By Jeff Friedman
Editor’s Note: This week, Jeff Friedman, founder and CEO of Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI), explains, in his own words, how the organization addresses the ongoing needs of “giving season.”
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I may sound like a broken record. A 78 RPM, I presume. It’s when I remind Tribune readers that “needing season” is every month… not just around the holidays. My young and esteemed West Essex Tribune editor, Natalie Tsur, may have seen 78s in history books or at her grandparents’ home. Or not.
“Giving Season” continues in August at Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) because Livingston is an altruistic community. Clothing for the entire family, new toiletries and cosmetics, new kids’ backpacks stuffed with back-to-school supplies, diapers and diapering kits and so much more continue to arrive at LPI. Livingston volunteers are also purchasing new items along with fresh produce and fruit on a continuing basis all year round.
It’s always a good time to make a difference. Please email for my Livingston drop-off address at [email protected] or call me directly for any reason at 207-677-3707. For those residents who want to empower LPI volunteers to shop for them, contributions may be handled electronically at paypal.me/njhomeless or by visiting our redesigned website at njhomeless.org.
Let’s take it back to our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln (serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865) who wisely said, “To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.”
Photo: “Ladies of the Boutique” director Elise Austin and volunteer Mr. Charles at Newark’s Willing Heart Community Care Center receive Livingston’s nicely presented family clothing donations. “LPI volunteers love donating attire on hangers from the cleaners or closets and neatly packed in boxes or bags,” said LPI’s founder, Jeff Friedman. “And the ‘Ladies’ enjoy receiving it.”
