The Relief Fund and Jersey Cares will mobilize 5,000 volunteers in Ocean, Monmouth, Atlantic, and Bergen counties for two days of service in highly impacted communities. Volunteers can sign-up to participate on Saturday, October 26th, or Tuesday, October 29th for team, individual and family friendly activities. Project types include:

• Beach Clean-ups and Fence Installation
• Bench, Picnic Table, Raised Bed and Lifeguard Stand Assembly
• Debris/Sand Removal
• Field/Park Revitalization
• Home Repairs/Rebuilding
• Meal Service for Early Responders
• Mural Painting, Line Game Painting in Schools
• Welcome Home Painting Kit Assembly

“We are proud to partner with Jersey Cares for the launch of Sandy Service Day: Remember. Rebuild. Recover. to mark New Jersey’s first year of recovery after Hurricane Sandy,” said First Lady Mary Pat Christie, Chair of the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund. “We hope many will join us to continue the spirit of compassion and service that united people one-year ago. The Garden State has made great strides to rebuild, but there are many in need of a helping hand and this effort seeks to provide that as we remember Hurricane Sandy and look toward the future.”

“The Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund has been a great partner to non-profit organizations working with recovery efforts. We are honored to mark the one-year anniversary of the storm with two days dedicated to volunteer service and recovery,” said Brian Dean, Executive Director, Jersey Cares. “The Sandy Service Day is an important moment to celebrate all that selfless volunteers have accomplished, emphasize the need that remains and ask New Jerseyans to commit to helping with the tremendous amount of work that lies ahead.”

Volunteers interested in participating can visit www.jerseycares.org.

About the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund
The Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund distributes funds to organizations that support the recovery and rebuilding efforts of New Jersey communities impacted by the storm. The Relief Fund aims to make a sustainable, long-term impact and has awarded grants to 81 organizations, totaling $21 million, to date, for home rebuilding, mold remediation, mental health support, economic development, and financial and legal counseling. For more information, visit www.SandyNJReliefFund.org

About Jersey Cares
Jersey Cares, a nonprofit organization, established in 1993, recruits and engages volunteers in rewarding, effective efforts that address community-identified needs. They partner with local nonprofits to identify needs and implement volunteer projects to meet these needs. They provide individuals, families, corporate employees and community groups with a wide variety of volunteer opportunities that range from tutoring children to painting new murals in schools. Learn more at jerseycares.org.

We hope that you will join us – all events are rain or shine and are free to the public, you do not need to dine at Soul Kitchen to participate. We will be open our normal hours during this celebration weekend!

Wednesday, October 16th / 6-8pm
JBJ Soul Kitchen & 180 Turning Lives Around Presents:
The Ride: Stories of Survival Art Exhibition

Thursday, October 17th / 4:30-6:30pm
Soul Kitchen & NJ Hope and Healing Present: Family Night!
Join us in the Soul Kitchen Gardens for pumpkin picking, fun activities, hot chocolate, cider, cider doughnuts & more!
Donations of items provided by Laurino Farms, Delicious Orchards & Saker ShopRite

Friday, October 18th / 6-7:30pm
Full Moon Meditation in The Garden
Monmouth Zen Circle will be joining us and leading the contemplation and guided meditation. Chairs will be provided.

Saturday, October 19th / 5-6:30pm
Music in The Garden
Enjoy an Outdoor Listening Experience Provided by Local Musicians:
John Nicole – Music of Love
A Couple of Note (Jodi DiLiberto & Vern King) – Traditional Music of the British Isles
Mike Barris – Jazz & Swing

Sunday, October 20th / 12-2pm
Celebration Sunday!
Enjoy Sunday Brunch and music in the Garden as we close our week long celebration with “The Voices of Praise” from Pilgrim Baptist Church at 2pm

Please continue to check back for more information on each night!

If you do not live in the Red Bank area but would like to support Soul Kitchen, you can help us by Paying It Forward. Every $10 we receive will cover the cost of someone’s meal who volunteered as payment. By donating, you are helping us provide meals to those in need.

Please click HERE to donate and support our mission.

Photos can be viewed in our Photo Gallery, please check back as more photos will be added in the next few days.

If you missed the event, you can watch it HERE

Below are some resources for more information on hunger in New Jersey and how you can help:

The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties – fbmoc.org
The NJ Anti-Hunger Coalition – njahc.org
The JBJ Soul Kitchen – jbjsoulkitchen.org

For more information on the themes and topics covered in the documentary “A Place at the Table” – apatt.org

Local Food Banks are a great resource. NJ has five:

Community FoodBank of New Jersey
njfoodbank.org / (908) 355-FOOD (3663)

The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties
foodbankmoc.org / (732) 918-2600

FoodBank of South Jersey
foodbanksj.org / (856) 662-4884

Mercer Street Friends Food Bank
mercerstreetfriends.org / (609) 406-0503

NORWESCAP
norwescap.org / (908) 454-4322

For information on what YOU can do to:

Help expand school breakfast program:
Advocates for Children of New Jersey – acnj.org

Protect SNAP:
Food and Research Center – frac.org

Expand access to child nutrition programs:
SOS – No Kid Hungry – nokidhungry.org

Organizations, through programs or advocacy, working to alleviate hunger in NJ and/or a national level are:
-Feeding Amercia – feedingamerica.org

-Food Research and Action Center – frac.org

-NJ Anti-Hunger Coalition – njahc.org

-Anti-Poverty Network of NJ – antipovertynetwork.org

Also we are working to answer the questions we received during the panel Q&A. Some of these answers will be posted here, so please check back often.

Thank you for your support, we hope that our event has inspired everyone to take action in the fight against hunger.

Bon Jovi, former owner of the Philadelphia Soul arena football team, is working with Project HOME on “JBJ Soul Homes,” at 15th and Fairmount (see Press Release of groundbreaking).

Sister Mary Scullion, director of Project HOME, says she was surprised to see a line of people waiting before they started handing out applications at 7am. “It just took us off guard,” she told KYW Newsradio today, “and the line just grew and grew and grew. It just seems to be so symptomatic of the need for affordable housing for all segments of our community — not only people who are homeless, which is pretty obvious, but also many working people in our community who need an affordable place to stay.”

Fifteen of the units are reserved for local residents being priced out of the neighborhood as development pushes north up Broad Street. Forty units are for the formerly homeless, including eight that are reserved for homeless youth, as they age out of the foster care system.

The development is expected to open in December.

For the full and original story please visit CBS Philly’s website