Giving Back to New Jersey Since 2000: Over $1 million in cash and in-kind services contributed.

2012 Project: Summer Food Drive and July Volunteer Day to benefit the Community Food Bank of NJ; "Tools for Schools" Collection at the November 5 President's Awards Dinner.

Details on our 2011 projects are here.

Join the Community Action Committee today: contact Barbara Morford.

2010 Project Hunger Doesn't Take a Summer Vacation: For our 2010 Community Action Project, NAIOP New Jersey partnered with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey (CFB) for a Food Drive and Volunteer Day.

More than 35 NAIOP New Jersey members, staff and friends spent volunteered at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey on July 28.  We were overwhelmed by the size and scope of the Food bank’s operation (seven football fields could fit inside): a full-time staff of 110 and about 30,000 volunteers annually keep this massive facility going to the benefit of about 1,500 non-profit charities in 18 counties across our state, including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, after-school programs and senior centers.  The estimated reach is 900,000 people each month, a number that has climbed in this protracted recession. 

Many members conducted food drives at their offices and brought donations with them, nearly 1,000 pounds of food in all. (We also raised over $2245 in cash donations and more than $1,000 via our Virtual Food Drive). NAIOP volunteers sorted boxes and bags of incoming donations by category (canned goods, protein, baby food, etc.) for ease of distribution.  A well-deserved lunch break, arranged by Community Action Committee Co-Chair Janet Proscia (Cronheim Mortgage) and prepared by the Food Bank’s Catering Division (a very successful job training program), featured an award-winning short film on hunger in New Jersey, and a Q&A session with Food bank staff members.  

After lunch, volunteers filled bags with canned goods to be distributed to senior citizens, and sorted and packed items in the Kids Division, which provides much-needed clothing and school supplies for children. 

2009 Cleanup with New Brunswick Elementary Students: The project received glowing reviews from the teachers, students and volunteers. According to NJ CCC’s Sandy Huber, volunteers picked up 2.26 tons of litter and recycled an additional 1.15 tons. 

NAIOP New Jersey’s participation added so much more than financial support.  Ms. Huber said that this cleanup has become a model for the entire state. “The New Brunswick cleanup was a premier event:  it was the first cleanup sponsored by the Clean Communities Council in which students had an opportunity to work side-by-side with business leaders. The benefits far surpassed our original goals.”

New Brunswick Clean Communities Coordinator Donna Caputo said “The NAIOP New Jersey Chapter volunteers set an excellent example for the two hundred eighty students to emulate.  It was valuable to have the students exposed to professionals from a variety of fields. The NAIOP New Jersey Chapter volunteers were enthusiastic and greatly added to the excitement of the day.  Through this event, students learned what litter is, why it is a concern to the City of New Brunswick and where litter goes if it isn’t picked up. They have learned not to litter, to pick up litter they see and to encourage others to Keep New Brunswick Clean.  I believe this experience will have a long-term positive effect on the students. Having so many volunteers enabled the City to handle the large amount of students safely.  The event would not have been as great as it was without the NAIOP New Jersey Chapter.”

2008 Coat Drive for the Salvation Army:The more than 200 coats and jackets donated by NAIOP members were most welcome, since the tough economy has led consumers to hold on to their old clothes longer or sell them at yard sales or on eBay.  This has had a dramatic affect on the usual volume of donations. “We will give out these coats at our Thanksgiving Dinner,” said Social Services Director Jeanette Lugo, as she and Captain Domingo Urban picked up the donations at NAIOP’s offices in New Brunswick. NAIOP members who brought coats by the bagful to the Fourth Annual President’s Awards Dinner on November 3, 2008.

The New Brunswick Corps was amazed at the generous donation of 84 new jackets from Rennaissance Promotions in Delran, which was arranged and delivered by Richard Cureton and Whitesell Construction Co. Inc. Ms. Lugo noted that the need for help was overwhelming that year.  “We had 350 families apply for our Adopt A Family program last year.  This year we have surpassed 700 families.

2007 Burgess Memorial Park, Irvington: Raymond C. Burgess, Sr. Memorial Park sits in the heart of a residential neighborhood, adjacent to the Thurgood Marshall School and the local Head Start program. “This is a Godsend,” said fifth grade teacher Myrna Williams-Smith who brought some of her students to Build Day. “Finally, we have a safe haven that can be utilized by the community and our school.”  Some 60 students, part of the school’s “Wayne Smith Achievers” group for academically dedicated youth, visited the park to watch longingly as the sparkling new play structures took shape. The students also enjoyed snacks, asked questions and thanked volunteers for their efforts.

“The renovation of this park will provide an aesthetically appealing oasis where children, families and the community can simply relax or engage in recreational pursuits,” said Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith, who supported the project with resources for site preparation, food for volunteers, equipment and other logistics involved with Build Day. “Its revitalization complements the beauty of the Thurgood Marshall School, and it will breathe new life into the entire neighborhood. We are grateful to NAIOP New Jersey for its diligence and the dedication of its membership, funding and resources to this important community project.”

Mayor Smith announced the creation of a “Friends of the Park” organization to maintain and look after the newly renovated playground. Renee Burgess, daughter of the park’s namesake and President of the Irvington School Board, lives across the street from the park. She said she was “honored” by NAIOP’s efforts and her father would have been pleased.

2006 Breunig Avenue Park, Trenton:  "My hope is that residents in the area will follow the example of basically strangers who took time to take care of an area they are not even from," said Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, who was first to try the new slide at the ribbon cutting.