Who has your back?

 When unexpected change shows up quickly and regularly, as it did this year, with the arrival of both Irene and the late October storm, life gets complicated.  When the economy has you stressed to begin with, unexpected change is rarely benevolent.  Violent community change requires a shock absorber.  

Our ever vigilant community shock absorber is our local chapter of the .  When times get tough, the Red Cross is there for all of us, regardless of who we are or where we live.  Recently, in responding to these two storms, Summit’s shock absorber has taken a couple of big financial hits and could use some help.

We all are all besieged with requests for help at this time of the year.  This creates an uncomfortable condition requiring us to choose among the many organizations in need.  To help the Summit community prioritize these choices for the benefit of the Red Cross, the is inaugurating a year-end community matching challenge:  The OFFF will match dollar for dollar gifts to the Red Cross up to $2,500.00.  The little foundation, headquartered at the Summit Diner, hopes that the community will respond generously to this challenge and exceed the stated $5,000.00 goal.

The Other Fellow First Foundation (www.summitdiner.org) exists to help New Jersey families in distress.  Mayor Glatt, who has been active in helping the OFFF, urges the community to be as generous as possible in responding to this matching challenge.  Additionally, he reminds us:  “Summit may be a small city but it has a huge heart!”

Christy Hodde, Executive Director of the Colonial Crossroads Chapter of the Red Cross, reminds us all of some chilling New Jersey statistics that she has had to deal with as a result of the hardships caused by the last two storms:

• The Red Cross unexpectedly provided over 300,000 meals;
• The Red Cross provided more than 19,600 overnight stays;
• The Red Cross mobilized over 700 volunteer workers to deal with the urgent needs of New Jersey families in distress.

If you can help, please consider sending your tax deductible gift to:

                                                      The Other Fellow First Foundation

                                                           C /O Brett Haire

                                                           47 Summit Avenue

                                                          Summit, NJ  07901