HOWELL — The Howell-Farmingdale Municipal Alliance is teaming up with the Howell Optimist Club to host the 18th annual Mayor’s Cup golf outing on April 29 at the Eagle Oaks Country Club, Shore Oaks Drive.
The golf outing has raised more than $100,000 in 17 years to benefit the alliance, which is an organization that advises local officials and school board members about current trends in drug and alcohol abuse, and provides prevention programming addressing these trends.
About 25 active alliance members meet once a month to discuss grant funding and improved programming.
According to the golf outing’s brochure, the Howell Optimist Club is made up of volunteers who conduct positive service projects aimed at providing a helping hand to local youths, empowering the young people to be the best they can be.
The alliance is coordinated by former police officer Ralph M. Hoffman Jr., who called the organization a continuation of his professional career.
“In the early part of my career I worked with problem juveniles and [their] families. One thing I got out of it was that most of the juveniles I dealt with in law enforcement made a mistake and most of them never made that mistake again and became proud citizens; you could see something coming out of your work,” Hoffman said.
He said that in his experience, intervention early in a child’s life greatly reduces the likelihood of repeat offenses.
Hoffman has coordinated alliance programs and events for 13 years and said funding for the civic-minded organization has little impact on the township budget.
“We receive grant money that goes basically to the schools for programs that provide a foundation of [drug and alcohol abuse] prevention,” he said, adding that the effort includes programs in self-esteem, selfworth, anti-bullying and suicide prevention.
“If you look at the statistics today, there is an alarming trend of young people dying of drug overdoses, and that incorporates the use of opiates like prescription medications and heroin,” Hoffman said.
Prevention programs benefit students in Howell’s K-8 schools. The Farmingdale School was also included and has enjoyed prevention programs since September 2012.
Hoffman said funding for the alliance starts with grants from the Drug Enforcement and Demand Reduction Fund (DEDR), which was established as part of the Comprehensive Drug Reform Act of 1987.
According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, DEDR was enacted to enhance and coordinate efforts designed specifically to curtail drugrelated offenses, which would lead to a reduction in the rate of crime generally, and is therefore in the public interest.
DEDR receives money from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, where criminal arrests for drug sales, use or possession can result in civil foreclosure proceedings.
“New Jersey gets about $60 million a year [and the money is] funneled into counties depending on their needs. In the 13 years I have been here, we have been able to attain over $500,000 in federal grant money,” Hoffman said.
Howell supplements grant funding for the alliance by matching 25 percent of DEDR grants in cash and the remaining 75 percent in in-kind donations.
The fee for the Mayor’s Cup golf outing is $250 per golfer. Hoffman said the tournament has helped the alliance complement Howell’s cash match each year and he said the proceeds are always appropriated for community service and drug and alcohol abuse prevention education.
Alliance members are appointed by the Township Council. The alliance includes individuals who are police officers, teachers and school administrators, among other professions. Anyone who is interested in joining the alliance may contact Ralph Hoffman at 732-938-4500, ext. 4012.