“Why are you here?”
This past Thursday, as volunteers were preparing Community Food Bags to be distributed to our neighbors in Trenton and Mercer County, a new volunteer asked several long-time volunteers why they kept coming back to help. “Mercer Street Friends needs help moving the quantity of food people need right now and I want to help my community.” The answer is clear and direct. And it’s an answer we hear from volunteers so often -during today’s pandemic and during times before.
Volunteer work today is different from weeks ago. Masks and gloves are expected and have become the norm. Physical distancing is critical. What has remained the same is the compassion for the community; the humanity of helping others in a time of need. Our volunteers have answered our calls to help week in and week out and we extend our thanks to them.
This Friday, May 22, 2020, in partnership with Triumphant Life Community Church, Sam Naples Senior Center and Capital Area YMCA, Mercer Street Friends distributed 1,330 Community Food Bags to families standing in line at 5 different sites throughout Trenton. The lines to pick up the bags began forming an hour before distribution time, extending for blocks, and at one point, the end of the line was nowhere in sight. Today, ten weeks in distributing weekend meals, and still, no end in sight.
Thank you to our volunteers and our incredible benefactors – individuals, businesses, foundations, and corporations – for remaining at our side. Thank you…for being here.
Mercer Street Friends has received tremendous support from over 1,500 donors in the past two months and we are grateful to each one. Every Friday, we look forward to highlighting groups of individuals, families, businesses and foundations who have provided contributions, ensuring that all who have invested in Mercer Street Friends know their gifts have had an incredible impact on our community.
Beth Adler-Bush
Mary S. Albert
Margaret L. Allan
Al and Chris Altomari
James A. Amick
ARC Foundation Inc.
Alexander Arva
Joanne Bacchus
Rajesh Bais
Charnie Barton
Christine Beckett
Akintunde Bello
Deborah L. Benick
Susanne Betz
Merrill Biancosino
George Bishop
Ilene Black
Jeffrey A. Bock
Maryanne V. Bonis
Nicholas D. Borrelli
Eileen Bromell
Hollie Brown
Vanessa Bruno
Sheree and W. Scott Butterfield
Jacquelyn R. Byrne
Timothy J. Byrne
Robert and Deborah Campbell
James Carroll
Bharat Chaudhary
Ronald and Sandra Chen
Jane Chrnelich and the Mansion Hill Drive Neighbors
Philip Coladonato
Francis D. Coleman
Jim Colquist
Sheila A. Conboy
Helen Oless and Kate Cranwell
Sarah B. Crofts
Margaret Daniel
Loretta and Steven DeRochi
Elaine D. Dietrich
Timothy C. Dill
Jackie J. Donners
Jeanne Donofrio
Karen J. Dorsey
James K. Drewry
Erin Driscoll
Mary Durkee
Ralph Edelbach
Joan Ekizian
Thomas and Marla Esposito
Keelan Evanini
William A. Fallon
Ying Fan
Justin Faulkner
Laurel King and Tom Fee
Laura Fenster Rothschild
Judith A. Fielding
Sheila Fields
Jane Fremon
Barbara and Lewis Gantwerk
Paras K. Garg
Maureen Gargione
Timothy Gates
Barbara Gelhard
Roberta Gernhardt
Patricia and Victor Giallella
Margaret and Robert Goertz
Lydia E. Gonzalez
Jas Grewal
Carmela and Scott David Griffiths
Robert and Victoria Rose Gurry
Vickie and Adrian Gurzau
Carol and Carl Haag
Douglas Hagadorn
Shauwea L. Hamilton
Paulina Hammerschmidt
Martin and Rachel Hammond
Loni M. Hand
Mary Ann Hann
Rachel N. Hansen
Alan and Laurie Hardy
Vickie Harvey
Karen Haskin
Hal K. Haveson
Carol A. Hawkes
Carolyn M. Hawkes
Michael Hecht
Richard and Kathleen Hellstern
John Henderson
Brenda Riley and Karen Henkel
Claude T. Herzberg
William P. Hipple
Shuay-Pwu Ho
Logan and Maggie Hoffman
Andrew S. Howard
David Hurley
Investors Bank
Carl J. Ippolito
Vidya Iyer
Dale Jacobs
Sabala L. Jean
Paul Stephan Jellinek
Theodore and Kathleen Joseph
Arlene and Ed Kahn
William and Judith Kale
Prakash Kancherla
Suzanne and Gordon Kazi
Kristin Keenan
Janet Keifer
Carol A. Kelly
Jean A. Kelly
Nannerl and Robert Keohane
Suzanne Kerridge
Uma A. Kher
Rev. Michael J. Hoffarth and Donna King
John Kingston
Katherine Kish
Sydney Klein
Ralph Smith and Barbara M. Kleva
Barry Koen
Steven P. Kowalski
Deborah Toth and David H. Krauss
Ross and Sheila Kremer
Walter Krieg
Karin M. Kuhn
Rakesh Kumar
Asha Kumari
Elizabeth A. Weiss Kuziel
Marian Labos
Bernar K. DeSchaepmeester and Bernard W. Leammari, Jr.
Daniel H. Lee
Robert Lupton and Lynda Lee
Odie and Robert H. LeFever
Ellen and Leslie Lefkowitz
Nancy Lin
Cary and Shu Liu
Sanford Livingston, Jr.
Jo Ann T. Lombardo
Mary Lonzetta
Denise and Jerry Lynch
Angelina Macaluso
Daniel Mahoney
Ken Malandro
Kamala S. Mallem
The Manczuk Family
Maria Manney
Terrie and William Mansmann
Edward and Veronica March
Hulya Guler and Daniel R. Marlow
Martens Bash Foundation at Fidelity Charitable
Matthew Mayer
Stephen Sennert and Nancy McCarthy
Barbara K. McCarthy
Carol A. McGrath
Kathleen McGuire
Anna T. McKoy
John and Linda Meuse
Nanette Meyer
Patricia and Brian Millen
Meryl R. Miller
Brenda A. Miranda
Joseph A. Tino and Madalene Mizin-Tino
Anisha Mohan
Donna Morgan
Margery Mott
Kathleen Murphy
Kerrie and Scott S. Nagrod
Meera Nathan
Edward and Mary Nelson
Deloris B. Nesteby
Melanie K. Newby
Beverly L. O’Connor
Karin Oleary
Frank Orsini
Michael Ortiz and Family
Amy Otey
Terry Outz
Eric Owens
Xinran Pan
Karen Paritee
Barkha Patel
Yamini Pathak
Louisa and Christopher Pelkey
Pauline Perkins
Michael and Linda Perlin
Carolyn A. Peters-Eckel
Gloria Pinney
Alexandra Pinz
Mary Lisa Pliskin
John and Nancy Podeszwa
Jon Polevoy
Emilie Pooler
Roger Poulard
Princeton United Methodist Church
Leslie and Jim Psaroudis
Ramanathan Ranjan
John and Constance Raskin
Phyllis Sussi Riggleman
Kenneth and Nancy W. Ritchey
Lori A. Robbins
Walter L. Roberts
Gloria and Eric Rohmann
Harriette Rubinstein
Ed Sabol
Saint David the King Columbiettes
Gregory and Elizabeth Samios
Rosemarie Seery
Felicia Sexsmith
Charles Shadle
Sadia Shariff
Sonya Sharififard
ShopRite Partners in Caring
Mark and Carol Sibley
Renu and Dinesh Singal
Wendy K. Sisson
Allan and Gail Smith
Bernice Gottlieb-Smith and James Smith
Lorraine Sova
Suzanne Spence
Bonnie Stanley
Diane Vanner Steinberg
Marcia and Harvey Steinberg
Sue Gardner Steinmetz and James Steinmetz
Brita Stermer
Anne and Richard Stivala
Marsha A. Stoltman
Anthony M. Stonis
Maxine Storck
Michael Strassberg
Ann M. Strootman
Alec Sung
Gaurav Suri
Shailaja Suryawanshi
C. Thomas Taylor
Margaret Taylor
Robin Thiel
Judith and Richard Thompson
Tracy M. Thompson
Mary Ellen Trapold
Herbert Tritremmel
Julia and Robert Tsai
Suzanne Turk
Barbara Gazey Turner
Richard Van Fleet
Theodore Van Itallie
Sarita Vasudevan
Christine Vissering
Lynn Vogel
Alneater Wallace
Zack Warringer
Ella Watson-Stryker
Deborah A. Wean
Diane Wilfrid
William H. Wilmot
Mark Witmer
LuAnn Wood
Eileen C. Woolf
Shahla and Eberhard Wunderlich
Lynne J. Yager
Jonathan Yavelow
Froma and George Zeitlin
Yetta and Theodore J. Ziolkowski