Jersey City Heroes in Action

During our April 29th Jersey City Heroes in Action Instagram livestream, we interviewed heroes from seven incredible organizations and heard all about their amazing causes benefiting our community. Each had 20 minutes to give information about what they’re doing and who they’re helping as well as share stories of hope, humanity, and finding their purpose during a time of uncertainty.

It’s easy to get involved! Check out our list of these organizations and links to ways you can help through donations, volunteering, or just spreading the word through social media.

 

AngelaCares

Founded by Angela McKnight, Assemblywoman of the 31st District, AngelaCares’ mission is to support senior citizens, their caregivers, and empower the youth to volunteer in Hudson County. The organization’s relief efforts during COVID include organizing grocery bagging and delivery to JC seniors two times a week with over 200 drop offs in one day! McKnight started the organization in 2011 by bringing Thanksgiving meals to over 1,000 seniors. Now, she’s raised over $50,000 to date to buy weekly groceries for over 2,200 seniors in Hudson County, ensuring they’re staying fed and safe in their homes throughout this crisis.

“I’m doing this because I wouldn’t be in my right mind if I wasn’t doing something,” said McKnight. “Call a neighbor on your block and see if they need anything. If you make food and can share a plate, do that. Every little bit helps.”

Please visit their food pantry, open to anyone in need on Friday, 5/1 from 3:00-6:00 p.m. at 696 Ocean Ave. Donations and volunteers are needed. To volunteer, message Angela on any platform with your phone number and availability.

Contact:

Website: http://angelacares.org/

Instagram/Facebook: @AngelaCaresInc

Donation Page: http://angelacares.org/donate/

 

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Hudson County Hunger Project

Founded by Mory Thomas, co-owner and chef at Square 1 Community Eatery in Journal Square, and Dr. Leeja Carter, the Hudson County Hunger Project was born out of a discussion between the friends about the impact of the pandemic on our community and restaurants and feeling compelled to help. The program was created to address Hudson County’s most critical hunger needs one meal at a time by providing warm, fresh meals to the most vulnerable population of seniors, homeless, and citizens with disabilities. The co-founders partnered with the Hudson County Department of Health & Human Services and local restaurants to put together pre-made, nutritious, restaurant-quality meals and make 200-300 drop offs per week. So far, 711 meals have been delivered in Hudson County. As a chef, it’s important to Thomas to make food for the people receiving these meals that he would eat himself. For example, a favorite menu item is the bacon and thyme meatloaf with homemade mashed potatoes and fresh green beans.

“Our senior population is going to have to stay home longer than us as things open up because they’re at a higher risk,” said Thomas. “You have this whole new population of seniors and people with disabilities who have never been in this situation before and need help. We’re honored and happy to help during this surreal time.”

Outside of the project, Square 1 is open to the public only on Saturdays and serving their top five most popular menu items of all time for pick up and take away. To volunteer, DM through Instagram.

Contact:

Website: https://www.square1jc.com/

Instagram/Facebook: @HudsonCountyHungerProject

Donation Page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/hudsoncountyhunger

 

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JC Relief Squad (ChicpeaJC & Premiere Vibes)

The JC Relief Squad, founded by Lynn Hazan, owner of ChicpeaJC.com, and Brian Kuan, founder of Premier Vibes Inc., started out as a GoFundMe created on March 22 with the hope of utilizing their far-reaching networks to raise a few hundred dollars to purchase food and necessities for essential workers. To date, in just over a month, the site has raised over $32,000 and is still climbing towards a $40,000 goal. Hazan and Kuan used the funds to buy meals supplies, shampoo, cleaning supplies, groceries, masks, and more for essential workers and have now shifted to helping anyone they can in need in the community thanks to the incredible amount of money donated, including delivering 110 pizzas from Tony Boloney’s to local seniors. They are also taking donations of household items or food from neighbors that have a little extra that they want to see go to someone who needs it more than they do, which they will pick up, no questions asked.

“We all went crazy in the beginning and bought too much sh*t, no judgement” said Hazan. “If you have extra food or cleaning supplies, we’ll gladly take it off your hands to donate it to someone in need.”

Please visit the GoFundMe page to donate and reach out to the JC Relief Squad page on Instagram to volunteer or offer donations.

Contact:

Website: https://jcrelief.org/

Instagrams/Facebooks: @JCReliefSquad @chicpeajc @premierevibes

Donation Page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/food-amp-necessities-for-jc-covid19

 

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Welcome Home Jersey City

Established in 2016, Welcome Home Jersey City is an all-volunteer organization helping newly arrived refugees and asylees to the Jersey City area by providing education, employment, and material resources, from furniture to help with rent money to food. Pre-COVID, they hosted the weekly Jersey City Fun Club, which is a safe place for these families who fled violence and oppression to gather and practice English, get help with homework, eat a meal together, and go home with some shelf stable food and fresh vegetables. Now, the Fun Club has gone virtual, which has presented new challenges and opportunities for everyone in the program to learn and adapt. One challenge was that most of the families did not have laptops, which hinders the children especially from attending online school. Through a donation drive, Welcome Home has been able to provide over 50 laptops to families in the past three weeks and are continuing to help recipients learn critical digital skills that will continue to benefit them once the crisis is over.

“A laptop is not a cheap donation,” said Alain Mentha, Program Contact. “It was considered a luxury item for a long time but now that everyone’s child is at home … I think a lot of donors are realizing how essential a laptop at home is and are really opening up with pocketbooks, which we’re grateful for. We want the same opportunities for every child in the district.”

The best way to donate is to check out Welcome Home’s Amazon Wishlist that makes it easy to click and ship your chosen products directly to the organization.

Contact:

Website: https://welcomehomerefugees.org/

Instagram/Facebook: @WelcomeHomeJerseyCity

Amazon Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2HCXEY40WDKN2?ref_=wl_share

 

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High Rise High Five

When we talk about essential workers, we need to acknowledge the amazing people who show up to work every day to make our day-to-day lives easier and safe. Next-door neighbors, Sarah Karp Ward and Ashley Faison, at The Gotham high-rise in Downtown, were talking from their connected balconies one day about the incredible job the building’s 11 full-time staff was doing to sanitize the elevators, sign and carry up the enormous amount of packages coming to the building, and generally going above and beyond to keep the building’s residents comfortable. They started by going around the building with old-school rallying with flyers designed by Faison’s daughter to collect gifts for the staff before setting up the GoFundMe on April 18 to easily collect more money to be evenly spread between the staff, which has to date collected over $2,000 (now $2,560 as of 5/02/2020).

“They make our work from life home possible, so we wanted to say thank you,” said Faison, “We went around and posted about this idea and got internal gifts from people in the building to rally around and thank them.”

“It’s been really exciting watching the donations come in and to learn the names of people in my building I didn’t know before and just build on that community,” said Karp.

With backgrounds in non-profits and marketing, the duo would love to offer their guidance for those interested in starting a similar movement in their buildings and neighborhoods. If you’re interested, DM @luckykarp or email Sarah Karp Ward at skw@luckykarp.com.

Contact:

Website: https://www.luckykarp.com/hrh5

Instagram/Facebook: @LuckyKarp

Donation Page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/highrisehighfive

 

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York Street Project

The York Street Project, a multi-faceted social service agency, has been helping women create self-fulfilled and self-sufficient lives through education, housing, and childcare for 30 years. Right now, they are focusing their efforts and ramping up aid to families experiencing homelessness and housing 42 low-income, working women living in their rooming house, which because of donations, they are able to live rent-free during the crisis. Living in a shelter is difficult under any circumstances, and the staff and volunteers are doing everything they can to make sure all of their residents’ needs are met. They’re providing housing while teaching good hygiene and social distancing and working with mothers to teach them how to best help their kids with school. They were recently able to buy Chromebooks for children to continue schooling online and won’t fall any further behind in school despite the tough situation they’re in.

“All of the donations we get in allow us the opportunity to keep them home,” said Suzanne Burn, Executive Director of York Street Project. “We’ve been extremely fortunate. We have not had a single positive case of anyone, staff or residents, in our program, which has been amazing. I think it is a testament to our staff and a testament to residents who are taking it seriously.”

The best way to donate is to check out the Project’s Amazon Wish List. Currently there are several newborns under three months old being sheltered that are in need of diapers and formula, which you can easily click and send directly to the Project through Amazon.

Contact:

Website: https://yorkstreetproject.org/

Instagram/Facebook: @YorkStreetProject

Donation Page: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/Nzg3ODQ=

Amazon Wish List: https://smile.amazon.com/hz/charitylist/ls/37V9BHNJNYU20/ref=smi_cl_lol_lls1_ls1

 

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WomenRising

Because of shelter-in-place and social distancing mandates, domestic violence numbers have surged in the past month, making the home a more dangerous place than ever before for some women and children. Established in 1905, McGinley Square-based WomenRising helps women and their families in need of safety from domestic violence, freedom from substance abuse, and safe homes for children. The community-based organization assists women in achieving self-sufficiency and to live safe, productive, and fulfilling lives, through social services, economic development, and advocacy services. They are continuing their efforts to offer counseling, shelter women from danger during COVID, and protect victims/potential victims of domestic violence with confidential services and undisclosed location housing to separate them from their abusers. They also offer a 24/7 domestic violence hotline to report abuse or suspected abuse in a safe, secure way.

“If you’re in danger during isolation, please reach out to Women Rising to get the help you deserve,” said Devan Tierney, Development and Communication Coordinator. “Check on your loved ones because you don’t know what someone is going through … because everything can look peachy on the outside.”

The best way to donate right now is through monetary donations and gift cards to continue serving the women and families of Hudson County. Please visit their Donate page below for more information.

Contact:

24/7 Abuse Hotline: 201-333-5700

Website: https://www.womenrising.org/

Instagram: @WomenRisingInc

Donation Page: https://www.womenrising.org/donate

 

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Please also check out the #HudsonGives event, a 24-hour, online giving day of donations and celebrating all of the incredible nonprofits in Hudson County, on May 14. Visit https://www.hudsongives.org/ for more information.

At EverythingJerseyCity.com, we are a source of good news, and it’s important to us to cover the amazing things our neighbors are doing and finding gold nuggets in our community to share with the world. We’re always interested in hearing more stories! Please reach out on Instagram at @everythingjerseycity or email Managing Editor, Leslie Victori at leslie@everythingjerseycity.com with your tips to be used in a future feature article.