By Jeff Friedman
Editor’s Note: This week, Jeff, Friedman, founder and CEO of Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI), explains, in his own words, how LPI addresses the ongoing needs of the homeless.
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On behalf of myself and stalwart Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) volunteers Karen Friedman, Alan Levin, Rick Levin and Alan Wishengrad, I’m offering my sincere thanks to our continually generous Livingston community for keeping LPI going strong. This is our 12th season of “providing for the homeless, profoundly poor and disenfranchised.”
We’re a year ’round operation, so Livingston’s continued altruism is vital to LPI fulfilling our mission. The so-called “giving season” around the holidays is certainly more than helpful to our philanthropic initiatives. Still, our Livingston neighbors understand that the “needing season” runs for 12 months. The needs of extremely poor families and those living out on the cold streets actually continues to expand.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest analysis reports, “In New Jersey, 798,262 people lived below the poverty line in 2019. By 2021, an additional 132,340 people here were living in poverty – for a total of 930,602.” That’s why Livingston Philanthropies is here to help. Just this season, which commenced in September, LPI volunteers provided fresh produce and fruit, thousands of name-brand baked goods, winter gloves and beanies, thousands of Bombas socks, new and gently used family clothing, toiletries and cosmetics gift bags, sizes 2X-6X clothing, and size 15 footwear for specialized recipients, along with handling additional special projects called “pop-up-initiatives.”
Partnerships keep LPI moving forward. I invite Livingston’s religious, service, education, business and corporate organizations to plan special projects and collections for LPI. Please send me an email at [email protected] or visit our website at njhomeless.org. Online contributions can be handled at paypal.me/njhomeless. A PayPal account is not required to make tax-deductible gifts.
Photo: Lifetime Livingston resident, LHS alumnus, and LPI volunteer Alan Levin gets it done at LPI World Headquarters (founder Jeff Friedman’s Livingston garage). “Livingston residents understand that the ‘needing season’ runs for 12 months,” said Friedman.
