St. Mary’s School students Michael O’Malley (l-r) and JimmyMulvaney carry bags of gifts collected through the New Monmouth school’s Families Helping Families program. The program has been taking place every December for the past 13 years. Students in grades Pre-K through eight bring in Christmas gifts for needy families and smallmonetary donations, which go toward grocery store gift cards to help families purchase food. Parent volunteers get together during the week before Christmas to organize the many toys, gifts and clothes that are donated by St. Mary’s School families. The gifts are then bagged and loaded onto a truck for delivery to less fortunate families through the Sisters of Mercy in Asbury Park and the VisitingNurseAssociation of Central Jersey in Red Bank. St. Mary’s Families Helping Families program has grown to assist some 72 families this year. Holmdel Township is accepting letters of interest/résumés for various volunteer positions.
The Cultural Appreciation Committee, the Cross FarmAdvisory Committee, the Tennis Committee and the Swim Committee are seeking dedicated individuals to participate in various projects throughout the year.
Nina Rose Muldoon (center), a third-grader at the Village School in Holmdel, is pictured with animal rescue volunteer Matthew Swift (far right) at Petco of Eatontown’s Pet Adoption Day on Jan. 6. Muldoon asked her friends to donate money to Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue in lieu of giving her birthday gifts. She presented the donations to Jackie Hastings (rear), founder of Castle of Dreams, a canine rescue group based in Monmouth County that finds foster homes for dogs and puppies prior to adoption. Each term will expire on Dec. 31 and will require the applicant to attendmeetings, which will be set by the committee.
Letters, résumés and applications should be submitted no later than Feb. 21. They can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent to Township Clerk, Township of Holmdel, PO Box 410, Holmdel, NJ 07733, or faxed to (732) 946-0116.
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The Italian American Association of Monmouth County will celebrate “Carnevale,” an Italian Mardi Gras held before Fat Tuesday, 12:30-5 p.m. Feb. 3 at Sterling Gardens, Route 79, Matawan. The event will feature various foods, a show with actors in masks and costume, auction table and a 50/50 raffle. Attendees arewelcome to come in costume. The cost is $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 3-12. For more information, call Maria at (732) 863-0021 or Cheryl at (732) 536-5832.
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The Monmouth County Reading Council will host a book wrapping party at the Cliffwood Elementary School, Cliffwood section of Matawan, on Thursday, Jan. 31 from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
The party is in support of theMCRC’s “Have aHeart,Give a Book” literacy project. Books will be wrapped and delivered to shelters, hospitals, tutoring programs and clinics as Valentine’s Day gifts for children who may not have books of their own.
In case of snow, the party will be moved to Feb. 7. For more information, contact Michele Mackay at michelemackay@ verizon.net.
***** Registration is now open for the “Daddy & Daughter Sweetheart” dance sponsored by Holmdel Office of Parks & Recreation. The dance forHolmdel girls in grades three through six will be held 4-7 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Holmdel Senior/Community Center, 6 Crawfords Corner Road. The cost is $80 per couple and $15 for each additional daughter; registration is limited. For more information, call Deborah at recreation, (732) 946-2820, ext. 1225, or e-mail [email protected].