About Town

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Middletown Lions ‘Roar for the Shore’ with Donation
Members of the Middletown Lions Club recently presented a check for $2,000 to officials for the township’s disaster relief fund. The money was the proceeds from the organization’s annual pancake breatfast, held just before Super Bowl Sunday last month.

Middletown Lions Club President Larry Caminiti, left, presents a check to Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, center, and Committeeman Tony Fiore for the Middletown Disaster Relief Fund. The money was raised through the Lions’ annual pancake breakfast.
Middletown Lions Club President Larry Caminiti, left, presents a check to Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, center, and Committeeman Tony Fiore for the Middletown Disaster Relief Fund. The money was raised through the Lions’ annual pancake breakfast.

The Lions, appropriately, decided to ‘roar for the shore’ and support the Middletown Disaster Relief Fund, a charitable organization started by former mayor and current Township Committeeman Tony Fiore to assist Middletown residents impacted by Super Storm Sandy. Event Chair Lion John Giordano said the Middletown Lions Club has a long-standing tradition of responding to the immediate and urgent needs of the community.
“In light of the destruction caused by the storm, the club did not question that the funds from the breakfast should be dedicated to helping our friends and neighbors in Middletown this year,” Giordano said. “We want to do whatever we can to help residents restore their lives and their homes.”
The check was presented to Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger for the disaster fund during the township committee’s Feb. 19 meeting.
“The Middletown Lions Club is always there for the community,” Scharfenberger said.
Information on the Middletown Disaster Relief Fund is available at www.middletownnj.org and mwww.middletownrelief.com or by calling the mayor’s office at 732-615-2024.
The Middletown Lions Club, chartered in 1946 through Lions International, is a volunteer service organization consisting of men and women who help the community through charitable service projects and fundraising initiatives and programs. The club meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. For more information, visit the website at www.mlions.org.
 
MIDDLETOWN
The Art Society of Monmouth County will feature a demonstration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, by professional photographer Michael Dellert at the Middletown Public Library, New Monmouth Road.
Dellert will discuss and show his professional photography techniques and answer any questions. He’s a graduate of Penn State School of Fine Arts.
Admission is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
 
RED BANK
As part of its Community Haiti Response Initiative, Pilgrim Baptist Church of Red Bank is sponsoring an Adopt-A-Family Program to feed families in the community of La’Cajou, Haiti.
A donation of $250 means the sponsor can provide a 50-pound bag of rice and fuel every three months for a year to a family in need in Haiti.
The church’s Haiti Response Initiative has partnered with Aslan Ministries, Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention and the Seacoast Missionary Baptist Association to facilitate the program.
Sponsorship registration forms and additional information is available by calling 732-747-2343.
 

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A few years ago a group of dedicated volunteers began getting together to tend to the rose beds at Riverside Gardens Park on Front Street.
The rose beds had suffered from years of neglect and volunteers spent hours cutting back the roses, removing dead wood, weeding, and digging out invasive vines. Scouts, high school students and community members have worked at the gardens dozens of times throughout the growing season.
All this hard work pays off and the roses flower beautifully every spring and summer for months on end.
The friends of Riverside Gardens will meet at the park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 9, for the first time this year. All members of the community are invited to join in helping to maintain and improve this valuable public treasure. Participants are asked to wear warm clothes and work gloves. Bottled water will be provided.
The rain date is March 16. For more information, contact Bob Hespe at hespeb@aol.com.
 
RUMSON
The Rumson Country Day School will hold its 44th annual rummage sale, A Whale of a Sale, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, and from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at the school, located at Bellevue Avenue and Ridge Road.
Each year, parents and many of the students, faculty, administration, staff, alumni, and friends work together to collect, sort, and display a huge assortment of items in the school’s Blake Gymnasium. The job is such a large undertaking that collection of the items for sale often begins months in advance.
The rummage sale is one of the most important fundraisers at The Rumson Country Day School, as all proceeds of the sale are devoted to the financial aid program, providing financial assistance to many children who attend the school. The best selection and bargains will be found on Saturday, April 20. Those attending on Sunday, April 21, will be able pay one price and fit all they can into a bag provided by the school.
During the week prior to the sale, the gymnasium becomes a beehive of activity as trip after trip is made to stock the gym with donated items. The donations are carefully sorted to cull the best items for the special boutique sections of women’s and children’s clothing and accessories. In addition, the silent auction area is stocked with furniture, antiques, china, crystal and collectibles.
Not to be missed is the wide assortment of women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing at incredible bargain prices. Particularly popular is the sporting goods section where the selection often includes golf clubs, ski and hockey equipment, and exercise apparatus.
Like any good rummage sale, there is also a huge selection of home furnishings, kitchenware, general home goods, bric-a-brac and toys. There will also be a large book section where attendees can stock up on current novels, cookbooks, children’s books, how-to books and more.
 
WEST LONG BRANCH
Monmouth University’s Jewish Cultural Studies Program presents the Honorable Daniel Kurtzer from 7:45 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, in Wilson Hall Auditorium.
Kurtzer served as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2001-2005 and as U.S. ambassador to Egypt from 1997-2001. Currently a professor of Middle Eastern Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University, Kurtzer will discuss the current situation in Middle East.
The event is free of charge and open to the public.
Organized by the Jewish Cultural Studies Program and the Office for Global Initiatives, the event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County.
For more information please contact 732-571-4474.
Monmouth University appreciates the generosity of a group of Hollywood Golf Club members who enable multiyear support for the Monmouth University Jewish Cultural Studies Program.
 
Scholarship Opportunity Available for RBR Students
 
The Community Foundation of New Jersey has announced that The Jonathan Maslow Scholarship, which it administers on behalf of members of the Red Bank Regional High School (RBRHS) Class of 1966, is accepting applications for the fall 2013 term.
The Jonathan Maslow Scholarship is open to all RBRHS juniors and seniors who plan to continue their education at an accredited 2 or 4-year college immediately following their graduation.
Scholarships will be awarded to students exhibiting exceptionally high levels of written proficiency, creativity, and originality, as well as an interest in local or national environmental causes, journalism or creative writing.
The scholarship award is $5,000.
Maslow, a 1966 graduate of RBRHS, was an accomplished author, journalist, documentary filmmaker, naturalist and environmentalist.  At the time of his death in 2008 he was an editor and columnist for the Herald News in Paterson. His accomplishments as a journalist and his commitment to his community are reflected in the many awards bestowed on him, including The New Jersey Press Association for Responsible Journalism and the Joseph M. Sklenar Editorial Award.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Maslow covered civil strife in Central America, helped save a library in the City of Passaic, fought vigorously to help clean up the Passaic River and championed efforts to make politicians accountable for their actions.
Any student wishing to obtain an application may do so at www.cfnj.org.
The deadline for applications is April 13.
For more information or with questions, please contact Faith Krueger at the Community Foundation of New Jersey at 973-267-5533.