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Jersey Cares
The Volunteer Voice
Vol 4, Issue 12 Be the change. Volunteer. December 2015
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Hey
In this season of giving, consider giving some of your time.
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As far as we're concerned, it's as good as winter here in New Jersey! For everyone wishing away windy days in exchange for a beachy breeze, don't get us wrong--life is a beach over the summer, but it's really over the winter that charity shines brightest.
Around Jersey Cares, we're dreaming of coats, making wishes come true, and inspiring even more volunteerism in the year ahead. Now in its 20th year,
The Annual Jersey Cares Coat Drive
is going strong, and it's all thanks to your donations that come in every day. If you haven't cleared out last year's winter closet, it isn't too late to free up some space while helping bundle up a Jersey resident!
Also in this wintery mix is
Frosty's Friends
, which is a great way to add a little spirit to your office. Nothing brings coworkers together quite like sharing in the giving season by gifting a child with their wish come true.
Thanksgiving may be over, but when you volunteer in your community, the season of being thankful has only just begun.
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365 Days of Volunteering:
Every day, we need you to make a change in our communities. Check out some of our favorite projects this month:
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From dog walkers to doctors, from chefs to chiefs of police, we need you!
Join us for a fun and rewarding day inspiring youth to think about their future on
Thursday, December 3. You have the opportunity to share your current career or one you held in the past. The day will be split between middle and elementary school aged groups.
To learn more about how you can share your own career and which age group is a best match to your job, please
email Lucy
.
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Tutor and mentor a child, and you teach them anything is possible.
This rewarding project allows volunteers to make a profound difference in students' lives by giving them the courage and confidence to flourish and become our leaders of tomorrow. Tutoring across the disciplines, you have a chance to make a child's day every
Tuesday and
Thursday from
6-7:00 pm.
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Volunteer Star: Kara Gropler
This month's Volunteer Star of the Month is Kara Gropler, a jet-setting, back-packing, all-around fabulous Project Coordinator born and bred in New Jersey. Three years ago, her very first project was Tutor and Mentor in West Orange, and, to this day, she PCs the very same project with her whole heart. Though she travels every month for work, "New Jersey is home for me," says Kara...
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Share your stories
We want to hear from you! Did you just volunteer for the first time? Have you been with us from the beginning? Are you excited to volunteer with your sorority,your best friends, or your coworkers?
Pitch us a a story or nominate someone for an interview, and you could be featured on the Jersey Cares website and social media outlets!
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Become a Volunteer Leader
Project Coordinators (or PCs) are the backbone of Jersey Cares, and we're looking for a few good volunteers to fill this role! This is an opportunity to gain leadership skills, meet new people, and play an active role in shaping your favorite volunteer projects. This is an ideal position for teachers, business professionals, students, and more! Whether you want to break into the nonprofit world or you want to make a real difference in your community, we would love to have you!
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Lights, Camera, TAKE ACTION!
Teen Leadership Council
Launching in Spring 2016, Jersey Cares is starting up a teen volunteer leadership cohort that meets monthly in Essex County to tackle an impact area in their community. Tentative topics include:
- hunger and homelessness
- environment
- health and wellness
- youth mentoring
- senior services
This is a wonderful opportunity for high schoolers to gain leadership experience, get exposed to the world of volunteering and nonprofits, and make meaningful connections with other volunteers!
For more information on how to get involved, please contact Lucy Doyle at [email protected].
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More than just an article of clothing, your coat can open opportunities for someone who needs one. You can enable a job-seeker to continue his search during the winter. You can enable a student to focus on her studies in a cold classroom. Or you can help a senior go out for medication in a storm.
Jersey Cares plans to collect and distribute more than 30,000 "gently used" winter coats to men, women and children in need throughout New Jersey through The 20
th Annual Jersey Cares Coat Drive.
We currently need help with donating, collecting, and sorting coats.
This year, Jersey Cares is excited to announce our YouGiveGoods page, where you can donate a coat with the click of a button! After you donate your coats, YouGiveGoods will email you a tax-deductible receipt.
To sponsor your own drive and see how many coats your office or group can collect, email
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 Is your office looking for a way to give back this season? This year,
Frosty's Friends is matching companies, groups, and individuals with non-profit organizations to help provide holiday presents to children who need them the most. (Because as many parents know, sometimes a glow-in-the-dark hula hoop can make a child's entire year!)
This year, we have 4,000 letters to answer from children across the state of New Jersey. Help us show them that they are special and cared for by signing up to answer some of their letters!
If you are interested in receiving a group of letters for yourself and your coworkers to answer, please contact Jennifer Lewellen at
[email protected] or at (973) 533-1993. If you are an individual volunteer, check out website in early December for the Amazon wish list!
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Corporate Corner
Bright green "changenator" shirts could be seen throughout the state during BNP's National Volunteer Week this October. The company kicked off their week of service at a public school in Paterson by engaging students in Anti-Bullying workshops, painting vibrant murals in the hallways, and installing a school pride mural on the playground fence. In the following days, volunteers visited a state park in Jersey City to plant winter bulbs, weed, and mulch over 50 trees. Additionally, a Jersey City high school received numerous school pride murals, a weeded and landscaped campus, and newly assembled and stained picnic tables and benches thanks to volunteer efforts. Continued thanks to BNP for proving they are a bank for changing the world!
For more information on the Jersey Cares Corporate Service Program, please contact
Michelle Dee.
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290 West Mount Pleasant Ave, Suite 1320 | Livingston, NJ 07039 | O: 973-533-1993
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