On behalf of the Plainsboro Fire Company and the Board of Commissioners of Plainsboro Fire District No. 1, we would like to thank the community for its overwhelming support of our food and clothing drive to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York.
Thanks to your contributions, we were able to make more than 30 relief trips to Bay Head, Brick Township, Long Branch, Point Pleasant, Queens, Sea Bright, Stafford Township, Staten Island, Toms River, Tuckerton and Union Beach. We were also able to support the relief efforts of the FDNY Foundation, the FDNY Community Education program, the Ocean County Firefighters Association, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the Brick Township PAL, St. Robert Bellarmine Church, Freehold, and the Osbornville Baptist Church, Brick Township.
Your donations also provided needed supplies for the Plainsboro Food Pantry, a box truck full of food for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, which was delivering 100,000 pounds of food per day to affected communities, and backpacks for a nutrition program sponsored by the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean.
Not all of those affected by the storm lived along the coast. The storm and resulting power outages meant lost wages for many people in central New Jersey and long lines at social services agencies here at home. We also delivered food, clothing, and other needed items to support the outreach programs of Trinity Church of Princeton, the Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, the Rescue Mission of Trenton, HomeFront in Lawrence, and Elijah’s Promise in New Brunswick.
We were joined by several emergency services colleagues. We’re grateful to the Plainsboro Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for helping us receive and sort donations, and staff the firehouse. We’re also thankful for the support of our fellow firefighters and friends from the East Windsor #2, Kendall Park, Princeton Junction, and West Windsor fire companies.
Several people and organizations provided significant support. We’d like to thank Franc and Mickey Gambatese of Grovers Mill Coffee Roasting Company for sponsoring a highly successful benefit concert with Sand Aid NJ. We’re grateful to the members of the WW-P Education Association, the JNM Foundation, and the employees of NRG Energy and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Special thanks to the Wicoff School kindergarteners whose cards were delivered directly to students in Queens and Staten Island.
Working together, we were able to deliver an incredible amount of help quickly and effectively. We were also able to share the true spirit of our communities with those in need at a time when they needed that support and care the most. Thank you.
Ted Wagner
Chair, Board of Commissioners
Jim Pedley
Plainsboro Fire Chief
Mike Ruskuski
President, Plainsboro Fire
