Sheila A. Bloom, of Jackson, joined nearly 8,000 other consultants at PartyLite’s 32nd anniversary national conference, held at the MCI Arena and Washington Convention Center in Wash-ington, D.C., July 20-23. PartyLite, a subsidiary of Blyth Inc., is a direct sales marketer of candles and candle accessories with more than 37,000 independent consultants nationwide.
Bloom and her fellow attendees also celebrated the success of their personal contributions to the American Cancer Society, which reached more than $1 million this year. Since 1997, the PartyLite team has raised more than $7 million for the charity.
Bloom began her personal business with PartyLite as an independent consultant in 2001. She currently provides customers in the Jackson area with candles and accessories and assists with developing and training new consultants.
Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey has been awarded $20,000 for its New Home for Home Care capital campaign by OceanFirst Founda-tion of Toms River. The grant is a gift to the agency’s New Home for Home Care Capital Campaign to raise funds for an addition to VNA of Central Jersey headquarters in Red Bank.
The building will provide a new home for many programs including home nursing, rehabilitative therapies and home health aide services; a maternal/child health clinic; case management programs for handicapped children; and a counseling center for bereaved children and families.
The agency’s public health services and a technology center will also be housed in the 20,500-square-foot addition, which replaces an obsolete building on Bodman Place, Red Bank. Leading edge technology is needed for nurses and therapists who maintain up-to-date patient records via laptop computers, and for programs such as monitoring of patients with unstable conditions via the Internet.
Gary Casperson, OceanFirst vice president for business development, presented the first installment of the $20,000 gift to Coleman at the agency’s annual meeting held July 19 in Rumson.
Mon-Oc Federal Credit Union employees and members recently participated in a drive to collect school supplies for children in need. Credit Union staff and members picked an apple from the “apple tree” located in each Mon-Oc branch throughout Ocean and Mon-mouth counties. Each apple represented a child in need of back-to-school supplies such as backpacks, notebooks, pencils, pens, etc. Among the organizations that benefited from the drive are Ocean’s Harbor House in Toms River, Howell Human Services Department, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth County, and 180 Turning Lives Around in Hazlet.
The Jackson Chamber of Com-merce has chosen the recipients of the 2005 Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award as well as the 2005 Business of the Year Award. The recipients are: Business of the Year — Bella Terra, County Line Road, Jackson; Nonprofit Organization — Green Thumb Garden Club of Jackson. Woman of the Year — Virginia Khoudary. Man of the Year — The Rev. G. Scott Shaffer. Presentation of the awards will be made on Sept. 14, at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Lakewood, at 6 p.m. For details and reservations, call (732) 833-0005.
The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce will hold a luncheon meeting Sept. 7 at Woodlake Country Club, 25 New Hampshire Ave., Lakewood. Russell K. Corby, director of the Lakewood Development Corp., will present the results of this year’s Lakewood Industrial Park Survey. Networking will begin at 11:30 a.m. with lunch at noon. The cost is $25 for chamber members and $30 for nonmembers. A $5 charge will be added for walk-ins. Details and reservations: (732) 363-0012.
The Howell Chamber of Commerce will hold a “Business After Hours Networking” event on Sept. 12, 5:30 p.m. at Just Carpets, Route 9 north, Howell. Cost is $7 per person or two people for $10. Details: (732) 363-4114.
The Howell Chamber of Commerce will hold a general membership meeting on Sept. 28, 11:45 a.m. at the Southard Fire House, Route 9 north, Howell. Guest speaker will be Dorothy Avallone from the Monmouth County Consumer Affairs office. Cost: $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Details: (732) 363-4114.
The Howell Chamber of Commerce will hold a “Business After Hours Networking” event on Nov. 3, 11:45 a.m. at Sign Design & More, 2233 Route 9 North, Regal Plaza, Howell. Cost is $7 per person or two people for $10. Details: (732) 363-4114.