MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Board of Freeholders has proclaimed April as Donate Life Month 2019 in Morris County to encourage county residents to consider registering as organ and tissue donors, and to celebrate those who have saved lives through the gift of donation through the NJ Sharing Network.

“Just one organ and tissue donor can save as many as eight lives and restore health to 75 others,’’ said Freeholder Director Doug Cabana.  “We commend the Morris County Donate Life Group, one of the longest-running groups in the NJ Sharing Network, for their commitment to donors, donor families, recipients and advocates.”

Accepting the proclamation at the Board of Freeholders’ March 27 meeting in Morristown was Donald Farrell, a Sharing Network ambassador and member of a donor family (including his wife Kathy), who accepted the proclamation in memory of his late son, Donald J (Donnie) Farrell III.

Also attending were Cathy Cerbo, a Sharing Network ambassador and member of a recipient family; Michele Dabal, the Sharing Network’s philanthropy and foundation coordinator and a transplant recipient; and Wendy Rothschild of CTBS Funeral Home and medical examiner liaison for the Sharing Network.

NJ Sharing Network is a non-profit organization responsible for the recovery and placement of donated organs and tissue for those in need of life-saving transplants. The organization operates 24-hours a day, year-round, with a team of more than 150 highly trained members on staff.

The group works closely with hospitals and transplant centers, has a state-of-the-art transplant laboratory that runs tests to ensure that donated organs are compatible with recipients, provides emotional care for affected families, and runs public education campaigns.

In Morris County alone, 188 people await the gift of life with the largest numbers of resident on the waiting list living in Lincoln Park and Parsippany. They are among 4,000 people in New Jersey and 115,000 Americans nation-wide awaiting life-saving transplant operations.

In 2018, the NJ Sharing network facilitated 163 organ donations and 537 life-saving transplants. Tissue donors numbered 1,027 resulting in 50,000 health-restoring graphs.

While only 33 percent of New Jersey residents are registered as organ and tissue donors, the need continues to grow. Every day, three state residents join the waiting list, and every three days a New Jersey resident dies waiting for a transplant.

The NJ Sharing Network’s mission is to save lives through organ and tissue donation by educating residents at community health fairs and events, at high schools, as well as participating in the organization’s annual 5K Celebration of Life run/walk events coming up in in May in Long Branch and June in New Providence. Other events include a golf classic and tennis tournament and cycling events.

The Morris County group meets monthly. For more information click here.

PARSIPPANY — Since 1954 Scouts BSA Boy Troop 72, chartered by Saint Peter the Apostle Church, has been proudly serving the boys of Parsippany and the surrounding area.  Over these 65 years of scouting they have seen many changes to the scouting movement and they are excited to participate in the latest transformations of the program.  They are thrilled to announce the founding and start of Scouts BSA Girl Troop 72.

On March 12, 2019, our institution head Rev. Msgr. Herbert K. Tillyer, PA signed and approved the application for this new unit to be formed with Patriots Path Council.  This unit will also be chartered by Saint Peter the Apostle Church and their troop committee will share members with the existing Scouts BSA Boy Troop 72 committee.  Scouts BSA Girl Troop 72 will provide the girls of the Parsippany area their first opportunity to participate in the Scouts BSA program which has been very much loved by the boys of the Parsippany area for many years.

Scouts BSA Boy Troop 72 currently has over 50 registered scouts and 40 registered adult leaders.  With 92 scouts having earned the rank of Eagle Scout since our founding, we are excited for this opportunity to share the values of scouting with more youth in the Parsippany area.

The new troop is forming now, with some scouts coming from the Cub Scout program.  They are pleased to now welcome anyone between the ages of 11 and 17 to join our units.  If you would like more information, please email scoutsbsa@parsippanytroop72.org.

PARSIPPANY — The Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany is proud to support Prevent Child Abuse NJ in their Pinwheels for Prevention® campaign.

This month the Kiwanis Club kicked off Child Abuse Prevention Month setting up pinwheel gardens and displays, set up at the Parsippany Town Hall, Governor Livingston Park, Empire Diner, Veterans Park, Gazebo at Lake Hiawatha and Cerbo Lumber.

Many pinwheel gardens are set up to bring attention to the importance of ensuring great childhoods for all children because our children are our future. Gourmet Cafe purchased the pinwheels which will be used in the pinwheel gardens and displays. Parsippany and Cedar Knolls IHOP will also have pinwheels throughout the restaurant supporting Prevent Child Abuse. They will also collect donations throughout the month of April for Child Abuse Prevention Month.

All throughout April you will see pinwheels on display around the Parsippany and Lake Hiawatha areas as the symbol of this very thought…that all children deserve a great childhood because they are our future.

And while the pinwheel can do many things — bring smiles, lift spirits, call for healthy starts for all children — the one thing it cannot do is move on its own.  Be the force that makes it move, bringing about real change for children in the United States.  Protecting our children is everyone’s job…it’s your turn to make a difference!

Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the pinwheel as the new national symbol for child abuse prevention through Pinwheels for Prevention®. What their research showed, and what their experiences since then have borne out, is that people respond to the pinwheel. By its very nature, the pinwheel connotes whimsy and childlike notions. In essence, it has come to serve as the physical embodiment, or reminder, of the great childhoods we want for all children.

Since 1983, April has been a time to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse.  As we look upon the faces of the many children in our communities and think about all of the children around the world that suffer at the hands of others, let’s remember that April may be Child Abuse Prevention Month, but unfortunately abuse happens every day.  That is why every year, during the month of April, communities across the country come together to focus on this startling issue and on the need for widespread prevention and public awareness campaigns to reduce the number of children who, sadly, are victims of abuse.  Close to 700,000 children were victims of child abuse; and almost 1,700 children died as a result of abuse or neglect.

During a recent Kiwanis meeting, Julie Sorano Co-Director of the Kiwanis “Young Children Priority One” program explained, “As an organization that focuses on children, there is one goal that we are looking to achieve…to raise awareness of the many ways people can get involved in the fight against child abuse:  First, we can get educated, so you can learn to recognize the signs of child abuse, so you can be that one person with courage to step up for these children and report abuse when you suspect it.  Secondly, you can volunteer or support your child advocacy centers (Prevent Child Abuse-NJ ) by calling to determine how you can support them, because every children’s advocacy center can benefit from your support for their programs and services they provide to child victims of abuse and neglect.  And lastly, but most importantly we must help break the silence surrounding child abuse by raising awareness and spreading the word.  These children deserve a voice, because this problem has been overlooked for far too long and you can open the doors on this crime of secrecy, because we can all make a difference for these children.”

To learn more about what you can do to help prevent child abuse, contact Pamela Stalcup, Director of Development & Communications for Prevent Child Abuse-NJ at (732) 246-8060 or click here.

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. The Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany meets every Thursday at 7:15 a.m. at the Empire Diner, 1315 Route 46.  New members are always welcome. (Click here for more information on Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany).

Kiwanis Pinwheel Gardens

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PARSIPPANY — Debbie King was seven years old in 1963 when her father, James Ryan, co founded a nonprofit to help people heal from mental illness and cope with life’s challenges. But it would be years before King grasped the powerful, lasting impact NewBridge Services would make in local communities.

She recalled a day in her mid-20s when the family drove past the nonprofit’s day treatment program for adults with serious mental illness, now called NewBridge Crossroads. King pointed out the odd scene of tropical plants on the property, which sits close to Newark-Pompton Turnpike in Pequannock.

“My father explained they were part of the horticultural therapy program, which was really helping clients,” she said. “That’s when I started to understand what NewBridge was all about.”

King is now president of NewBridge Services Board of Trustees, just as her father had been.

“I really believe in the mission of NewBridge, and I think my father would be very proud and happy that I’m continuing in his footsteps,” the lifelong Pequannock resident said. Ryan, a highly decorated World War II veteran, served several terms as board president, and remained an avid supporter until his death in 2005, at age 84.

NewBridge began as the Pequannock Valley Mental Health Center, providing mental health services to seven eastern Morris County towns. It continually expanded its scope and service areas, taking the name NewBridge Services in 1998, the year it earned national accreditation. NewBridge now provides counseling, housing and education to more than 7,200 children, adults and seniors in five northern New Jersey counties.

A longtime NewBridge supporter, King became an active volunteer when she retired from a 34-year career in retail. She spent 23 of those years as vice president and division merchandising manager of women’s shoes for Bloomingdales. She recently stepped down as chair of the Fashion Footwear Association of New York, and still serves on its board.

King joined the NewBridge Gala Committee in 2015, the year she and her husband, George, donated $5,000 to NewBridge Jobs Plus, the nonprofit’s alternative education and career program. (Bloomingdales made a matching donation.) NewBridge dedicated a classroom to her father and mother, Marie.

“My father really believed in education,” she said, noting he earned a dual degree in chemical engineering from Saint Lawrence University in New York and Massachusetts Institute of Technology after World War II. A first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Ryan earned a Purple Heart, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster.

King has been a hands-on leader since joining the board of trustees in 2018. She is involved in revitalizing the Enrich horticulture program, and challenged another nonprofit’s decision to adopt the nearly identical name to NewBridge. She is chair of the Legacy of Hope Gala, which will be held May 9 at The Legacy Castle in Pequannock. (Click here  to buy purchase and take advantage of sponsorship and ad journal opportunities.)

“Jim and Marie Ryan made such a positive impact on the lives of people with mental illness and their families, and we are fortunate Debbie is carrying their torch forward,” NewBridge CEO Robert L. Parker. “Debbie brings to the table leadership and business acumen that is helping to ensure a vibrant future for NewBridge and all the people it serves.”

The other members of the 2019 NewBridge officers are: Vice President David Crapo, Treasurer Isobel Wayrick and Secretary Rich Paliwoda.  

NewBridge Services, a 501c(3) nonprofit, is a leading provider of counseling services, housing and educational programs in northern New Jersey serving 7,200 adults and seniors last year alone. NewBridge treats mental illnesses and addictions; teaches skills for coping with stress, grief and challenging relationships; helps children who have been abused and neglected — and their families — heal; builds and manages affordable housing; offers school-based programs that teach children and adolescents resiliency skills for healthy emotional development; helps young adults succeed in their education and prepare for careers; and supports seniors so they can remain independent. Throughout its 56-year history, NewBridge has remained true to its mission of bringing balance to people’s lives by tracking shifts in communities’ needs and providing innovative, effective programs to meet them.

PARSIPPANY — Parsippany-Troy Hills Council President Paul Carifi, Jr., is reminding residents of the upcoming regular council meeting on Tuesday, April 2 starting at 7:00 p.m.

The public is invited to attend all meetings. A portion of each meeting will be set aside for public comment. Formal action may or may not be taken at all scheduled meetings. Ending time is approximate.

Any individual who is a qualified disabled person under the American with Disabilities Act may request auxiliary aids such as a sign interpreter or a tape recorder to be used for a meeting. Auxiliary aids must be requested at least 72 hours prior to the meeting. Please call (973) 263-4351 to make a request for an auxiliary aid.

PARSIPPANY — How do you spell generosity?  TBA!  Member families and Parsippany ShopRite supplied all the ShopRite “building blocks” needed to build Noah’s Ark.

On Sunday March 24, volunteers, led by Stu Bauer of Temple Shalom, built the Ark in the lobby of Temple Beth Am.

The “builders” painstakingly assembled the ark from food taped together, from the base of spaghetti to the roof of Mac N Cheese.  The “tunafish” are swimming in bottles of water, and the animals are aboard ready to set sail.