Dear Colleagues, Members & Friends,
The OCLTRG general meeting scheduled for December 5th will be postponed until after the holidays to allow the OCLTRG and its member agencies to focus their attention on the client and community needs during this holiday season. The next general meeting will be held on January 9, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Elks Club in Toms River. With many of our agencies barely recovering from the community Thanksgiving events, we are now thrust into preparing to meet the needs for the holiday season. Securing donations, finding host sites, advertising to the public, recruiting and organizing volunteers all while continuing to provide our normal services can be difficult. One less meeting this month is our gift to you!
We did want to take this opportunity to update everyone on a few key items. The Human Resources Committee will be completing the interview process for the Project Director position and will make an announcement in the next few weeks. The Case Management unit continues to hold weekly meetings to vet cases and has presented two additional cases to the Unmet Needs Table. Over $13,000.00 was distributed to pay for the installation of flooring, storage space, well reconnections and insulation for victims of Sandy. The Construction unit provided construction support services to an additional 15 families and continues to work on 10 cases from the prior month. Our Volunteer Coordinator is finalizing the host site grants to ensure that there is sufficient housing available to volunteers assisting with the recovery. Finally, we are diligently working on a “Welcome Home” celebration for a family we have been working with for months. We will keep you up to date with regard to these events through our website.
While we should all take a moment to celebrate our accomplishments, Thanksgiving was a subtle reminder of the pain and suffering that still exists in our community as a result of this storm. The line outside of the People’s Pantry where over 400 residents received free thanksgiving dinners or the cars pulling up to the Salvation Army where 250 families received thanksgiving baskets remind us that there is much work left to be done. We will only succeed if we continue to collaborate and work together towards the restoration of our communities and our county.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the recovery efforts. If anyone has an announcement they would like to send out to the group, please forward it to Lisa Petrozzello at the OCLTRG and she will post it on our website. Have a wonderful Holiday Season! We look forward to working with you in the New Year!
Sincerely yours,
Maria La Face
Chair of the OCLTRG