Alpha Xi Omega will hold a two-day fundraiser for Haiti aid efforts
Six Morris area churches will collect canned food and water until the end of the month to send to earthquake-ravaged Haiti, and other local groups are planning various relief efforts.
St. Matthew of the Apostle in Randolph is helping to organize the collection, which can be made there and at all the participating churches beginning Saturday and ending Jan. 31.
In addition to St. Matthew, Our Lady of the Mountain and Saint Mark The Evangelist, both in Long Valley, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Morristown, Saint Andrew Greek Orthodox Church in Randolph and St. Therese in Succasunna all will collect food at various times.
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“I can’t tell you how many people have called me wanting to do something,” said Stephen Gebhardt, a parishioner at St. Matthew of the Apostle.
Gebhardt has taken several humanitarian trips to the impoverished island nation.
He said he has no problem with people sending monetary donations to charitable outlets, but “buying and sending food gets people more engaged.”
Only the following items can be accepted for this drive: canned meat (Spam, ham, chicken, turkey, corned beef, etc.), canned fish (tuna, sardines, salmon), canned milk (evaporated or Parmalat) and water in cases or jug.
There’s no official death count from Tuesday’s earthquake, but the number could be in the hundreds of thousands, according to several media reports.
Several other houses of worship in Morris County are organizing various relief efforts.
St. Catherine of Siena in Mountain Lakes has a Haiti Committee that works to provide aid to a sister parish, Our Lady of the Nativity, in Dame Marie. A church receptionist on Thursday said nothing has been finalized, but the church plans some type of event to help Haiti.
Similarly, Rabbi Mordechai Baumgarten of the Chabad Center of Northwest New Jersey in Rockaway Township said he too expects to collect some type of relief from members to aid Haiti.
“We are. We don’t have any information on that yet (but) we are going to be working with our headquarters in Brooklyn,” Baumgarten said, adding the plan should be finalized within the next two to three days.
Social service organizations also are organizing efforts.
Alpha Xi Omega, a central New Jersey-based post-graduate fraternity, will hold a two-day fundraiser on Saturday and Sunday at the Wal-mart store in the International Trade Center in Mount Olive.
Chapter president Jason Furbert, who grew up in Morristown, said fraternity members were going to collect funds to buy pre-paid phone calling cards for troops overseas, but decided to collect for both causes.
“Monetary is preferred, but we’re a community-based Greek organization,” Furbert said. “If anybody else has anything to contribute we can … ship those items over there for them.”
Fraternity members will be at Walmart from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
Meanwhile, the Diocese of Paterson will ask its churches to take up a second collection during services this weekend, Richard Sokerka, the Diocese’s communications director, said Thursday. Money collected will go to Catholic Relief Services.
Matt Manochio: 973-428-6627; mmanochi@gannett.com
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