The Community Chest Raises $148,000 at Golf Outing & Gala

(Eastern Bergen County, New Jersey:  — The Community Chest, a nonprofit organization serving eastern Bergen County in New Jersey, raised a combined total of $148,000 at its second golf outing at White Beeches Golf and Country Club in Haworth and its live, in person gala, ” Help Us Fill The Community Chest”, at Montammy Golf Club in Alpine.  The events’ net proceeds will provide competitive grants to nonprofit agencies responding to increased need and additional services created by COVID-19 in the community.

Prominent producer and director Harry Martin, an Emmy Award-winning TV journalist, who anchored TV newscasts at three leading television stations in New York City, emceed the gala.  The program also featured a magical musical performance by the Young People’s Chorus @ Thurnauer.

With the motto ‘Neighbors Helping Neighbors’, The Chest leads initiatives and supports nonprofits working to make communities stronger and benefit people in the area.  Through a competitive process, grants will be awarded to nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations targeting these needs in the area: food insecurity, health and mental health services; education support for programs focusing on social, emotional and developmental learning loss; programming to enhance preparation for college; and supportive services for special populations or special types of services including senior support and other at-risk populations.

“We are deeply gratified by the community’s participation in our second golf outing and their support of the return to our in person gala.  These two fundraising events are significant because they allow The Community Chest of Eastern Bergen County to award grants to nonprofit agencies responding to the increased demand for services to people in need in the area.  We are very grateful to our sponsors and donors who supported our mission and work,” said Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer, Executive Director, The Community Chest.

The gala celebrated these honorees for their involvement and contributions to the community:

       • Corporate Philanthropy Award – Valley Bank.  As a corporate philanthropist, Valley Bank has been involved in the community and participated in several of The Chest’s activities.  They served as a gala sponsor and provided the largest corporate donation to The Chest to date, volunteered on committees, and assisted with securing grants to cover operational expenses incurred to help local agencies.  The company’s staff plans to teach a financial literacy course to college bound young women.

       • Outstanding Trustee Award – Amie AbuRustum.  This Tenafly volunteer works tirelessly to carry out The Chest’s mission of neighbors helping neighbors.  A passionate advocate for young people, AbuRustum provided leadership as Co-Chair of The Chest’s Young Women’s Leadership Program.  She also has served in other capacities with the organization as Vice President and Chair of the Allocations Committee.

      • Student Community Service Award – Jing Li.  As a 2022 graduate of Northern Valley High School-Demarest, Jing Li started at The Chest as a summer intern and quickly became one of its Library Display planning team’s key members providing social/racial justice literature for the public, creating marketing materials and other activities to launch the program.  In high school, Li was an honors student, a member of the National Honor Society, and an AP Scholar of Distinction.  She also received several honors for debating and is an active member of several clubs, such as DECA and the NVD Task Force, working with the school to create anti-racist programming and literature.

Sponsors
The golf outing, co-chaired by Matthew B. Libien, Senior Vice President-Investment Officer, Financial Advisor, Certified Financial Planner at Wells Fargo Advisors, and John Wilkens, Agency Principal at the Robert Wilkens Insurance Agency, a World Insurance Associates Company, attracted 112 golfers.  The support of these sponsors was critical to the event’s success:  Matthew B. Libien, CFP of Wells Fargo Advisors, Robert Wilkens Insurance Agency A World Company, Citi Private Bank, Lakeland Bank, Otterstedt Insurance, Richard and Shawn Kennedy, and Cameron Garrett.

The gala drew a range of sponsors.  Corporate sponsors included Barbara Strauss and Thomas Manolio, BMW of Tenafly, ConnectOne Bank, Decotech, Englewood Health, Jaguar Land Rover Englewood, William and Patricia Johnston, The Kamson Corporation, Richard and Shawn Kennedy, Lakeland Bank, Max Mara, Ed and Ellen Skowronski, The Alfiero & Lucia Palestroni Foundation, TD Bank, and PSE&G.

Other sponsors are: BCB Community Bank, Emily and Roger Chang, Otterstedt Insurance Agency, Sisterhood of Temple Sinai in Tenafly, Louise Schwartz, Ira and Shelley Taub, April and Alex Uram, Valley Bank, Visions Federal Credit Union, Shelly and Justin Wimpfheimer, Gail Smith, Loren and Jennifer Wimpfheimer, Franci and Adam Steinberg, Treeco/Shop Rite, Vergona Crane, A Michael Taylor Realty Corp., Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, Raymond James, Joe and Judy Klyde, Kathleen Scott, Wolfgang’s Inc., Barry and Melanie Zingler, Amie AbuRustum, and Favor Senior Home Care, LLC.

For further information about The Community Chest of Eastern Bergen County, visit www.thecommunitychestofenglewood.org or call 201-568-7474.

About The Community Chest

Founded in 1933, The Community Chest, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, has supported local not-for-profit agencies for nearly 90 years.  The Chest leads initiatives and supports nonprofits that make our communities stronger and benefit people in need in eastern Bergen County.  Each year, The Chest raises funds and allocates them to agencies demonstrating the capacity to provide services to local citizens.  The organization also provides coordinating and planning services in its communities, serving as a bridge between agencies and organizations and investing in the stability and quality of the service network.

The Community Chest’s Board of Managers is comprised of community leaders dedicated to improving the lives of neighbors in need.  People interested in being considered for board membership may contact executive director Shelly Wimpfheimer at (201) 568-7474.

Photos: Golf Outing
Golfers (shown from left to right): Lauri Bader, Susan Singer, Cheryl Black, and Barbara Brensilber   Photo Credit: Undefeated Media

Gala Honorees

1) Corporate Philanthropy Award – Valley Bank  (Shown left to right) Jerry Flack – CRA Regional Officer at Valley Bank, Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer-Executive Director of The Community Chest, James Geraghty – Market Manager at Valley Bank Photo credit: Chris Marksbury

2) Outstanding Trustee Award – Amie AbuRustum.  (Shown left to right) Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer-Executive Director of The Community Chest, Honoree Amie AbuRustum, and Emcee Harry Martin  Photo credit: Chris Marksbury

3) Student Community Service Award – Jing Li.  (Shown left to right) Dr. Shelly Wimpfheimer-Executive Director of The Community Chest, Jing Li, and and Emcee Harry Martin  Photo credit: Chris Marksbury