Times Talk
Diller Home Board Members and fellow Lions Club members, Joe Ostrowski, Mike Sowers, Chuck Covington, and John Molnar accept the Lions Club donation of $30,000.
LIONS CLUB DONATES $30,000 TO HELEN L. DILLER HOME
Members of the Avalon Lions Club gathered at the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children on Aug. 16 for the club’s annual end-of-summer barbecue and presented the Diller Home with a $30,000 donation from the proceeds raised by the club’s annual Charity Golf Classic.
“We just finished our 47th year as a home for blind and visually impaired children,” said Chuck Covington, Vice President of the Diller board who also belongs to the Lions Club. “We hosted 160 young people between the ages of 7 to 15 this year. We take in 20 campers a week for eight weeks. This donation helps fund all the improvements that we need to make on an annual basis for the home. We thank the Avalon Lions Club for this donation and for every impact it has on the kids who are able to stay here.”
Also at the barbecue, the Lions Club inducted four new members: Barbara Macintosh, Susan McDermott and Irene and Glenn Haas. Club President Marianne Snyder spoke to the inductees of their duties as members: “Since June 2002, we have been helping the less fortunate people in need living in our local Cape May County community. We are very proud of our successes and ask that you join us and become a dedicated member who is willing to help carry on this tradition of service to our community.”
Landon, Willie and Reise Tozour pose with librarian Kelly McCorristin for plastic-cap collection.
SCHOOLS COLLECTING BOTTLE CAPS FOR BUDDY BENCHES
Avalon Stone Harbor Schools is collecting plastic bottle caps with the goal of recycling them into two buddy benches: one for Stone Harbor School and one for Avalon School. Spearheaded by Guidance Counselor Alanna Smallwood and Librarian Kelly McCorristin, the goal is to obtain 400 pounds of plastic caps for Stone Harbor School and then 400 pounds for Avalon’s school. Collections started this summer and will continue until the total goal of 800 pounds is met.
“Alanna and I are very excited about this project,” McCorristin said. “A buddy bench has been on our radar for a while and we had talked about using money from a wellness grant to purchase one. But once we saw that there was an opportunity to involve our students, we decided to go this route and make it a district-wide project.”
The project got the enthusiastic support of Chief School Administrator Stacey Tracy and Curriculum Coordinator Renee Murtaugh.
“When we shared this idea with Mrs. Tracy and Dr. Murtaugh, it became an all-hands-on-deck project with everyone brainstorming how we could maximize our collection and tie the project to other green initiatives in our schools,” McCorristin said. “Projects that involve our students, staff, families, and community are special and have a lasting impact on all involved.”
A buddy bench is a spot to foster friendships on the playground. Smallwood and McCorristin had come across the ABC Promise Program through Green Tree Plastics.
The project is not just limited to drink bottle caps; there are many plastic caps that can help the school meet their goal.
Acceptable caps and lids include: drink bottle caps, medicine bottle caps, milk jug caps, detergent caps, hair spray caps, toothpaste caps, deodorant caps, flip-top plastic caps, spout caps, spray paint caps, ointment tube caps and caps with Recycle Numbers 2, 4, 5. Lids from cottage cheese containers, mayonnaise jars, yogurt, peanut butter/similar butters jars, cool whip containers, coffee cans, plastic lids from cream cheese and butter containers are also acceptable.
Caps can be dropped off at Avalon School, Stone Harbor School, and the Avalon Free Public Library lobby. Pick up can be arranged for large quantities of caps by emailing mccorristin@avesnj.org. The collection journey will be shared on the school’s Facebook page: Avalon Stone Harbor Schools.
Members of the American Legion Post 331 present a check to members of the DAV. From left: Debbie West, Chaplain James Betz, Russ Migeot, Fred Trasatti Jr., Bob McGeehan, Tom McCullough, Martha Schulz, Jon Ready and John Morrison.
POST 331 DONATES $1,000 TO DISABLED VETS GROUP
Members of American Legion Post 331 presented a donation of $1,000 to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) on Monday, Aug. 13 at its post at 117th Street. Legion Commander Tom McCullough presented the check to Bob McGeehan, commander of DAV Chapter 44, to help pay its vehicle insurance.
“We had found out that one of the DAV’s major sponsors backed out and couldn’t contribute this year,” said McCullough. “We’re just so happy to help veterans in this community. A lot of our members utilize this means of transportation to go to Delaware and Philadelphia to go to the VA hospital for medical problems, dental work, vision care and prescriptions, and when we found out they were in need, this is the avenue we want to support. This is what we are about – our pillars are giving back and to support the community and veterans, and this encompasses both.”
The DAV needs approximately $6,200 to cover its insurance costs for three vans used to transport vets to health-care appointments throughout the Delaware Valley. In addition to the donation from Post 331, a gofundme page was set up by Middle Township Committeeman Tim Donohue to help the DAV reach its goal.
Donations can be sent online through the page at gofundme.com/dav-heroes-need-our-help%20. To learn more about the transportation vans go to dav44.org/van.html.
Avalon’s 9/11 Memorial located near Veterans Plaza.
SPECIAL 9/11 CEREMONY SET FOR AVALON
The Borough of Avalon and its community members will join for a special ceremony on Sept. 11 at Veterans Plaza in conjunction with the visit of 40 veterans from across the United States, San Diego to Florida. The event, on the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America, will begin at 8:45am with greetings from Avalon Business Administrator Scott Wahl and a welcome by Steve Cloetingh, CEO of Military Veteran Partners.
Mayor Martin Pagliughi will lead the ceremony alongside American Legion Post 331 Commander Tom McCullough. Stone Harbor Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour and members of Borough Council will also attend the ceremony.
Every quarter, Military Veteran Partners (MVP) hosts a meeting for its veteran entrepreneur partners. The goal of each meeting is to discuss strategic issues that impact their businesses, provide training and mentoring, and create opportunities for veteran owners to create a camaraderie and sense of family like they experienced while they were serving in the military.
“When we saw that our meeting was falling around 9/11, we knew we had to do something before we could start our business meeting,” said Suzanne Harris, of MVP. “September 11th changed all of our lives, but it changed the lives of our partners in ways we can’t imagine. For some of them, it inspired them to serve their country. For some, 9/11 was the reason they were deployed to the Middle East. They left their families behind. Many of our partners lost friends and loved ones. They’ve suffered and overcome trauma and injury. So, I called Sue Keen in the mayor’s office to ask if we could hold a memorial service in Veterans Plaza. I was overwhelmed by the response from the mayor’s office, the American Legion and the Avalon Community.”
The ceremony will include guest speakers First Sgt. Matthew Eversmann of the U.S. Army and Master Gunnery Sgt. Ray Gagnon of the U.S. Marine Corps. American Legion Post 331 will present a flag ceremony and the 7 Mile Singers will honor our nation with the national anthem. Father Mark Cavagnaro of St. Brendan the Navigator Parish will provide the invocation and Rev. Dr. David Montanye of the First Methodist Church will give the benediction. Students from Stone Harbor and Avalon Elementary School will sing “God Bless America” and members of the American Legion will do a rifle salute and perform “Taps” at the end of the ceremony.
