets.” They include Inspire Children & Change
Their Lives, Feed and Empower the Hungry, Provide Mentors to Children,
Protect Animals and Prevent Cruelty, Support Women of the World, Create
Peace for All, Plant Trees, Provide Shelter for Animals, Create Homes
& Jobs, Save the Earth, Respect Our Elders, and Promote Human Rights.
JustGive lists four charities under each heading. Under Create Homes
& Jobs, for instance, it includes Habitat for Humanity, Partnership
for the Homeless, the Doe Fund, and Jobs for Homeless People. But,
again, individuals can add local charities to the list. Next to each
charity is a box in which to type the amount to go to each charity.
A $50 gift, for instance, could be broken up into $10 apiece for five
charities. If the donation is to be a gift, JustGive will inform the
recipient by E-mail or by snail mail as you direct.
How about a special gift for the boss’s animal-loving daughter, or
for your own favorite animal lover? JustGive provides a plethora of
choices, all of which can be ordered and on their way in seconds.
Among the options is Adopt-A-Farm-Animal. A rabbit or chicken can
be kept in comfort for one month at a sanctuary in New York or in
California for just $10. The tab goes up to $15 for a duck, goose,
or turkey, $25 for a sheep or a goat, $35 for a pig — think Babe,
or $50 for a cow. The story of the animal — along with a photo
— goes out to the person in whose name you made the donation,
and visits are permitted at designated times.
For gift recipient whose hearts soften more for creatures of the sea
than for those on the farm, JustGive can connect you to Adopt a Marine
Mammal, where $31 provides enough herring to feed a malnourished seal
for a day and $103 provides a diagnostic X-ray for a fractured flipper
surgery. Back on land, JustGive will connect you to the International
Wolf Center, where $27 helps out a wolf pup. A picture and biography
of the pup is sent along to the person you designate along with a
National Geographic white wolf video, a wolf pup book, stickers, a
wolf puzzle, and a pencil with paw prints.
Still on the wild side, JustGive facilitates donations
to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Defenders of Wildlife,
and the International Wildlife Coalition’s Whale Adoption Project.
Each group sends along adoption certificates and other information
for donations ranging from $26 (for a snowy owl) to $309 (for a silverback
gorilla). Often, these animal charities throw in stuffed animals,
books, and other kid-pleasing extras.
JustGive, a non-profit organization, encourages giving over the Internet,
and points out some of the advantages:
Records. Give through JustGive and a record of all ofyour charitable gifts are in one place — and they stay there.This largely does away with the tax-time hunt for receipts, and providesan easy response should Uncle Sam question your giving.Ease. With just a click — and no searching for a pen,stamps, or an envelope — your gift is on its way. If it is tobe a gift, the recipient is notified automatically. It takes littlemore time to give to three, four, or 40 charities than it does togive to one.Green peace. JustGive says that 100 million trees arecut down each year to supply the paper on which non-profits send outtheir 12 billion solicitation letters, only 10 percent of which areever opened.For those in search of last minute gifts with heart — andwithout sweat — JustGive could be the answer.Top Of PageWorthy CausesMartin House provides low-income housing, educationalopportunities, services to homeless families, youth activities, andsummer camps for inner-city Trenton families. Among its more ambitiousfund drive initiatives is the solicitation of gifts of $21,000, whichis all it needs to build a new home. It performs this feat by marryingstate and federal grants, as well as donations of land by the Cityof Trenton, to the donation and by combining the money with sweatequity, volunteers, and discounted services of vendors, mechanics,contractors, and professionals.Homes are sold to residents of the Wilbur section of Trenton for $21,000.Martin House holds 11-year, no interest mortgages on the homes. Inaddition, the homeowners, whose income has to fall between $18,000and $30,000 for a family of four, agree to provide sweat equity for11 years.Donors who want to add another $9,000 to their gift provide a familywith educational programs in addition to a new house. Among the individualsand organizations stepping up to provide that “keystone” giftthis year were Sam and Judy DeTuro and Family, owners of thelandscape company Woodwinds Associates, Michele and John Slapp,St. Luke’s Church in Toms River, Roma Bank, the MaryOwen Borden Foundation, St. Mathias Church in Somerset, OurLady of Lourdes in Whitehouse Station, and Automatic Data Processing.From December 17 through 20, Martin House will distribute approximately7,000 holiday gifts to more than 2,000 children from 500 families.Gifts are donated through Martin House’s Adopt A Family program, anannual effort established more than 15 years ago to contribute necessitiesto the Wilbur section, which represents 17 percent of the total Trentonpopulation and is one of the most economically, socially, and physicallyblighted neighborhoods in the city.Through Adopt A Family, program gift recipients fill out a simpleform that sets out the age, sex and clothing size of a child in need.Children are matched with contributors and once gifts are donated,they are then delivered to Martin House, where the families pick uptheir gifts, in accordance with a system prioritized by date and timenumbered tickets for organization. Donations consist of primarilyclothing and donors may contribute multiple gifts. More than halfof gift recipients are families who have been signed up by volunteerswho operate the Martin House clothing store.Bristol-Myers Squibb and Our Lady of Sorrows of Mercervilleare the biggest supporter of the program, representing 75 percentof all Adopt A Family gift donations. Bristol-Myers Squibb’s giftswere delivered by truck to Martin House on December 13 to be sorted.”We are extremely proud to be participating in Adopt A Familyfor the 12th consecutive year,” said Dinorah Williams, seniorregion sales coordinator for Bristol-Myers Squibb.”We are delighted to thank those who have contributed gifts thisyear and who have shown ongoing support for the Adopt A Family program,”said Father Brian, president of Martin House. “It has such a positiveimpact when you give to the children of this community, especiallyduring the holiday season.” To date, Martin House has providedmore than 4,000 adults and children with housing and educational servicesto better their lives.Rescue MissionIn its latest fiscal year, the Rescue Mission of Trentonprovided 40,284 bed nights and 87,266 meals in its emergency shelter,5,996 meals in its weekend soup kitchen, 15,547 bed days in its residentialaddiction treatment program, 12,782 bed days in its rooming and boardinghouse, and 3,706 free distributions of clothing and furniture.The non-profit, which is working to upgrade its physical plant whilecoping with increased demand, acknowledges that this is a challengingeconomic climate in which to ask for contributions. Says CEO MaryGay Abbott-Taylor, “Without your support, the Mission would beunable to provide home and hope for the homeless, the hungry, thetransient, and the addicted. We recognize that these are very difficulttimes for you and your families, but know you’ll be as generous asyou can to this year’s appeal.”Among the corporations and professional organizations that helpedthe Rescue Mission last year are Abalene Exterminating, Bennett& Yoskin, Bloomberg, Borden-Perlman Insurance, BornBrothers Plumbing and Heating, Stoolmacher Consulting Group,New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company, Ford FarewellMills & Gatsch Architects, Nassau Helicopters, CornerstoneGroup, and Janssen Pharmaceutica.The Rescue Mission’s annual report is a window into the complexityof keeping a non-profit afloat. In addition to an extensive list ofdiverse corporate donors, the organization received funds and giftsin kind from hundreds of individuals and from dozens of religiousorganizations, including the United Methodist Women of Princeton,the First Presbyterian Church of Dutch Neck, Saint Matthew’sEpiscopal Church, and Princeton University Chapel.All together, donations from individuals and groups supplied 6 percentof the Rescue Mission’s income. Another 52 percent came from governmentcontracts and reimbursements; 8 percent came from resident fees andfood stamps; 2 percent came from entrepreneurial activities; and 32percent came from industrial salvage and from sales at its Trentonstore.Top Of PageCorporate Angelsd>Hamilton Jewelers celebrated its 90th Anniversaryon December 7 and 8 by raising money for the Princeton Area CommunityFoundation’s Greater Mercer Grants Program. Every person donating$25 to PACR at Hamilton Jewelers’ Nassau Street location was givena $25 Hamilton gift card.James Weaver, co-owner and chef of Tre Piani Ristorantein Forrestal Village, has been named Chef of the Year by Share OurStrength, which has distributed more than $70 million to more than1,000 anti-hunger, anti-poverty programs worldwide.Weaver has participated in Share Our Strength’s major fundraiser,Taste of the Nation, for 12 years. In 2002, he hosted a pre-eventreception at Tre Piani, drawing 70 attendees.”Chef Jim Weaver has exhibited outstanding commitment in the fightagainst hunger through his work with Share Our Strength’s Taste ofthe Nation in Princeton,” says Bill Shore, founder and executivedirector of the organization. “By helping us raise awareness andfunds in the fight to end hunger, Jim’s dedication will be deeplyfelt by the people facing food insecurity and poverty at home andabroad.”Creative Marketing Alliance , the marketing communicationsfirm with offices at 191 Clarksville Road, has been given the Be aHero award for a public awareness campaign it created for the RedCross of Central New Jersey. The campaign met the Red Cross’s needfor increased visibility for its CPR program, and other initiatives,including disaster services and Meals on Wheels.Weichert Realtors’ Princeton office has collected holidayitems for sailors stationed on the USS Cowpens, a guided missile destroyerin support of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.”This is a great way for the public to help and it is our pleasureto do whatever we can as an office,” says Joshua Wilton, branchmanager. “In addition, a sales associate in our office has a sonon this ship so it is a cause close to all of our hearts.”In the wake of the tragedies of September 11, the members ofthe New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA)created a volunteer help center to help the families of victims copewith the financial stress. Over the course of the year, New JerseyCPAs assisted approximately 100 families, helping them to assess theircurrent financial situation and to develop a financial action plan.As a result of this experience, NJSCPA members have decided to expandthe New Jersey CPA Help Center into an ongoing program to providefree assistance to Garden State residents who find themselves victimsof a tragedy. The service now is available to anyone who lives inNew Jersey and who either cannot afford the services of a CPA or whosimply does not currently have a CPA. The circumstances may be anysudden, catastrophic event, such as a criminal act or a natural disaster.Assistance includes estate calculation, retirement income calculation,insurance needs analysis, investment review, income tax analysis,and development of a financial plan. Call 973-226-4494 or visit www.njscpa.org/help.The Community Projects Committee of the Mercer County BarAssociation is participating in an Adopt-a-Family program thisholiday season. The committee, through Catholic Charities of MercerCounty, has adopted more than 50 families in the Mercer area. Wrappedgifts will be distributed by members of the Community Projects Committeeto needy families in the community.”Our goal is to provide holiday cheer for some of the impoverishedfamilies of Mercer County,” says Francine Kowalczyk, executivedirector of the Mercer County Bar Association.Princeton Satellite Systems of 33 Witherspoon Street organizedand ran Space Week for kindergartners at the Princeton Community Parkschool during the week of December 9. The students participated ina different space-related project every day.Space Week is the latest in Princeton Satellite Systems educationalendeavors that include learning editions of the Spacecraft and AircraftControl Toolboxes for MATLAB, lectures at Princeton University, andstudent internships.Top Of PageDonate PleaseHomeFront, which provides temporary housing for homelessfamilies and supports them in a move to independence, is coming upshort on a basic human need. Connie Mercer, executive director ofthe organization, wrote in a recent newsletter: “One of the mostdifficult things I’ve ever had to do was post a notice on HomeFront’sdoor last week saying that our food pantry was closed because we’drun out of food.”She went on to say that “the painful truth is that four timesin the past few months we have had to turn away hungry parents andchildren. We also have single adults, usually elderly or physicallychallenged, coming to us for food.”One year ago, HomeFront was giving away 379 bags of emergency fooda month. That number has risen to 588 bags. A large portion of thefood comes from the Mercer Street Friends food bank. The AllentownPresbyterian Church makes an annual contribution to the food bankfor HomeFront’s use. This year, the contribution was exhausted farearlier than in previous years.Individuals and organizations hold food drives for HomeFront, andwhile the non-profit is grateful, Mercer says that cash donationsgo farther. This is so food with a retail value of $38.51 can be purchasedfrom a food bank or a wholesaler for approximately $6.24. To helpout with a donation to feed those who turn to HomeFront call 609-989-9417.HomeFront also is seeking Santas to fulfill holiday wishes for childrenliving at a subsistence level. Each child makes a wish list of threeitems — none of which should exceed $30 — that he or she wouldmost like to have for Christmas. To makes these wishes come true callFontella Cawley at 609-989-9417, ext. 36, or Lynne Helmke at 609-989-9417,ext. 32.Enable, a non-profit serving persons with disabilities and theirfamilies in Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset Counties, isstill looking for companies to take part in its Holiday Gift BasketProgram. Gifts, gift certificates, or food items can be deliveredto Enable’s offices at 13B Roszel Road. If wrapped, packages shouldbe topped by a card identifying their contents. Unwrapped gifts shouldbe accompanied by wrapping paper. Call Diane Benner at 609-987-5003for more information.The Foundation at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospitalat Hamilton has opened its second Grounds for Healing and is seekinggifts to supports these gardens, which provide patients and theirfamilies access to areas specifically designed to promote healing.The first garden opened last May and is located between the emergencyroom and the Women and Infant Pavilion. It features two sculptures,bamboo, and a donor brick pathway. The second garden is visible fromeach of the treatment areas of the Cancer Center infusion unit. Itcontains four sculptures, a waterfall, and a selection of rare rhododendrons.There are also several trellis areas that were constructed so thatpatients can receive treatments in the garden if they wish.Donors who give $100 or $500 will be able to have a brick placed ina garden path in honor of a family member or to celebrate a specialfamily event. A donation of $2,500 is recognized with a walkway planter,a donation of $1,000 with a bench, and a donation of $5,000 is recognizedwith a bamboo garden. Other options — including naming a garden,$100,000 — are available. For more information call Brenda Zanoniat 609-584-6584.Evolution Fitness , an East Windsor-based fitness center,is set to host Ride Across America — a four-hour spin ride —on Sunday, January 26, at 9 a.m. Thirty participants will take partin the event, which will raise funds for Womanspace and for the TrentonArea Soup Kitchen.Womanspace is dedicated to improving the quality of life for womenin crisis in the Mercer County Area, while the Trenton Area Soup Kitchenprovides more than 2,500 meals a week to people in need in the Trentonarea.Each participant in the spin is asked to raise at least $100. Prizeddonated by local merchants will be awarded to the rider who raisesthe most money.Donations of any amount are appreciated. To support the efforts ofall participants, send a check payable to Womanspace or to TASK andmail it to Evolution Fitness, 510 Route 130, Royal Plaza, East Windsor08520. For more information, call Sharon LaForge, Susan Barnhart,or Arnold Cantor at 609-448-4501.Top Of PageLegislate PleasePhyllis Stoolmacher, director of the Mercer StreetFriends Food Cooperative, has joined anti-hunger advocates in urgingstate lawmakers to approve legislation creating a Community Food PantryFund subsidized by voluntary contributions by state income taxpayers.”As the economy continues to struggle,” says Stoolmacher,”the need is expanding but our resources are not.”The legislation was introduced just before Thanksgiving by AssemblymanGordon M. Johnson and Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg. It wouldallow taxpayers to contribute to a community food pantry fund usinga designated check-off on state income tax return forms. Money depositedin the fund would be distributed by the state Department of HumanServices with help from the Department of Agriculture and the Departmentof Health and Senior Services.Already the New Jersey tax return lists several special funds. Lastyear, taxpayers donated more than $246,000 for wildlife conservationand nearly $80,000 for the Battleship New Jersey.Kathleen McGinn SpringTop Of PageMaking the Most Of Holiday VolunteersThe urge to take part in some hands-on helping oftenstrikes at about the time Thanksgiving turkeys make their first appearanceand reaches a crescendo in the cold, dark days before the end of theyear. With goodwill a major theme of the season, and the urgency ofneed easy to grasp against a backdrop of holiday cheer, many peoplesuddenly feel an urge to help out. Collecting coats, serving dinnersto the homeless, giving toys to children who have none, all of thesesimple acts of charity seem important — necessary — duringthe year-end holidays.This is the time of year when non-profits get calls from individuals,office groups, and families hoping to help out. Not thinking aboutthe organizational issues involved in putting untrained volunteersto work with little notice, many people hope to put in a holiday appearanceat a soup kitchen or food bank.Accommodate them all as best as possible. This is the message of CharityChannel (www.charitychannel.com), an online resource for the non-profitcommunity. No, it is not easy, Georgean Johnson-Coffey acknowledgesin an article on the website, but the effort pays off richly longterm. Here’s her advice:Smile. Be positive, pleasant, and enthusiastic. You neverknow how these folks are connected and they should always be viewedas potential long term volunteers.Harvest. View holiday volunteers as a built-in group forwhich you do not have to recruit. They will come — prepare, plan,and involve them.Simplify. Simplify your application process in order toinvolve holiday volunteers.Share. If you can not use holiday volunteers, networkwith other area agencies that do utilize them. Refer interested peopleto agencies that you know will be able to involve them.Start small. The first time that you involve holiday volunteers,start small. Acknowledge to them that this is a new service and tellthem they are part of a pilot program and they will help give feedbackfor improvement for next year.Leverage. Holiday volunteers contacted you because ofan interest in what your agency accomplishes. Take advantage of this.Send a thank-you note to those who inquire with a list of currentneeds that includes long and short-term volunteer opportunities. Oneof these may spark future interests on their part.Think ahead. When a potential volunteer calls, discoverwhat their passion, skills, and interests are. You may not be ableto place them at the holidays, but you may be able to plug them intoan upcoming event or opening.Holiday volunteers can be a challenge, but they are also a wonderfulopportunity to involve talented, motivated individuals. With the rightperspective, positive attitude, and careful planning, holiday volunteerscan indeed be precious gifts to volunteer programs, agencies, andto our communities.Top Of PageApply PleaseThe Business and Professional Women of Hightstown/EastWindsor is now accepting applications for its Career Developmentawards. These awards are given to women 25 years of age or older whoare continuing their education or are returning to school in a 2-year,4-year, or vocational training program.The application deadline is February 28. Call 609-443-4593 for anapplication.Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
