PARSIPPANY — Kiwanis Club Lt. Governor Division 9 Frank Cahill is pleased to announce that Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany is now the largest club in New Jersey.

The New Jersey District of Kiwanis International currently has 79 active Kiwanis Clubs, with a total of 1476 members. Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany has a total of 76 active members as of Thursday, August 26.

“I recently conducted a membership drive and recruited six new members into our great organization,” said Frank Cahill. Our volunteers have been active in collecting food at various supermarkets to donate to Parsippany Human Services, been helping distribute food during our ‘Operation Feeding Morris County’, cooking at Homeless Solutions, purchasing school supplies for students in the Parsippany-Troy Hills School district, and buying ShopRite Gift Cards during the pandemic to help families purchase food. We also distribute hot meals to residents that were donated from Calabria Restaurant & Pizzeria. Our volunteers have been tremendous during the pandemic. When other people hear about the Kiwanis initiatives, they want to be part of our organization.”

During the recent membership drive in Parsippany, Cahill was able to sign up six new members, Justin Carifi, Laura Marie Ali, Kent Mancini, Tom Toomey, Jimmy Parikh, and Darshan Parikh. Laura Marie Ali was sponsored by Justin Musella.

Kiwanis Operation Feeding Morris County has distributed over 189,000 pounds of food, to 4,755 families, over 8,000 children with a retail value of over $475,000.

“Kiwanis Operation Feeding Morris County” was started in December by Kiwanis Club of Greater Roxbury President Cain Pope and has spread to many Morris County Kiwanis Club and other clubs in New Jersey as far away as Asbury Park, South Orange, Maplewood, Clifton, and Bridgewater.

Kiwanis does not ask for proof of income. The only thing we ask for is name, email address, the town of residence, and the number of children. The information is 100% confidential and is used to make sure we have a sufficient supply of food at each location and for informing the public of future food distributions.

Justin Carifi is a graduate of Parsippany Hills High School and was a former Key Club member. In addition, Tyler Lee, a Parsippany Hills High school graduate, and former Key Club member joined our club in July.

“I am so excited to be part of the greatest and largest Kiwanis chapter in the state! I was a member of the Key Club at Parsippany Hills High School and I look forward to continuing to create ways to better the children of our communities,” said Justin Carifi.

Key Club, part of the Kiwanis family, is an international service organization for high school students. As a student-led organization, Key Club’s goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. In 2020 there were 229,652 members.

“Kiwanis club members believe in service,” said Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany President Laura Wohland. “They care about children. They’re interested in the community around them because the community matters to them. They’re people like you. Friends. Neighbors. Volunteers who want to make a difference.”

“As a long-term Parsippany resident, I am excited to have the opportunity to join Kiwanis. Moving through the public school system in Parsippany, to now being a young professional, I have formed a genuine understanding and appreciation of the local community and its progressive resources. Kiwanis is an incredible, national and forward-looking, organization with a mission statement that I truly standby. Being a new member of the Parsippany Kiwanis, I look forward to working with the rest of the Kiwanis family to continue to improve and give back to this community, and beyond,” said Jimmy Parikh.

Tom Toomey said, “I’m excited and honored to join the Kiwanis Club today – they do incredible work for people that need help in our community and I look forward to doing my part.”

Laura Marie Ali couldn’t make the group swearing-in but will be sworn in at a later date by club President Laura Wohland.

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.  It is not religious-based or partisan in any way.

Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany supports ten K-Kids clubs, Lake Parsippany Elementary School, Eastlake Elementary School, Intervale School, Mt. Tabor Elementary School, Littleton Elementary School, Lake Hiawatha Elementary School, Troy Hills Elementary School, Northvail Elementary School, Knollwood School, and Rockaway Meadow Elementary School, two builders clubs, Central Middle School and Brooklawn Middle School; two Key Clubs, Parsippany Hills High School and Parsippany High School and one Aktion Club.

Interested in learning more about the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, contact President Laura Wohland, by emailing law4pres@gmail.com. Click here to view the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany website.

PARSIPPANY — “In the last 14 months, we learned how to do more with less. We learned to listen to scientists especially while making policy decisions for people,” said Michael Soriano, Mayor of Parsippany-Troy Hills.

As COVID was spreading in early 2020, his key challenges were maintaining the community’s health and enforcing the best sanitization practices in the most populous township in Morris County.

“As a team, keeping egos out and doing what’s best for the community was important,”  Mayor said. He proudly mentioned an example demonstrating how help was extended to local businesses: “Working with the building department’s director, site plans were approved quickly and outdoor dining permit fees were waived for restaurants.”

“Township community-supported leaders and the youth spirit was uplifting,”  Mayor Soriano remembers. Residents and community organizations raised money, donated food, and created masks.

This report focuses on how such local leaders outside the healthcare profession adapted during the COVID pandemic.

At the Board of Education, superintendent Dr. Barbara Sargent prioritized transition to virtual classrooms to minimize interruption in learning. “To find out who had a device and internet connection, we conducted a survey and made the necessary equipment available.” To communicate the BOE’s decisions about school schedules consistently and regularly, during rapidly shifting information, she started a Friday Letter to all parents.

As her proudest moment, Dr. Sargent notes, “Our teachers, principals, BOE members, and administrators — Wow! They rolled up sleeves and worked with sheer will, dedication, determination, innovation, and collaborative attitude!”

“Thinking ahead and planning for what we know today while anticipating the change was critical,” recalled Dr. Sargent.

“Post-pandemic,” she said, “instructional technology innovations, such as online interactions with classroom guests, will continue.”

Police Department Chief Andrew Miller said, “Accurate inventory and sanitization of Personal Protective Equipment were critical.” The Police Department managed budgets and secured emergency funds creatively. Community members provided help by sharing business contacts and donations.

The Police Department reduced indoor staff interactions by minimizing overlapping schedules.  He emphasized,  “Until late 2020, there was no COVID positive case in the department!”

Because people worked from home, burglaries went down and Calls-For-Service (CFS) was reduced by 70%. This provided additional time to officers for COVID-related training. “Officers read complex medical materials and routinely consulted with experts,” recalled Chief Miller. Sometimes, officers operated with full PPE gear for 10-12 hours which was stressful.

“I am a proud Chief!” He continued with appreciation, “The officers showed great professional attitude in serving the community while overcoming stress.”

In summary, by quickly adapting during the pandemic, these leaders continued to serve and help maintain the well-being of their communities.

This article was written Aadit Tembe, a 5th grader at the Lake Hiawatha Elementary School (LHS). He enjoys singing as well as playing musical instruments. He was the winner of LHS variety show 2020 organized by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA). Additionally, he enjoys playing cricket & soccer. 

PARSIPPANY — If you’ve lived or grown up in Parsippany, there’s a good chance that you’ve met Lou Contaldi somewhere. Lou has always been a beacon of generosity and a fixture of the town, whether he was offering some landscaping advice, coaching a PTE Little League or PAL basketball team, or bringing over a tray of sausage and peppers to a community event. He’s always happy to help with a big smile and an even bigger laugh.

Unfortunately, over the last month the Contaldi’s discovered that Lou has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer — metastasized and inoperable. Sadly, Pancreatic Cancer is among the hardest cancers to detect and treat, leading most people to find it only after it’s hit a late stage.

While it would be easy to get overwhelmed with such a serious diagnosis, the Contaldi’s — and Lou specifically — have been brought to tears from the overwhelming support the community has offered. Everyone from long-time friends to distant acquaintances has reached out, looking for ways to help. The love and support have been a massive boost to his emotional and physical wellbeing, and a testament to how much he means to those around him. With chemotherapy on the horizon, Lou is fighting hard to overcome the challenges that lie ahead.

With this in mind, Lou has a few hard months ahead of him — the nature of Pancreatic Cancer means his diet will be restricted and treatment will get costly. As the owner and sole employee of Ahead Lawn Service, Lou (at 58 years old) can’t perform the physical tasks needed to run his small family business. As the head of the house, it means the family will be dipping into retirement savings to cover both daily living expenses and medical treatment.

Lou’s always been a helping hand and generous to a fault; let’s rally as a community to support him. Any amount donated will help go towards Lou’s treatment costs and financially supporting his family through these trying times. It would also be a huge help to share this GoFundMe with friends or on social media; we are hoping to reach as many people as possible.

Thank you for any generosity, and keep Lou and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

To contribute to a GoFundMe account, click here.

To follow Prayers for Lou Contaldi, please click here.