“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