River View Observer -New Book Pick for December

“A  book All Americans Should be Reading.” -River View Observer

While most of us sleep, they stand guard. While we drive to work, they search for roadside IED’s. While we raid the fridge for snacks, they hunt for terrorists. “They” are U.S. soldiers and Marines. The Department of Defense reports that nearly 4,800 American troops have been killed and more than 33,000 have been wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq since both operations started in 2001 and 2003 respectively. For many Americans, the casualties evoke a sense of fleeting sadness that often fades by the end of the evening news. But for the families of our troops, anxiety and fear are constant companions.

Connie McClellan is an intimate acquaintance of heart-stopping fear. She’s received alarming news three times since her son, Marine Lance Corporal John McClellan, deployed overseas. The first two messages came just days apart. Her son was shot two times—in the same arm—in a one week period while serving as a machine gunner in Afghanistan.

Continue reading Faith Under Pressure:A Marine’s Story of Miraculous Survival →

Regis Philbin, stage and screen star, game show host and popular host of “Live with Regis & Kelly,” visited his old friend Father Joe Orsini of Bayonne, New Jersey on Wednesday December 17. Regis and Father Joe Orsini had lunch at Bayonne’s newest restaurant, Ten East.
   

Pictured above with Ten East owners Patrick Franconeri (left) and Anthony Franconeri (second from left) are Regis Philibin and Father Joe Orsini, enjoying lunch together at Ten East Restaurant.

HelpLight New Jersey Donates 575 Light Bulbs
www.helplightnj.com

Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, members of the Municipal Council, and HelpLight NJ recently delivered 575 light bulbs on Friday, December 12, 2008 to senior citizens residing at Berry Gardens Community Hall at 92 Danforth Avenue in Jersey City.
HelpLight New Jersey, an organization founded by high school students John Caddock and Matthew Erickson, initially began distributing light bulbs to local food pantries and senior centers.

Continue reading JERSEY CITY STUDENTS LIGHT THE WAY →

 New Jersey Food Bank Needs Your Help……

Economy Leaves Americans with Empty Plates

 More than 35 million Americans, including 12 million children, either live with or are on the verge of hunger. In New Jersey alone,estimated 250,000 new clients will be seeking sustenance this year from the state’s food banks. But recently, as requests for food assistance have risen, food donations are on the decline, leaving food bank shelves almost empty and hungry families waiting for something to eat. 

The situation is dire, no more so than at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the largest food bank in the state, where requests for food have gone up 30 percent, but donations are down by 25 percent. Warehouse shelves that are typically stocked with food are bare and supplies have gotten so low that, for the first time in its 25 year history, the food bank is developing a rationing mechanism.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vXH_aBJKcE4

As the state’s key distributor of food to local banks – serving more than 500,000 people a year and providing assistance to nearly 1,700 non-profits in the state – the stability of replenishment of the CFBNJ is essential to ensuring that individuals in need have access to food.

If everyone could just do a little, it would help those in need a lot. To help, people can:

Make a monetary contribution: Visit http://njfoodbank.org.
Donate food: Drop off a bag of food at your local food pantry.
Organize a food drive: We can help explain the logistics of starting a food drive. Just call 908-355-FOOD.
Help “Check Out Hunger:” Look for the “Check Out Hunger” coupons at your local supermarket and donate. No donation is too small!

One thing that people commonly confuse is the role of the food bank.  The CFBNJ is similar to a wholesale distributor, as they provide food to more than 1,600 charities throughout the state, which then give food directly to the hungry (the food bank does not give food directly to individuals).  The food bank also does not accept small amounts of food, such as a cart of groceries.  They encourage those donations go directly to a local food pantry or soup kitchen.  Rather, the food bank accepts large quantity food donations, such as a truck full of groceries, as well as monetary donations which they stretch to purchase food at wholesale prices, such as 300 lb. bags of rice, for example.

Where you can help in Hudson County

Continue reading We Can’t Let This Bank Fail →