An honor for Fred Vereen as he prepares to retire from Eggerts Crossing Village

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   In the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood, the letters “ECV” are commonly accepted to stand for Eggerts Crossing Village on Johnson Avenue. This month, ECV also stands for “Every Child Valued.”
   Mayor Mark Holmes declared October as “Every Child Valued Month” in honor of Fred Vereen Jr., who inspired the “Every Child Valued” program at the Eggerts Crossing Village affordable housing development.
   Mr. Vereen led a five-year grass-roots effort to win community acceptance for the 100-unit affordable housing development that became known as Eggerts Crossing Village. He has served as its manager since it opened its doors in 1974.
   The lifelong Lawrence resident, who is retiring from that post at the end of this year, will be honored Oct. 25 at the “Trumpeting Success Gala” at Educational Testing Service.
   At Tuesday night’s Township Council meeting, Mayor Holmes gestured to Mr. Vereen to leave his seat in the audience and come up to the podium to receive the proclamation stating that October is “Every Child Valued Month.”
   ”Uncle,” Mayor Holmes said to Mr. Vereen, as audience members laughed knowingly. Mr. Vereen is the mayor’s uncle.
   ”Nephew,” Mr. Vereen said with a smile, as he approached the podium.
   Before reading the proclamation, Mayor Holmes said he was “deeply honored” to present the proclamation to Mr. Vereen — whom he called his uncle, friend and mentor.
   ”My grandparents would be very proud to see their grandson give this proclamation to his uncle,” Mayor Holmes said. “He tirelessly worked hard to provide housing and opportunities to those less fortunate. As Grandmom used to say, ‘Junior, job well done.’”
   Mayor Holmes read the proclamation to the audience. It noted Mr. Vereen’s accomplishments, from serving as the first director of the Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center to establishing a credit union and “a wide variety” of programs for children and adults at the center.
   ”Most importantly, (Mr. Vereen) has cared about the youth of ECV and has challenged the greater community to help provide those young people every possible chance to succeed in school, life and career,” the proclamation said.
   ”In 1999, on the occasion of ECV’s 25th anniversary, Fred issued that challenge more formally, asking Lawrence to ‘renew its commitment to community,’” the proclamation said. The Every Child Valued program grew out of that challenge.
   The Every Child Valued program is a collaborative effort between the Lawrence Township public schools and the affordable housing development at 175 Johnson Ave. The program offers an after-school homework program, as well as summer programs and a mentoring program to reinforce the children’s learning.
   ”On behalf of a grateful Lawrence community, I honor Fred’s many contributions to this community by dedicating the month of October to the ongoing support and strengthening of these extraordinarily effective programs for young people. Let every child be valued, each and every day in Lawrence Township,” Mayor Holmes read from the proclamation.
   After Mayor Holmes finished reading the proclamation, Mr. Vereen thanked him and Township Council for the recognition, which he said he accepted on behalf of the dozen audience members who came out to support him. He added that he wants “Every Child Valued” to be extended to all children in Lawrence Township.
   Philip Vinch, who grew up in the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood, praised Mr. Vereen, and added that “we need to give something else (to Mr. Vereen) — a plaque on the wall.”
   ”For those of us who were born and raised in Eggerts Crossing — which was not recognized as being part of Lawrence Township — not only did Fred stay (when he could have moved away), he did something all of us can be proud of. He gave back to the people,” Mr. Vinch said.
   Helen Holmes, Mayor Holmes’ mother and Mr. Vereen’s sister, also praised her brother. Mr. Vereen took care of everyone who needed help and served as a mentor to his own family, she said.