Sarah A. Thoma
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Roz Dashiell
609-393-9922
[email protected]
Interfaith Caregivers Among Those to be Honored by TEAM on June 1st
Hamilton, NJ – May 15, 2012 — On June 1, 2012, The Trenton Ecumenical Area Ministry (TEAM), which seeks to generate reconciliation and harmony among diverse Mercer County groups, will honor several area church parishioners and Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County at its 2012 Annual Benefit Awards Dinner. Rev. Dr. Melinda Contreras-Byrd, Co-Pastor of Grant Chapel AME Church in Trenton, will be the keynote speaker.
TEAM honorees include Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County; Shirley Yost – Titusville Presbyterian Church; Audrey Willis – Shiloh Baptist Church; Bishop Ronald Diggs – Lutheran Synod of New Jersey; Marie Gladney – Mt. Carmel Guild; Dr. Vincent H. Jackson – St. John’s Baptist Church; and Deborah Ford – Trinity Cathedral.
The event will begin at 6:00pm at First Pennington Lighthouse Community Ministries, 715 Bellevue Avenue, Trenton, New Jersey. Tickets and event advertising and sponsorships are available by calling 609-394-9229 or e-mailing [email protected] before May 25, 2012.
Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County (formerly Interfaith Caregivers Trenton) is a Hamilton, NJ-based nonprofit organization serving homebound elderly and people with disabilities. It was founded by TEAM in 1994 with a Faith In Action seed grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Last year alone, 241 active Interfaith Caregivers volunteers provided 10,910 hours of free services to close to 300 elderly and disabled people throughout the County — an increase in hours of more than 12.7% over 2010. Volunteer services include transportation to doctors’ offices, shopping, friendly visiting, light housekeeping and home maintenance, telephone reassurance and occasional meal preparation. These basic services very often enable care receivers to avoid institutionalization and age in their homes — independently, safely and with dignity.
“Our wonderful volunteers are of diverse religions, and they share TEAM’s love for their fellow man,” says Sarah A. Thoma, Interfaith Caregiver’s Executive Director. “As Ghandi so eloquently stated, our ‘religion is kindness.’”
The Trenton Ecumenical Area Ministry has provided many years of ecumenical leadership for 72 years to the Mercer County Area through worship, seminars and new ecumenical ministries. The only ecumenical faith-based coalition of urban and suburban churches in Mercer County, TEAM’s mission is to strengthen the partnership and collaboration between Christian churches of all races and classes throughout the County. It works to promote inter-religious dialogue, cultural and racial-ethnic sensitivity, respect and understanding.
For further information about Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County, call 609-393-9922 and/or visit the organization’s new website at www.icgmc.org. For information about TEAM, call 609-394-9229 and/or visit www.teamtrenton.org.