By Allison Perrine
MIDDLETOWN – After the sun sets on the night of Saturday, Dec. 11, Middletown neighborhoods will be a little brighter than usual.
As part of the first, hopefully annual, Middletown Luminaria Night, over 600 residents across the 58-square-mile township will line luminarias, or white paper bags with lit candles, in front of their homes as a symbol of unity, hope and caring for the less fortunate this holiday season. Proceeds will benefit the all-volunteer Middletown Township Fire Department (MTFD) and the Middletown Helps Its Own (MHIO) organization.
“It’s been a rough last few years due to the pandemic. We thought Middletown Luminaria Night would be a nice way to lift everyone’s spirits during the holidays,” said Tony Concordia, whose family is orchestrating the event.
The idea came from Tony’s wife Lindsey, whose hometown of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has held a similar event for the past 24 years. She and her parents participate annually in what started as a very small event and has since “grown tremendously” to raise funds for families in need throughout the Bethlehem area, Concordia said. [see editor’s note below].
Coupled with that, the Middletown residents’ three children and several of their friends have been searching for volunteer opportunities in the community to help reach the required number of volunteer hours to apply for acceptance into the National Honor Society. According to Concordia, volunteer hours “were tough to come by during the pandemic” and some students were behind on hours. They realized a luminaria event could help.
“The event provides our local high school and middle school students with an opportunity to get involved in the community and help people less fortunate while working toward their required volunteer hours. We thought the whole process would be a great life lesson for them,” said Concordia. Plus, he added, it’s “a great way to kick off the holiday season with the community coming together to help families less fortunate right here in Middletown.”
In preparation for the night, some 600-plus families purchased $10 luminaria kits which include the supplies necessary to light up the night Dec. 11. Funds raised will stay in the community, at the fire department and with MHIO, a nonprofit whose volunteers help feed 350 local families for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“There are many charities in nearby cities and towns, but we wanted to do something that would benefit Middletown families during their time of need,” Concordia said of the family’s decision to donate to the MTFD and MHIO this year. “We quickly learned about Middletown Helps Its Own and it was a perfect fit. They host many events throughout the year. We saw them in action during a recent food drive they conducted before Thanksgiving; it was very impressive.”
Funds aside, Concordia hopes to raise awareness of both organizations’ roles in the community as they “both rely heavily on community support,” he said.
Because there are already over 600 families participating, the Concordias have stopped taking orders for luminaria kits. However, anyone looking to show their support who wasn’t able to purchase a kit, may donate on Venmo to @MiddletownLuminariaNight (enter “donation” in the comments) or send a check directly to: Middletown Helps Its Own, P.O. Box 105, Port Monmouth, NJ 07758; or Middletown Township Fire Department, 1 Kings Highway, Middletown, NJ 07748.
“We are blown away by the support the town showed. Everyone has been extremely helpful. So many residents volunteered to be a ‘captain’ for their neighborhood which was a huge help. There are also many families that volunteered to help distribute flyers, promote the event on social media and assemble and distribute the luminaria kits,” said Concordia. “There are too many to name, but they know who they are.” The turnout has “greatly exceeded” their expectations.
“Well done, Middletown,” Concordia said.
He gave a special shoutout to the event’s sponsors including Blondina Vita Design; Lowe’s of Holmdel; Livoti’s; Costco of Hazlet; Stop & Shop of Middletown; Staples of Middletown; Bottle King of Middletown; Township Hardware in Middletown; Bed Bath & Beyond of Middletown; and Dunkin’ Donuts of Lincroft.
The article originally appeared in the December 2 – 8, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated Dec. 9 to reflect that Lindsey Concordia did not help organize the event in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but did participate in it with her family.
