January is National Blood Donor Month. Blood donors are needed year-round so that the supply can be ready when needed, such as for an individual surgery, trauma situation or a large disaster that brings many to the hospital.
The East Brunswick Jewish Center will sponsor a blood drive from noon to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Brunswick Square Mall, next to Old Navy near Macy’s, 755 Route 18, East Brunswick.
Eat, drink and bring a donor ID card or ID with name and photo.
All donors will receive a pair of festive socks.
Appointments recommended. For an appointment, visit smarturl.it/NJBS_Drive using sponsor code 10326; or call 800-933-2566.
Donors without appointments will be accommodated as space allows.
Dr. Kirsten Fermaglich will discuss her groundbreaking book on Jewish name changing in 20th century America during a virtual Zoom presentation at 7 p.m. Jan. 14.
“A Rosenberg by Any Other Name” reveals that name changing was a broad-based, voluntary response to an upsurge in antisemitism.
Rather than trying to escape their heritage, most name changers remained active within the Jewish community, achieving White middle class status and avoiding antisemitism.
Relying on court documents, oral histories, archival records, and contemporary literature, Fermaglich contends that name changing had a lasting impact on the culture.
Free and open to the public, the event is presented by the Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life at Rutgers University and is the Center’s Raoul Wallenberg Annual Program funded by Leon and Toby Cooperman.
Advance registration is required at BildnerCenter.Rutgers.edu.
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The East Brunswick Public Library will kick off 2021 with the first virtual program in the new “Option Green: Climate Change & Community” environmental education initiative.
The first program in the series is a discussion of the PBS documentary “Decoding the Weather Machine” with New Jersey State Climatologist David A. Robinson at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13. The documentary explores how scientists and researchers have been working to understand weather and climate better. The documentary can be viewed in advance of the program via www.pbs.org, or the DVD can be reserved with a library card from any Middlesex County public library.
The program will be held virtually, with closed captioning available. Tickets are recommended for this free program. To reserve your ticket, or for additional information, visit www.ebpl.org/optiongreen or call 732-390-6767.
The Option Green programs are funded by the American Library Association’s “Resilient Communities: Libraries Respond to Climate Change” pilot program and sponsorship from the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and East Brunswick Public Library. Other community partners include Highland Park Public Library, Matawan-Aberdeen Library, New Brunswick Free Public Library, North Brunswick Library, Old Bridge Public Library, Plainsboro Public Library and South Brunswick Public Library.
Playhouse 22 will be streaming “Auld Lang Song: From Our (Play)House to Yours” from Dec. 26 through Jan. 31.
A virtual concert featuring performers throughout New Jersey, “Auld Lang Song” will be presented on the theater’s website at Playhouse22.org for free.
Featuring Ray Dobrovolsky, Angela Dohl, Eric Freeman, Julie Freeman, Ali Gleason, James Moffett, Lisa Rogol, Zachary Rogol, Kristen Umansky and Francois Suhr, “Auld Lang Song” is a concert of songs from classic Broadway and Hollywood musicals to Christmas songs, as well as recent works from some of today’s hit musicians.
Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.
Raritan Valley Road Runners, one of the largest running clubs in New Jersey, is accepting applications for a new scholarship program designed to help student runners in cross country or track and field who attend high school or community college in Middlesex and Somerset counties.
A one-time award of $1,000 will be made to each of two outstanding athletes enrolling in post-secondary education.
The scholarships are not based entirely on speed or competitions won, but rather on strong academics, sportsmanship, citizenship and financial need.
The scholarships are funded by individual donations, funds from club-sponsored races and business contributions.
Eligible applicants will be graduating from high school in Middlesex or Somerset counties in 2021 or currently attending community college in these counties. They will need to prove acceptance to a full-time (12 credits or more) associate or bachelor’s degree program. They will have a weighted GPA of 2.75 or higher as demonstrated by an unofficial transcript. And they will need to demonstrate passionate participation as a runner in a cross country or track and field in their junior and senior years of high school or while at community college. Participation in extracurricular activities and community involvement will also be considered.
For more information, application materials, or to donate to the scholarship fund, email scholarship@rvrr.org.
The deadline to apply is Jan. 31. Scholarships will be awarded in April.
High school students are invited to enter their substance use prevention messages through their original music as part of the music and song writing competition, “Your Song! Your Voice! Shout Down Drugs New Jersey,” sponsored by New Jersey Broadcasters and 959.9-FM WRAT.
The competition is designed to challenge New Jersey high school students to create original music and lyrics with powerful peer-to-peer substance use, misuse and prevention messages. Entries are accepted through Feb. 1.
All music genres are welcomed from students interested in sharing their talent and inspiring messages about shouting down drugs and raising up their voices to inspire their peers.
The winner of the New Jersey Shout Down Drugs competition, as decided by judges and announced at the end of the Prevention Concert, will receive a $5,000 music contract. The second- and third-place performers will receive $3,000 and $2,000 music contracts, respectively, with the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.
For rules and information on how to enter, contact Diane Higgins at 973-275-7985.
Assemblyman Joe Danielsen’s “Head to Toe” clothing drive is seeking donations of hats, scarves, mittens/gloves and socks for children ages 3-16.
Any donations must be clean and washed, and placed in a Ziploc bag and left in the designated box outside his office at 334 Elizabeth Ave., Somerset, on the second floor.
The drive will last until Feb. 15.
For more information, call 732-247-3999 or email asmdanielsen@njleg.org.
Ongoing
To document the experiences of the community while living through the COVID-19 pandemic, the East Brunswick Public Library has been collecting submissions to a COVID-19 Community Time Capsule.
The time capsule can be viewed online at www.ebpl.org/history
The library is still taking submissions at this time.
The Community Pet Food Bank by New Beginnings Animal Rescue is open from 1-3 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, with varying hours on Saturdays, on the grounds of Nativity Lutheran Church, 552 Ryders Lane, East Brunswick.
For more information, visit nbarnj.org
The Jamesburg Public Library will hold its board meetings on the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m.
These meetings are open to the public, and will take place on Zoom for the remainder of the year.
Visit jamesburglibrary.org or www.facebook.com/JamesburgLibrary/ for further information.
Each meeting will have a different Zoom link and passcode
The East Brunswick Recreation, Parks & Community Services Department is collecting non-perishable food, cash and gift cards for distribution to Aldersgate Community Outreach Center.
Drop off food in the back of the box truck parked in the parking lot, 334 Dunhams Corner Road; the door is kept down so lift it to put donations inside.
Or, drop cash/check/gift cards in an envelope and put in the drop box next to the front door to the Recreation Department.
Raritan Valley YMCA is encouraging residents to #StayWithUs during this time, in particular by visiting the Y’s Facebook page for virtual events, programs and classes.
Adult programs include group fitness classes provided by Y360, Les Mills and from Y instructors. Programs and classes will be updated on a week-to-week basis. The ZOOM app is required; email lramos@raritanvalleyymca.org for log-in details.
The Facebook page also features live story time and creative arts with Ms. Preeti and Ms. Brenda.
Details Camp Yomeca day camp are available on the website. Online registration is open.
For more information, visit raritanvalleyymca.org.
Monroe Township Jewish War Veterans Post 609 is collecting United States and foreign stamps, both on and off envelopes.
Stamps are used by veterans as hobbies and as therapy to support medical staff at VA Medical Centers nationwide.
Stamps are not traded or sold; they are forwarded to veteran patients at no charge.
Also requested are DVDs suitable for veterans at those locations.
Send all items to JWV Post 609, c/o Charles Koppelman, 6 Yarmouth Dr., Monroe 08831-4742.
The East Brunswick Domestic Response Team is seeking volunteers.
Citizens are trained to respond to local police departments on an on-call basis to provide support and information to victims of domestic abuse.
For more information, email domesticviolence@ebpd.net.
The Korean War/Defense Veterans Association Central Jersey Chapter No. 148 extends an invitation to any veterans, regardless of branch of service, who served during the war from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953, in any location, including Europe, or who have served in Korea from July 27, 1953, through the present.
The group meets at 10 a.m. the second Wednesday of every month —except January through April — at the Monroe Township Municipal Building, 1 Municipal Plaza.
Membership dues are $25 to the Korean War Veterans Association and $10 chapter fee per year.
The chapter is involved in various functions during the year, including parades, flag raisings, visiting the Korean War Memorial in Atlantic City, etc.
For more information, contact Charles Koppelman at 609-655-3111 or kwvanj@yahoo.com.
Dove Hospice Services of New Jersey seeks compassionate volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families.
Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes, which can also be nursing facilities or assisted living facilities, at least once a week. They read to the patient, reminisce about their lives, play cards, help with letter writing and provide respite for caregivers.
Visits can be virtual, and are either during the day or early evening.
Volunteers may also assist with administrative work within the hospice office.
Patient care volunteers complete an application and attend a virtual volunteer training program that covers the role of a hospice volunteer. Day and evening virtual training programs are offered.
To sign up for the next virtual training class, contact Volunteer Coordinator Deborah Adams at 732-405-3035 or email deborah@dovehs.com.
