The Metlar-Bodine House Museum is reopening after months of closure due to COVID-19.
Discover Piscataway’s exceptional 354-year-old back story told in a docent-led tour. Learn why and how America’s tradition of celebrating July 4 began in Piscataway in 1778. View a map display of the museum’s theme “From Indian Trail to Interstate,” a journey through time. Visit the museum’s Dutch Door gift shop.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, 10 and 17; noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12, and 19; and noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 13.
Schedule subject to change due to COVID-19. Call ahead or visit the website.
Admission is $5 per person; children under 5 free. Pay at the door, cash only.
Group tours of four must schedule in advance.
Official COVID-19 guidelines include limiting tours and gift shop visits to one group of four people at a time to maintain social distancing; masks required for children and adults before entering the museum and to be worn during the visit; and the availability of hand sanitizer at the admission desk and in the gift shop.
The museum is located at 1281 River Road, Piscataway.
For more information, call 732-463-8363, email [email protected] or visit https://metlarbodinehousemuseum.org
The Girls on the Run of Central NJ (GOTRCNJ) Fall 5K race will be virtual this year.
The 5K Turkey Trot will take place Nov. 26-29 and is open to the public. Registrants can complete the virtual 5K on their time and in their own place.
Registration is free and open to all. However, in an effort to sustain the GOTRCNJ Scholarship Fund, participants can donate $10 or an amount of their choice to GOTRCNJ during registration. One hundred percent of donations will go to scholarships to make the program accessible to girls who otherwise would not be able to participate.
Participants will receive a printable bib and finisher’s certificate.
Register at https://runsignup.com/gotrturkeytrot or visit www.gotrcnj.org.
For race questions, contact Donna York at [email protected] or 908-642-4321.
The Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth will hold the 17th annual Suicide Prevention Conference, focusing on “Reaching for Hope,” from 8:30 a.m. to noon Dec. 3, via WebEx.
Speakers include Susan Klebold, author and activist; and Vanessa L. McGann, clinical psychologist
To register, visit https://rutgers.cloud-cme.com/course/courseoverview?P=5&EID=7116
Cost is $49 per person.
Right at Home of Central New Jersey and its healthcare partner, HarborChase of Princeton, hosted a Back to School Drive for the families of health care heroes. Many professional partners and local businesses donated supplies, filling close to 600 bags of school supplies.
Currently, Right at Home of Central New Jersey is providing snacks and beverages to health care heroes at facilities throughout Middlesex, Northern Monmouth and Mercer counties through the Junk Trunk. The RAH-mobile has been filled and deliveries are on their way.
Starting the second week of November, the Junk Trunk will be transitioning to the Holiday Hatchback and member will be delivering holiday snacks and goodies to health care heroes to wish them a safe and happy holiday season.
To donate snacks, call Right at Home of Central New Jersey at 732-967-0900.
Donations can be dropped off at the office, 1405 Route 18 south, Suite 203, Old Bridge.
For more information, visit www.rightathome.net/monmouth-middlesex/ or email [email protected].
The Old Bridge Township Public School District provides special education and related services to disabled children/students ages 3-21 who are in need of special education.
If you reside within the district or have a child attending a non-public school in Old Bridge and suspect your child may be disabled due to physical, sensory, emotional, communication, cognitive or social difficulties, call the Office of Special Services.
For children 3-5 years old, pre-school disabled means an identified disabling condition and or measurable developmental impairment that requires special education and related services.
For additional information, call your neighborhood school and ask for the Child Study Team or call the Office of Special Services at 732-360-4461.
Old Bridge PBA Local 127 will host its 24th annual holiday party for families in need, “Cops for Kids,” on Dec. 4 in the municipal complex courtyard.
The party will be held entirely outside and feature a Winter Wonderland.
Approximately 90 children and their families will be treated to a full dinner, a visit from Santa Claus and gifts.
Monetary donations can be sent to Cops for Kids, Attn: Sgt. Jim Ford, Old Bridge Police Department, 1 Old Bridge Plaza, Old Bridge 08857. New, unwrapped toys and games can be dropped off at police headquarters from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
The Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, serving Monmouth and Middlesex counties, will hold its annual meeting, Giving Wings to the Jewish Heart of Jersey, at 6:30p.m. Dec. 8 via Zoom.
Look at ways the Jewish community became more connected and capable this year amid extraordinary challenges, recognize individuals and organizations for playing key roles, and celebrate the shared values that unite Jews.
The first 100 households to sign up by Nov. 25 will receive a celebration goody bag.
For registration information, visit https://www.jewishheartnj.org/
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Dove Hospice Services of New Jersey seeks compassionate volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families.
Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes, which can also be nursing facilities or assisted living facilities, at least once a week. They read to the patient, reminisce about their lives, play cards, help with letter writing and provide respite for caregivers.
Visits can be virtual, and are either during the day or early evening.
Volunteers may also assist with administrative work within the hospice office.
Patient care volunteers complete an application and attend a virtual volunteer training program that covers the role of a hospice volunteer. Day and evening virtual training programs are offered.
To sign up for the next virtual training class, contact Volunteer Coordinator Deborah Adams at 732-405-3035 or email [email protected].
The YMCA of Greater Monmouth County is introducing new child care options and academic programming this fall.
The YMCA is launching the “Y Academy” in September to provide convenient, flexible and affordable options for children in grades K-6, whose schedules are split between in-person and virtual learning.
Parents will have options, with children attending two or three days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Y Academy will be available at the Freehold Family YMCA, Freehold Borough YMCA Community Center, and Matawan Child Achievement Center.
The Y plans to offer the Y Academy at the Old Bridge Family YMCA and Red Bank Family YMCA, pending licensing, and community sites are also under consideration depending on interest.
Also new this fall is a full-day kindergarten program for families who prefer in-person classroom instruction. Young learners will engage in an academic curriculum, physical fitness, and social and emotional learning activities.
The kindergarten program will be available in September at the Freehold Family YMCA’s Enrichment Center and Matawan Child Achievement Center. It will run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, with extended care available at 7 a.m. and until 6 p.m.
Children will be placed in small groups and all safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health departments will be strictly followed. Staff and children will be required to wear masks (with scheduled mask breaks for children). Health screenings will be mandatory at parent drop off and both parent and child will be temperature checked.
The Y will also resume before and after school care in the following school districts: Atlantic Highlands, Fair Haven, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Highlands, Little Silver, Manalapan/Englishtown, Matawan, Middletown Township, Millstone, Monmouth Beach, Shrewsbury, Spring Lake Heights and West Long Branch.
Additionally, the Y provides child care for infants to preschoolers at the Freehold Family YMCA and an academic pre-school program at the Matawan Child Achievement Center.
To learn more about YMCA child care programs and registration, visit www.ymcanj.org.
The times and dates of food pantry operations in Sayreville have changed.
Food will be distributed in a contactless drive up service from 10 a.m. to noon every Tuesday at the Sayreville Senior Center, 423 Main St.
Donations will be accepted from 2-4 p.m. every Tuesday, also at the Senior Center, to ensure food is quarantined for a week prior to redistribution.
For more information, email [email protected]
The honorees are:
- Chris Beagan, Class of 1990, three-time state championship coach, GMC Coach of the Year
- Steven Casano, Class of 1985, founding executive director of NeuroSearch; Sayreville Little League coach, sponsorship coordinator and board member
- William D’Amico, Class of 1973, distinguished military career; three special operations commanding officer tours of duty; post-military career in corporate medical device, consumer goods and industrial manufacturing industries
- The late Matthew Lynch, Class of 1985, president of Friends Of Children’s Hospital in Warsaw, Poland; honored by U.S. ambassador to Poland for 20 years of service
- Farrah Reilly, Class of 1994, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author under the pen name Emma Chase; books translated into more than 20 languagesTickets are $50 for adults or $30 for children, with a choice of meals.All reservations received to date for tickets and program ads will be honored.New ad book and ticket requests will be mailed in March.For more information, contact Elaine Kubacz at 732-727-0192 or [email protected].
Monroe Township Jewish War Veterans Post 609 is collecting United States and foreign stamps, both on and off envelopes.
Stamps are used by veterans as hobbies and as therapy to support medical staff at VA Medical Centers nationwide.
Stamps are not traded or sold; they are forwarded to veteran patients at no charge.
Also requested are DVDs suitable for veterans at those locations.
Send all items to JWV Post 609, c/o Charles Koppelman, 6 Yarmouth Dr., Monroe 08831-4742.
Old Bridge High School is seeking active duty or reservist military personnel who are alumni for the Military Wall of Honor expected to be established this year.
The wall is meant to commemorate graduates who have given their lives to honor their country and shine a light on the importance of veterans within the Old Bridge community.
Residents are urged to assist with the project by spreading the word of the proposed military wall. The high school is looking for graduates from 1995 through the present.
To submit information, visit docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSev1sK7AIQ6KvNb2iqUz6l7UgFmPBJXBpMbkAR2IuRwkUeVQQ/viewform or contact Guy Lassen at [email protected].