The following is from the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills, Inc. (JLOSH):
Thanks to the annual Thanksgiving Baskets Community Program organized by the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills, Inc. (JLOSH), three hundred local families in need enjoyed a full Thanksgiving dinner complete with a turkey plus all the trimmings.
Kings Food Market generously donated the nearly 300 turkeys, as well as shopping bags, that were distributed to those families who would otherwise not have had a Thanksgiving dinner. ShopRite of Springfield also donated shopping bags for the grocery items and offered bulk discounts on other items needed to round out the meals. The rest of the food items were collected through various food drives held by Christ Church Nursery School in Short Hills, Millburn Public Schools, the Essex County Prosecutor’s office and JLOSH. Each Thanksgiving basket was filled with turkey, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes and corn bread. The Thanksgiving baskets were personally assembled and delivered by JLOSH members.
Sara D’Andrea of Maplewood and Sumukha Ravishankar of Short Hills, along with Tyrone Dorsey, Manager of Food Services at the Orange Board of Education, Lenny Rosa and Michelle Mercer of the Orange school district
JLOSH partnered with the Orange School District to reach recipients, including Orange High School, Orange Preparatory Academy, Rosa Parks Community School, Lincoln Avenue School, Forest Street School, Cleveland Street School, Heywood Avenue School, Oakwood Avenue School, Park Avenue School, Orange Early Childhood Center, Career and Innovation Academy.
“JLOSH is committed to filling the need of families in need in our service area and it is our continued hope that these baskets will help our neighbors enjoy the holiday season with a bit less worry about the food insecurity which impacts them daily,” said JLOSH President Kelly Sandler. “I know that the commitment of our members and our community partners will together make progress in fighting to fill the needs of families in our service area one impact at a time.”
The Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills is an organization of women developed as civic and community leaders creating lasting community impact. JLOSH provides service to East Orange, Livingston, Maplewood, Milburn, Orange, Short Hills, South Orange, Springfield and West Orange, and reaches out to women of all races, religions and national origins. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. To learn more about JLOSH, visit www.jlosh.org or find it on Facebook.
