Hopewell Theater to Close
Editor’s note: In a letter e-mailed to patrons, Hopewell Theater co-founder and executive director Sara Scully announced the theater’s closing.
Dear Patron
We are deeply saddened to announce that we must close Hopewell Theater.
Rising costs and the inability to obtain a liquor license — a key income source for live venues — have contributed to our decision.
In 2017, we opened Hopewell Theater after considerable renovation and since that season we have welcomed thousands of patrons at our “selectively eclectic” lineup of shows: from films to live music, supper clubs, theatrical performances, and more.
We have partnered with the Hopewell, Princeton, and Pennington Libraries and hosted private events with local nonprofit organizations as well as the Your Stage at Any Stage open mic night with our beloved local songstress and emcee, Michelle Klein.
These highlights from our six years of presenting live shows are just a handful of the events we have hosted here at HT, featuring both nationally recognized talent and emerging artists.
None of what we have accomplished would have been possible without you.
You supported our opening, waited patiently through the pandemic, and returned in even greater numbers post-pandemic. Through it all, your five-star reviews of our staff and service endured.
Hopewell Theater has been re-imagined many times over the 144 years of its existence, with significant interior and exterior design changes. And yet, with each incarnation, the building has remained a place that has always welcomed and/or served the Hopewell community as an arts venue and gathering place.
And, though the Theater is closing, the building’s owners want to assure the community that efforts to try to re-open will be ongoing.
On a personal note, it has been an honor and privilege to breathe life into Hopewell Theater alongside our incredible staff, talent, and patrons. Seeing our community coming together here, to meet friends and get inspired, has continually inspired me. I will miss welcoming you to HT. However, I do remain hopeful that the spirit of Hopewell Theater will endure — a venue that has always served the community for nearly a century and a half.
Share My Meals Notes Increased Impact in 2023
Share My Meals, a Princeton-based nonprofit, significantly expanded its fight against food insecurity and environmental waste in 2023. The organization, known for rescuing nutritious meals from corporate cafeterias, hospitals, and other institutions, reached new heights by providing 72,000 meals to individuals, families, and seniors across New Jersey. Expanding operations into New Brunswick, Summit, Morristown, and Camden and intensifying efforts in Trenton and Somerville, Share My Meals recovered 83,299 pounds of food valued at $352,399. This effort fed thousands and prevented 294,539 pounds of CO2 emissions, marking a substantial environmental contribution.
Helene Lanctuit, Chief Executive Officer of Share My Meals said, “2023 was a year of partnership and innovation. By engaging more volunteers, securing additional food donations, and partnering with other nonprofits, we significantly expanded our reach to those in need and enhanced our environmental impact. Looking ahead to 2024, we are poised for even greater achievements. The recent launch of our new technology platform, built on Salesforce, enhances our meal recovery process. This innovation ensures comprehensive tracking and proper temperature control of meals, extending our operations over a broader geographical area.”
Sixty Share My Meals volunteers deliver meals directly to recipients’ homes in the Princeton area. To engage corporations to fight food waste at its roots, Share My Meals launched a corporate volunteer program last year with its key food donors Novo Nordisk, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Campbell’s, adding corporate teams to its committed volunteer base. This move increases efficiency, expands our program reach, and reduces environmental impact, since company volunteers pick up the food directly from their cafeteria kitchen and deliver it to nearby community partners before returning to work.
Share My Meals counts over 53 organizations among its food donors, including food service providers, major corporations, hospitals, and universities. In 2023, Share My Meals developed new partnerships with 24 nonprofits across the state, such as The Rescue Mission of Trenton, Agape in Somerville, and Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, to ensure that recovered meals reach the people who need them the most.
As Share My Meals reflects on this past year’s accomplishments and looks ahead, the nonprofit remains steadfast in its mission to nourish communities and foster a sustainable environment. They invite everyone to join them in this ongoing journey of service and impact.
For more information, to become a volunteer, or to support Share My Meals, please visit sharemymeals.org.
Community Losses
Noted area journalist and film writer Joyce Persico died in Trenton on January 24. She was 76.
A graduate of Cathedral High School and Rider University with a B.A. in English/Journalism, Persico was a well-known feature writer and reporter at The Times of Trenton for nearly 40 years.
It was there that she also established herself as a nationally respected film writer who profiled a who’s who list of notables in the film industry: John Wayne, Jack Lemmon, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Oliver Stone, Johnny Depp, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Frank Capra, and others.
The daughter of the late Joseph (Babe) Persico and Hedwig (Hattie) Persico of Hamilton, Persico was the recipient of numerous and prestigious awards from the New Jersey Press and the Society of Professional Journalists.
According to her obituary, she turned down several job offers by People Magazine in order to “stick to her Jersey roots and write for the people in her home state.”
While Persico’s Times of Trenton career ended during consolidations and buyouts in the early 2000s, she continued her writing career as a publicist for Har Sinai Temple in Pennington, a freelance writer for the Times of Trenton, and as an occasional film writer for US1 Newspaper.
Postings on the Times of Trenton Alumni Facebook Page celebrate Persico for her journalistic talents, kindness to young writers, and her razor sharp wit.
The Princeton Area Community Foundation announced the death of its president and CEO Jeffrey M. Vega due to a rare, aggressive cancer in an email to supporters on January 29, excerpted here:
“The Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees and staff mourn his loss, and we extend our deepest condolences to Jeff’s family,” said Board Chair Sonia Delgado. “Jeff was an exceptional leader and a wonderful man, who was deeply committed to making a difference in our communities.”
Laura Longman, who was the CFO and COO, was appointed acting president & CEO when Vega took medical leave.
“Jeff took great pride in the stellar team that he led at the Community Foundation,” said Delgado. “Laura is an outstanding executive who joined the organization more than a decade ago, and the Board of Trustees knows that she will continue that tradition of excellence.”
Vega became president & CEO of PACF in 2015. With a unique talent for working with the community, he helped grow the organization’s assets and expand its grantmaking to deepen impact.
“Jeff was dedicated to our organization, to our communities, and especially to his family,” Longman said.
During Vega’s tenure, PACF’s charitable assets grew to more than $250 million, and its grantmaking reached a new milestone: a total of $200 million in grants awarded since its founding in 1991, including more than $50 million in the last three years.
Under his leadership, the organization created its signature strategic grantmaking initiative, All Kids Thrive, a five-year, $3 million investment in a partnership of schools and nonprofits to help increase student attendance rates. Additionally, the Community Foundation created new partnerships with the Burke Foundation and Janssen to award Community Impact Grants to nonprofits helping under-resourced people in the region.
He also oversaw the creation of the Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief & Recovery Fund, which awarded more than $3.5 million to over 70 nonprofits in the region.
In 2023, Vega completed his term of service as Chair of the Board of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers.
Before joining PACF, he spent 22 years at New Brunswick Tomorrow, including 14 as its president. He earned bachelor’s degrees in human ecology, international environmental studies, and urban studies from Rutgers University, and a master’s in political science and public policy from the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
