Community Health & Wellness Fair,  5K Run Slated for 3/29/08

Mark your calendar to participate in CASC’s ninth annual Health & Wellness Fair, to be held on Saturday, March 29 at Hightstown High School from 9 AM to 2 PM.  Admission is free!

Presented by First Constitution Bank, this year's event has been expanded to feature live demonstrations of fitness and dance, as well as massage, yoga and many other wellness-related activities.  Enjoy a wide range of family-friendly vendors and exhibits by community organizations, along with face painting, music, and plenty of food and fun. Kids of all ages are invited to come enjoy free popcorn and balloons!

To download a printable registration form for the 5K Run and the Fun Run for Kids, CLICK HERE.

Register before March 15^th to receive a $5 early registration discount!

For a printable flyer on this event, CLICK HERE

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

• To find out more about the Community Health Fair, reserve a table, or schedule an appointment to donate blood, contact Desiree Trinidad at (609) 443-4464 or e-mail dtrinidad_casc@yahoo.com.

• To volunteer to help at these events, contact Amanda Porter at (609) 647-5015 or e-mail mizporter@comcast.net.

• For questions about the 5K Run or Fun Run for Kids, contact Mark Sheerin at (732) 742-6868 or e-mail mark_sheerin@yahoo.com.

As the 2007 holidays approached, we were thrilled to celebrate the FIRST ANNIVERSARY of Greater Goods at its retail location.

Many thanks to the dedicated volunteers, generous donors and loyal customers who have helped build Greater Goods from the ground up!

Come visit us at 413 Mercer Street (Rt. 33) in Hightstown, next door to Lucas Electric!  (Watch for the flashing red sign... you can’t miss it!)

Greater Goods is now open:

    Wednesday  10 am – 7 pm
   Thursday      10 am – 7 pm
   Friday            10 am – 5 pm
   Saturday       10 am – 5 pm

When possible, donations are accepted on SATURDAYS ONLY (see donation policy below).  Please understand that although we appreciate every donor’s generosity, limited space and resources may require us to refuse donations at times.

VISA & MasterCard are welcome for payment!

CLICK HERE for printable Greater Goods coupons …share them with friends, or use them every time you shop!

Join the Greater Goods E-MAIL NETWORK and get monthly news updates, coupons and scoops on special sales, as well as other CASC and community information!  Just e-mail us to register!

Volunteers:

 Looking for a fun way to get involved? We need YOU, more than ever!  Now that we’ve extended our hours of operation, we need volunteers to help keep the store running smoothly.  We especially need individuals or groups to help sort and tag donated clothing.  Retirees, youth and service groups are welcome!  We are also looking for volunteer leaders to help recruit and train new volunteers.  Donating your time and energy can make a real difference in our community!  Call us at (609) 448-2702 or stop by during store hours to apply.

Donation Policy - PLEASE READ! 

«      Because we are blessed by overwhelming support but limited space and volunteers, we must limit the donations we can accept.  Please bring no more than two bags/boxes per donation, during regular store hours only on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  We will sort through the items with you, and take only what we know we can sell.

In order to make the most of our resources, we need corporate or private sponsors to help absorb our operating expenses.  Please talk to your employer and colleagues about sponsoring Greater Goods. The more you give, the more resources we can direct to helping families in our local community!

CASC/Greater Goods
PO Box 88
Hightstown, NJ 08520

One of our most treasured programs is the “Adopt a Family” holiday gift program, in which CASC registers local children to be provided with donated holiday gifts. Our clients are typically working poor families with children, struggling to make ends meet, often without the resources for extra treats. At this festive time of year, we always aim to ensure that no child is without a special gift to share in the holiday excitement.

Thanks to the remarkable generosity of local civic groups, businesses and friends, CASC had the privilege of distributing personally selected, donated gifts to over 570 children this year! In fact, we were inundated with donations from toy drives and individual “angels” throughout the area. In an enormous demonstration of kindness and holiday spirit, over 200 extra special toys, coats and other gifts were made available to children enrolled in this program.
This enormous effort was made possible through the hospitality of the wonderful congregation of the First United Methodist Church of Hightstown, who opened their sanctuary to store, manage and transport thousands of gifts. Many thanks to Ed and Louise Barber, Dennis and Diane Forer, Ted Koerner, Craig and C.J. Martin, Kathy Brooks, Pete Bussone, Lee Kupper, Kathy McLaughlin, and others who made time to help in this busy season.
In partnership with the Junior League of Greater Princeton, our annual family holiday party was held on December 15, 2007 to distribute these gifts. Crafts, refreshments and activities were enjoyed by hundreds of participating families, while Junior League volunteers provided each child with a book and Polaroid photo. The party was made even better by the Greater Hightstown Juniorettes, Julie Zukowski and Hightstown Patrolman Dave Chenoweth, who ensured that everyone in the room believed in Santa Claus.

Our dedicated staff was also greatly assisted by Janis Moskowitz, Chuck Warznak, Brian Louth, Jolene Hernandez, Brian Quezada, Rick and Ian Pratt, and Ellen Nita, who ensured that the gifts were delivered with a smile to every child who attended the party. Norman Billings and the volunteer elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints truly saved the day by transporting the last of the gifts back to our office.

We can’t thank every donor by name, since many anonymous angels left gifts and supplies on our doorsteps, but we appreciate every gesture that contributed to our holiday gift program. Wonderful gift donations came to us from Elementis Specialties; Fair, Isaac and Co.; First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown; First United Methodist Church of Hightstown; Greater Hightstown Juniorettes; Hickory Corner Library; Hightstown HS Red Cross Club; Lavipharm; Peddie School faculty and staff; St. David the King Episcopal Church of Cranbury; St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of East Windsor; the Live Wire Society of the First Baptist Church of Hightstown; and CBC Interpersonal LLC. Toy drives by Fitness Zone, the Walter C. Black Elementary School, and others helped cover our list of children in need of gifts.

When we were overwhelmed by the level of need, even more individuals came forward to provide generously for them, including David & Celia Abalos, Liston & Joyce Abbott, Joan Baggaley, Nikki Bisset, Valerie Black, Robert & Paola Blelloch, Pete Bussone & Kerrie Peterson, Linda Caffrey, Erin Cook, Maryanne Corica, Julie & Jim Coston and the First Baptist Church of Trenton, Eileen Couturier, Donna Dalrymple, Eileen Davidson, Luanne Davis, Deborah Dodson, Carole Dumanski, Kathy Dziuba, David Edgerton, Shan Ellentuck, Joanne Evans, Mary Beth Fago, Debbie Field, Diane Forer, Nancy Foss, Kathy Gottlieb, Elina Hernandez, Molly Hoke, Michele Hoos, Catherine Horner, Jill Horowitz, Jessica Jimenez, David Keeler, Susan Keeler, The Knauer Family, Nancy Kumar-Jain, Diana Lang, Liz Lett, Nichole L’vov, Karen MacDowell, Katie Mattey, Wendy McDade, Adrienne McNulty, Jennifer McShane, Denise Merrill, Anastasia Posadskaya-Vanderbeck, Ann Marie Miller, Janis Moskowitz & Chuck Warznak, Dave Napoleon, Kathy Patten, Jill Patterson, Karin Pavlovic, Shani Peretz, Anne Reilly, Marc Richardson, Sue Rooney, Lisa Rothman, Allison Salenetri, Anjali Sandhir, Maureen Shaw, Mark Sheerin, Lauren Simeone Berman, Beth & Robert Sitner, Mary Stazzone, Marianne Swaney, Eva Teller, Talia & Harry Terhune, Allison Treese, Linda Trost, Harry & Joan Upbin, Linda Verrault, Pam Walker, and Delia Wojnarowski.
It's hard to express the joy of connecting thoughtful, loving people with children whose daily lives involve more struggle than most of us know. We feel very fortunate to live and work in this community.

Want an easy way to shop AND help raise money for CASC? Try GoodShop! By using this portal to shop online, participating vendors will donate a percentage of your purchase to CASC – it’s that simple! You can shop at Old Navy, Wal-Mart, Lands’ End, Macy’s, and many other great places…. even eBay will chip in!

To get started, just follow this link: http://www.goodsearch.com/goodshop.aspx

When asked “Who do you GoodSearch for?” select Community Action Service Center (CASC), and then go shopping!

Another easy way to support CASC without spending a penny is to make GoodSearch your home page. Every time you search the internet through GoodSearch, you can earn CASC about a penny—it may not sound like a lot, but it adds up fast! To find out more and give it a try, visit http://www.goodsearch.com/MakeHomepage.aspx.

Community Service Lauded at CASC Awards Gala

In celebration of CASC’s 40th anniversary of serving families in the local community, our seventh annual Community Activist Awards Gala was held on September 28, 2007. These annual awards recognize the important partners in CASC’s efforts to strengthen families in the local community.

Represented by general manager Michael McDonald, Shop Rite of East Windsor was recognized as the recipient of this year’s Corporate Activist Award. The Missions Committee of the First United Methodist Church of Hightstown received the Civic Activist Award, and was accepted by member Dennis Forer. The many contributions of Matt Lucas, owner of Lucas Electric, were recognized with this year’s Community Activist Award.

This year’s gala also reflected a focus on volunteerism by introducing the Spirit of Service Award. The first recipients of this award were our dedicated volunteers-- the extraordinary people who helped us launch and operate Greater Goods Thrift Store during the past year, and who have supported our mission in many other ways. We know they have inspired others to follow suit by becoming involved in local service projects.

In 2008, CASC will launch an annual volunteer appreciation event that celebrates service to the local community. “We want to get out the word that volunteers are our everyday heroes,” says executive director Lydia Santoni-Williams. “At CASC we believe our community thrives because of people who believe in helping each other.”

Thanks to a great tip from volunteer Teri Hresko, we’ve discovered a terrific new you can raise money for CASC …AT NO COST to you!  All you have to do is use the Internet as you usually would, using GoodSearch.com as your portal!

How does it work?

If you set this URL as your default page, your web browser will automatically go there every time you search the Internet.  The more often you use it, the more you help CASC serve our community!

How can I find out more?

Comcast Partners with CASC to Sponsor Hightstown’s “Hometown Harvest” Fair

Comcast contributed $5,000 as title sponsor of the Fourth Annual Hometown Harvest. This funding covered the borough’s costs, providing municipal staff (including police and public works employees) as well as signage and entertainment for the fair. Additional funding covered CASC’s expenses to provide staff to assist in coordinating the event.

According to Robert Clifton, Comcast’s area director for Government and Community Affairs, this kind of teamwork lines up perfectly with Comcast’s mission. “Our team appreciates having the opportunity to incorporate the sixth annual Comcast Cares Day into such a noteworthy community initiative. Comcast and its employees are committed to making a difference in the communities where we live and work.”

- Health & Wellness Fair, 5K Run Coming Up 3/29/08 - get race entry form here

- Greater Goods Thrift Store: Get News & Coupons here!

- "Adopt a Family" Gift Program Brightens Holidays for Hundreds

- Shopping online? GoodShop for CASC!

- CASC Celebrates Community Service at Annual Awards Gala

- Donate online via Paypal!