the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Fair Lawn NJ, Columbia Bank is pleased to announce its annual Week of Giving, November 15th through November 20th, during which employees volunteer to assist those in need throughout New Jersey. Nearly 100% of the bank’s employees will donate their time at local charities and community organizations.
Columbia Bank, a true community bank, formed a company-wide volunteering program, “Team Columbia”, with the goal of making an enormous impact in the regions in which it serves. Said Thomas J. Kemly, President and CEO of Columbia Bank, “Giving back and making an impact in our community is ingrained in our culture at Columbia Bank. This week especially, Team Columbia is focused on helping our neighbors by volunteering and donating time and resources. It’s the season of giving and we hope to brighten people’s holidays with acts of kindness.”
During the Week of Giving, Team Columbia will support the neighborhoods where they live and work, in consistent and meaningful ways. The week will conclude with a donation of 100 turkeys to various non-profit organizations throughout the State of New Jersey. Additional philanthropic endeavors include:
BERGEN COUNTY
Christian Health Care Center, Wyckoff, NJ – Help Christian Health’s de Snoep Winkel Gift Shop prepare for holidays by assisting gift shop manager to archive and inventory fall themed décor, hang holiday decorations and stock shelves with gifts in time for holiday shopping.
Share Inc., Ridgewood, NJ – Volunteers clean front porch, wipe down furniture, power wash the patio, clean and paint tables, and decorate common dining and living areas for the holidays.
Spectrum for Living Development, Teaneck, NJ – Wash transport vans, both interior and exterior, including vacuuming, cleaning windows, wiping down seats and discarding trash.
Star of Hope Ministries, Glen Rock, NJ – Distribute “Boxes of Love” complete with Thanksgiving dinner ingredients. Packages are given to various churches for pick-up
Youth Consultation Service, Inc., Hackensack, NJ – YCS Holley Center is a group home for 64 children ages 5-14. Volunteers create a Holiday Winter Wonderland for the children, including five common areas.
BURLINGTON COUNTY
Virtua Health, Marlton, NJ – Write thank you letters to healthcare workers.
CAMDEN COUNTY
Personalized Independent Living Opportunities & Training Services (P.I.L.O.T. Services), Berlin, NJ – Interior and exterior work including weeding, mulching, clean up, and paint touch ups.
Urban Promise Academy, Camden, NJ – After-school activities with children and teens including snacks, homework assistance, art/music and Thanksgiving theme based activities.
ESSEX COUNTY
Greater Life Community Outreach Center, Newark, NJ – Assist in food pantry and coat closet. Unload and transport food from truck to building, sort, bag, hand out food to families. Organize coat room and sort new coats by gender and sizes.
United Way of Greater Newark, Newark, NJ – Donate coats to local organizations throughout Newark to serve the homeless population.
(more)
GLOUCESTER COUNTY
Fearless Movement, Washington Township, NJ – Assemble Art Therapy “at home” kits full of various art supplies such as paintbrushes, paint, canvases, coloring books, crayons, and stress-relieving activities. Kits originated with the knowledge behind psychological studies on the importance of activating creative intelligence. Access to the arts provides an outlet to release stress, provides joy, boosts productivity, and breaks communication barriers amongst those verbal and non-verbal.
South Jersey Dream Center, National Park, NJ – Pack Thanksgiving food items for 75 families and distribute to parents via curbside pickup.
HUNTERDON COUNTY
Hunterdon Youth Services, Flemington, NJ – Decorate the facility for the holidays, build a bike rack, participate in arts and crafts, and cookie bake with youth.
MONMOUTH COUNTY
Fulfill Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, Neptune City, NJ – Pack crisis relief boxes and after school backpacks for children, sort donations to be sent out to agencies and those in need.
MORRIS COUNTY
March of Dimes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ – Assemble Mom care gift bags to be delivered to hospital partners on World Prematurity Day and throughout the month of November. Pick up gift bags and deliver to: Englewood Health, Valley Hospital and Hoboken Medical Center.
Team Columbia at March of Dimes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ During Week of Giving,
Assembling Mom-Care Gift Bags to Be Delivered to Hospital Partners on World
Prematurity Day. Image Courtesy of Columbia Bank.
PASSAIC COUNTY
Cumach Echo, Paterson, NJ – Sort vegetables, pack healthy grocery bags and work in warehouse.
Eastern Christian School Association, North Haldeon, NJ – Disassemble, transport and organize set props and stage scenery, clean space so ready for next event.
Eva’s Village, Paterson, NJ – Pack and distribute hot to-go meals for lunch to sustain people through the weekend.
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Paterson, NJ – Clean up perimeter of campus, pick up trash on property and write thank you letters to healthcare workers.
(more)
Holland Christian Home Association, North Haldeon, NJ – Decorate Holland Christian Home for the holidays and spread cheer to residents.
Oasis Haven for Women and Children, Paterson, NJ – Nurturing and Childcare Centers: Assist childcare staff in watching babies and toddlers while moms are in class. Computer Lab: Assist computer teacher with students learning basic computer skills. English as a Second Language: Assist teachers with ESL students. Kitchen help and lunch service: Help kitchen staff prepare meals for the day and serve students and community. Clothing Donation Room and Thrift Store: Help sort clothing and assist thrift store manager in boutique. Food Pantry: Help sort and assemble food bags for families in the community.
Paterson First SDA Church, Paterson, NJ – Prepare for food distribution and distributed the bags to members of the community.
SOMERSET COUNTY
Simuel Whitfield Simmons Organization, Somerset, NJ – Donate food items to create a complete Thanksgiving meal for annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive.
UNION COUNTY
Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Hillside, NJ – Assemble emergency food boxes and other necessary items to be distributed to partner agencies and members of the community.
St Joseph Social Service Center, Elizabeth, NJ – Donated toiletry items to create gift bags for families in need during the holidays
Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth, NJ – Write thank you letters to healthcare workers Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) of Fanwood-Scotch Plains, Scotch Plains, NJ – Paint a classroom
Team Columbia Volunteers at Spectrum for Living in Teaneck, NJ During Week of Giving.
Image Courtesy of Columbia Bank.
Columbia Bank was founded in 1927 and headquartered in Fair Lawn, NJ, Columbia Bank has 61 full-service branch networks spanning the state of New Jersey, an asset base of approximately $9.1 billion. Columbia Bank offers a full suite of consumer and commercial products, including online and mobile banking, localized lending centers as well as title, investment and wealth management services. For more information about Columbia Bank’s complete line of products and services, visit www.ColumbiaBankOnline.com. Follow Columbia Bank on: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube & Linked In.