Opportunities are plentiful at one of Hopewell Valley’s best-known nonprofit organizations. Whether you’re looking for a new volunteer role to start the New Year off on a high note, searching for a worthy recipient for your year-end charitable giving, or looking for help with meals for a homebound friend or relative, FISH (Friends in Service Here) is the place to go.
The FISH organization has been helping neighbors in Hopewell Valley for more than 40 years, although the parent organization was created in England back in the early 1960s. The local organization consists entirely of volunteers, from all walks of life, each with the desire to lend a helping hand.
Volunteers typically fill one of two roles within the organization: dispatcher or driver. Dispatchers cover a 24-hour period during which they answer calls for help and arrange for meals to be delivered by various drivers to a list of clients in need. Calls to the FISH number are forwarded each day to the home or cell phone of that day’s volunteer dispatcher.
Drivers generally agree to be available one day a month to pick up and deliver meals provided at a reduced price by the Pennington Quality Market and paid for by those clients in need.
Most dispatchers and drivers serve one day per month, though many prefer to help more often. Some serve in both roles, and there are many volunteers who list themselves as "substitutes" to cover vacations, illnesses, etc. New volunteers are always welcome!
Thanks to the generosity of the Rothwell Family and the talents of the Pennington Quality Market Catered Cuisine staff, the meals are prepared daily in the PQM kitchens and provided at a substantially reduced cost.
If a FISH client has difficulty affording his/her meals, the organization can step in to help thanks to local donors. Similarly, operations costs such as insurance and telephone service are covered by donations to FISH of Hopewell Valley.
FISH of Hopewell Valley is a registered 501c3 nonprofit so donations are tax deductible.
The clients of FISH are Hopewell Valley residents who are homebound due to disability, illness, accident or age. Some clients receive meals on a daily basis while others opt for delivery two or three days per week.
Each delivery consists of a full hot meal and soup along with a bag lunch for later consumption. Arrangements are made by calling the FISH telephone line at 609-737-9123.
The volunteers of FISH welcome interest and support. Contributions can be made out to FISH and sent to: FISH, c/o Carlana Sargent, 335 Cold Soil Road, Princeton, 08540.
