CIANJ AND COMMERCE MAGAZINE TEAM UP TO RECOGNIZE “COMPANIES THAT CARE”
BELLEVILLE, NJ (March 19, 2019) – The Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) and COMMERCE Magazine recently hosted their seventh annual tribute to the kindness and generosity of the business community.
Forty-five companies, including leading manufacturers, retailers, hospitals, banks and colleges and universities, were honored as “Champions of Good Works” at the gala reception, attended by more than 200 business executives.
“These caring companies embody the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey’s mission to make the Garden State a better place to live, work and raise a family,” said Anthony Russo, President of CIANJ.
CIANJ is a statewide business advocacy organization, representing more than 900 corporate members from every industry sector. The organization asked the business community to share stories of its philanthropy. Their stories became a special section of the March issue of COMMERCE Magazine that was distributed at the reception, which was held at the elegant Nanina’s In the Park in Belleville.
This year’s champions were decided by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, which also named RWJBarnabas Health as the 2019 Extraordinary Good Works recipient.
“RWBarnabas Health has done a tremendous job of reaching out to those in at-risk communities to address the connection between a healthy lifestyle and preventing serious health issues,” said Richard Abramson, chairman of the CIANJ board of directors and a member of the law firm, Cole Schotz P.C. “They have a mobile education center to provide fresh vegetables for use in cooking classes, including a hydroponic greenhouse, which is truly innovative,” he added.
RWJBarnabas has a Wellness on Wheels (WOW) mobile education center that includes a hydroponic greenhouse and cooking school to help reduce health disparities in vulnerable communities. The WOW mobile unit provides a unique opportunity to educate families beyond traditional methods to help connect food, behavior and health.
Barbara Mintz, senior vice president of healthy living and community engagement for RWJBarnabas Health, accepted the top honor on behalf of all the employees who make the WOW mobile unit program possible.
A highlight of the evening was the inspirational keynote address given by Janette Scrozzo, Director of Development for Covenant House New Jersey.
The companies honored as Champions of Good Works included:
Supporting New Jersey Charities:
Anheuser-Busch’s Newark Brewery has volunteered time and contributed more than $1.5 million in the past decade to a number of local organizations including United Way of Essex, Union & West Hudson Counties; Habitat for Humanity of Essex & Union Counties; Integrity House of Newark; Newark Police, Firefighters of Newark; and the St. John’s Soup Kitchen of Newark.
Atlantic Stewardship Bank’s unique Tithing Program has donated more than $738,00 in charitable contributions to more than 285 recipients over the last year. Since the inception of the program, the bank has given back in excess of $10.1 million to causes including but not limited to Daytop New Jersey, the NJ Veterans Home and the Christian Health Care Center.
Mazars USA LLP regularly helps the hungry in local communities nationwide. In 2018, the firm donated more than $100,000 to hunger organizations in each of the firm’s geographic locations, including a $20,000 donation to the Community FoodBank of NJ. The initiative encourages employees to donate goods and time to local organizations.
Community Outreach:
Decusoft, as a board member of the American Cancer Society NJ Chapter, sponsors and participates in the organization’s events with not only staff but also customers and partners. In addition, employees make annual visits to Hope Lodge in New York City, where they provide dinners for cancer patients and family members who are staying there while receiving treatment.
LAN Associates volunteers alongside Habitat for Humanity, using their architecture, engineering and design expertise to help build residence homes for families in need. In partnership with the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce, LAN sends a volunteer team to their annual Trail Clean—Up Day to revitalize parks throughout Sussex County.
Nanina’s in the Park owners and the Cheer Me Up Foundation hosted their Annual Thanksgiving Turkey Basket Brigade and distributed more than 575 baskets of food for needs families. Each basket contains all the ingredients for a bountiful family Thanksgiving dinner from all the fixings to the all-important turkey.
NJMEP partners with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and CIANJ to provide more than 25,000 meals; holds a golf outing where all proceeds provide scholarships to young adults and military veterans and families; works with Employ-ment Horizons and Easterseals to help place people with disabilities into meaningful manufacturing jobs.
Pirro Zinna Cifelli Paris & Genitempo, LLC supports worthy causes, charitable institutions, veterans, the elderly and families in need. The firm supports The Salvation Army Morristown Corps, Unice, Cheer Me Up Foundation, the USO and has established endowed scholarships for students at the high school, undergraduate and graduate levels.
Stuyvesant Press produced a company flag for U.S. Army troops that included one of its employees; raised more than $3,500 for the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation for the families of the USCG members that lost their lives in service; and supports Worldwide Orphans and the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless.
Wells Fargo provides financial support to the Newark Soccer Initiative, the partnership with the New York Red Bulls, the Newark Public Schools and others that will create 20 safe soccer places for 2,500 at-risk youth in the next five years and will help enroll kids in the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Soccer for Success afterschool soccer program.
Helping Children:
B&G Foods and its Green Giant brand has been a proud partner of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® since 2016. This fall, Green Giant expanded its partnership with the hospital by introducing limited edition packages of Cauliflower and Broccoli & Cheese Veggie Tots, a family-friendly alternative to potato tots, with labels that feature the artwork of St. Jude patients.
Connell Foley LLP conducts a Back to School supply drive for the United Way; has donated school supplies, backpacks and even clothing for the United Way’s ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Project, which supports families struggling to afford basic necessities; and has an annual Thanksgiving food drive and a holiday toy drive to benefit local charities.
Deloitte collaborates with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Jersey to provide mentoring for children. As “Bigs,” Deloitte professionals are matched with a “Little,” a third-, fourth- or fifth-grade student from the local school district, and they meet twice a month throughout the entire school year to guide and encourage their Littles to achieve goals.
Delta Dental of New Jersey’s foundation has funded the Boys & Girls Club of Newark’s dental clinic, which provides no-cost dental care for children. For nearly a decade, its foundation has supported the KinderSmile Foundation, Bloomfield, which provides dental care for 2,000 children annually. Employees volunteer at “Give Kids a Smile” events.
ExxonMobil employees, retirees, directors and surviving spouses contributed more than $293,000 to 32 New Jersey colleges and universities, which was matched by more than $867,000 in unrestricted grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation. ExxonMobil matches donor pledges on a 3:1 basis up to $7,500 to qualified U.S. colleges, universities and special educational programs.
Goya Foods partnered with Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey to launch a statewide Goya “Cooking With Care” patch program in 2018. Goya is the only company to establish and design a Girl Scouts patch. The sponsorship also included financial support, donation of Goya products to rollout the program and scholarships for girls to attend the Girl Scout summer camp.
Lakeland Bank sponsored and participated in PIA’s initiative to bring Challenge Day, a program that builds empathy and inspires a school-wide movement of compassion and positive change, to schools in Sussex County. More than 50 Lakeland colleagues volunteered at eight middle schools, and the program reached nearly 500 eighth grade students.
Zago Manufacturing Company Inc. is partnering with K-12 schools from low income communities to present “Manufacturing Movers & Shakers 4.0,” a series of manufacturing talent initiatives that include internships, scholarships and field trips to its facility. The initiative is introducing students of all abilities to career options in manufacturing.
Volunteerism:
AmeriHealth has been supporting local community organizations for nearly 25 years. In 2018, associates dedicated approximately 340 volunteer hours to HomeFront, located in Lawrenceville. They’ve helped in the food pantry sorting donations and preparing food bags as well as organizing items in the warehouse, creating diaper bags and helping stock the “Free Store” with donations.
JCP&L employees volunteered for the Clean Ocean Action’s (COA) Annual Fall Beach Sweeps to support cleanup work at beaches in Asbury Park, Belmar and Point Pleasant. The COA Beach Sweeps is one of the longest-running beach cleanups of its kind in the world helping rid beaches of unsightly and harmful debris.
New Jersey American Water employees demonstrate a deep commitment to communities by volunteering their time, resources and expertise in neighborhood organizations, charitable activities, local boards and other benevolent endeavors. Employees are little league coaches, EMTs, volunteer firefighters and environmental leaders. In the developing world, American Water supports Water For People, an international non-profit working across nine countries to bring safe water and sanitation to four million people.
Stark & Stark has worked with more than 200 different charitable organizations. For example, the firm worked with Habitat for Humanity on a building project, sending 16 people over the course of two days, to one of the homes being built in Burlington County. This build enabled the firm to give back to a family in need.
Environmental Conservation:
Atlantic Health System’s Overlook Medical Center reduced the number of waste containers in the direct-to-drain fluid management system in operating suites saving $400,000 in annual disposal costs; reduced energy use intensity by 8.6 percent; saved 150 metric tons of CO2; reduced water use by 655,822 gallons; recycled 669 tons of waste; and eliminated items that have a DEHP/PVC alternative.
eMazzanti Technologies started a foundation to raise awareness and support for ocean conservation and animal protection. The firm commits financial resources to ocean cleanup and marine conservation; works on spreading awareness of changes everyone can make to have a positive impact on the ocean's ecosystem; and commits technical resources and equipment to aid in marine research.
Holy Name Medical Center has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 28,000 tons over five years, which equals 730,000 new tree seedlings, 5,400 cars off the road and 65,000 acres of pine trees. Holy Name also recycles 100 percent of its hazardous medical waste, needles, paper in its recycling and shredding bins, and batteries and fluorescent bulbs.
Riker Danzig has been supporting Planting Seeds of Hope (PSH), a Newark non-profit focusing on urban agriculture and food justice, by providing pro bono legal services to help expand composting activities at community gardens. The firm is working with PSH and the state on a pilot program to begin to allow expanded composting activities at community gardens.
Saint Peter’s Healthcare System environmental stewardship includes a combined heat and power project that serves as the facility’s main power source and for emergency operations; the state’s largest hospital-based solar power system; and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Its 10,000 solar panels can produce more than 2.1 million kilowatt hours of electrical energy per year.
Combating Hunger:
AtlantiCare opened its Pantry at the Plex in December 2016. Through this program, AtlantiCare provides nutritious food to patients of the William L. Gormley AtlantiCare HealthPlex. In its inaugural year, the Pantry distributed more than 70,000 pounds of nutritious food. More than 613 individuals visited the Pantry in 2018, potentially benefitting 1,785 adults and 506 children.
Eastwick College donates gloves and hats for Eva’s Village; warm socks for the Bergen County Shelter; food for animal rescue groups; school supplies to a free preschool; and gifts to Toys for Tots. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Culinary Arts students prepare a free lunch for 150 homeless people, and a Feed The Hungry lunch or dinner is held almost every month.
NAIOP New Jersey is celebrating its 10th consecutive year partnering with Community FoodBank of New Jersey and has launched a “1 Million Meals for NJ” campaign to raise $333,333 to provide 1 million meals for families in need. NAIOP donated the first $10,000 towards this goal and has invited for support from its members.
Plast-O-Matic Valves Inc. employees created and hosted a GiveHealthy Food Drive in loving memory of their co-worker and mentor Ed Cellucci, who was killed in a traffic accident during Christmas 2017. Cellucci was Plast-O-Matic’s National Sales Manager, and a tireless volunteer and fundraiser for helping underprivileged children.
Caring for Veterans:
A.J. Perri has been providing free air conditioning and heating relief for veterans in need across the state through its program A.J. Perri Cares, particularly veterans with families and those living with chronic physical ailments or disabilities. For A.J. Perri it is an honor and a privilege to give back to those who selflessly served their country.
AnythingIT has been a major supporting partner of Rock Our Vets charity foundation, founded by one of its employees. The firm supplies laptop computers to the “laptops for vets” program, which provides laptops and tablets to returning veterans following their educational pursuits as well as veterans starting their own businesses. AnythingIT places a priority on the hiring of veterans.
Columbia Bank during the most recent holiday season, donated $35,000 to the national Wounded Warrior Project. Columbia also regularly supports local veteran causes, including Fair Lawn’s Adopt-a-Soldier-Platoon and the Army-Navy Garrison in National Park. Team Columbia volunteers also recently participated in a “Tank Pull Competition” to raise funds for veterans.
Jefferson Health New Jersey (formerly Kennedy Health) has hosted a special event for Camden County veterans to be honored with the Camden County Military Service Medal. Over 17 years, nearly 500 veterans have been honored. In 2018, Jefferson Health NJ co-sponsored the dedication of eight reserved veteran parking spaces at the Cherry Hill Mall.
Peapack-Gladstone Bank employees walked and manned tables to support 80 homeless veterans residing at the Department of Veterans Affairs through participation in their Memorial Day VA2K Walk & Roll. Employees and clients at all bank locations also provided monetary donations in addition to clothing and tangible goods to assist the veterans at the VA Lyons Campus.
Global Outreach:
AECOM’s Blueprint Program allows employees to follow their passions through volunteer service, enabling them to create positive impacts across the globe. The program encompasses projects across 15 countries, with work focusing on building critical infrastructure, promoting gender equality and protecting endangered species. In 2018, AECOM employees traveled to Thailand to build a highly sought-after bakery.
Celgene philanthropic efforts include chapter-wide support for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and activities for New Jersey organizations such as The Valerie Fund, Good Grief and the Captain Turner’s Ocean Swim benefitting the International Myeloma Society. The company also has a significant focus in programs within STEM education.
ICA Risk Management Consultants supports S.O.U.L. UGANDA by donating funds to construct a birthing center in Bujagali Falls Uganda to stem the tide of maternal deaths that occur from midwife deliveries that go awry and complications during childbirth. ICA’s professionals have each chosen a Ugandan child in this village to fund their monthly grade school education.
NPZ Law Group supports The Gabriel Project which serves families living in the slums of Thane near Mumbai, India. The firm provides school supplies, medical supplies, personal hygiene products, food and funding. Years ago, NPZ made a financial contribution to help fund the building of the Health Care Center.
Advocates for the Homeless:
CarePoint Health’s Hoboken University Medical Center partnered with the City of Hoboken, Hudson County and the New Jersey DCA on a pilot program to help end homelessness in Hudson County. Its medical professionals conduct routine blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol screenings at homeless shelters.
Hackensack Meridian Health’s Jersey Shore University Medical Center has been helping homeless individuals by donating clean linens to shelters for more than 10 years. Family Promise coordinates a shelter network of 12 faith-based congregations that house guests for one week at a time, providing families with private spaces for sleeping. The hospital donates linens to be used at these shelters.
McCarter & English, LLP recently established the Pro Bono Fellowship For The City of Newark and will hire a full-time fellow to advocate for Newark residents on homelessness-related issues. The fellow will represent tenants facing eviction; advocate and educate regarding tenants’ rights; and collaborate with community organizations and universities to expand the program’s scope.
Terrie O’Connor Realtors supports Covenant House, and for the last two years has participated in its Executive Sleep Out in Newark. Agents sleep on the street for one night to experience being homeless and call attention to the crisis. Volunteers also personally meet and interact with young people being cared for by Covenant House.
About CIANJ
CIANJ is a unique network of businesses committed to improving and advancing the cause of free enterprise in the Garden State. Our focus sets us apart from other organizations and provides the basis upon which we work to make our state a better place to live, work and conduct business.