By Eileen Moon
RED BANK – The skies will be alive with color Wednesday, July 3, when the seventh annual Riverview Medical Center Foundation’s Family Fireworks on the Navesink party kicks off at a celebration hosted by Domenic DiPiero, former chairman of the Riverview Medical Center Foundation and Hackensack Meridian Health trustee, and Hilary DiPiero, Riverview Medical Center Foundation trustee, at their home on the Navesink.
The event, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. and continues until 10, is a fundraiser that directly benefits Riverview Medical Center and contributes toward Meridian Health Foundation’s Giving Heals campaign, which has a fundraising goal of $150 million to benefit eight Hackensack Meridian Health hospitals, including Riverview. Last year, the event raised nearly $205,000, contributing to the $29 million that community members have already given to Riverview to enhance the scope and quality of services available to the community at the 492-bed medical center that has served generations of Two River-area residents.
From its modest beginnings as a 29-bed hospital in a three-story former boarding house on Union Street in 1928, Riverview Medical Center has grown exponentially, earning renown as a state-of-the-art medical center with a commitment to excellence.
And one important reason for Riverview’s success is the support it receives from the community, said George Kolber, past chair of the foundation and a current member of the fireworks committee. “We have the greatest community in the world and Riverview is just a wonderful hospital,” Kolber said. “The people here support this hospital and we’re all blessed to live in such a caring community.”
The fact that Riverview has earned a reputation for excellence over the past 90 years has everything to do with the generosity of residents here who support the medical center through their donations and through their volunteerism.
Kolber expressed his gratitude to DiPiero and his family for their service to the community. “He’s been dedicated to serving the community not only during his years with the Riverview Medical Center Foundation, but his whole life.”
Among the achievements made possible in part through the foundation are the establishment of a 29,000-square-foot cancer center, advanced education and training opportunities for the nursing staff and support for patient transportation in the hospital’s dialysis unit.
Though the mission of the foundation is serious, the annual Family Fireworks is an event members of the foundation find inspiring. They hope Two River residents take time out for some family fun at the height of the summer season.
With the end of the Red Bank Kaboom! fireworks in 2012, the Riverview Foundation’s Family Fireworks night has become an event many in the area look forward to each year and the foundation hopes that those enjoying the fireworks from afar will continue to support them so that they can keep the tradition alive.
Many host fundraising parties of their own, or find a cozy viewing spot on shore or anchor their boats in the Navesink for a birds-eye view, like Riverview Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees member Ben Torcivia.
“Our main function is to help raise some funds in a way that supports the mission of helping the community through our support for our community hospital,” said Torcivia.
“The Fireworks Party is a nice family event that’s just another way to get our message out,” he said.
“I’m a boater, so I get to take my boat out on the river and enjoy the fireworks from that perspective. But the main thing is the funds we raise that help support our community hospital.”
Tickets to the Riverview Medical Center Foundation’s Family Fireworks on the Navesink are $500 for adults and $75 for children. Contact Michelle Casserly at 732-751-5112 or via email at michelle.casserly@hackensackmeridian.org for further information and reservations.
If you don’t plan to attend, you can still enjoy the fireworks and support the initiative of the foundation with a donation online at hackensackmeridianhealth.org/givingheals.
