By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

The season of joy abounded with community spirit Dec. 12 as funds raised in this year’s Mayor’s Gala in Manalapan Township were distributed to worthy charities including the St. Thomas More Parish St. Vincent de Paul Conference and the Samaritan Center food pantry.

The 2018 gala, chaired by Diana Cochran and Jennifer and Stephen Sutera, raised $26,000 to benefit all-volunteer organizations helping those in need throughout the township. And the atmosphere inside the meeting room of town hall was celebratory as the gala committee members presented checks in varying amounts to representatives of the organizations while Mayor Jack McNaboe officiated.

Among those representatives were Vincentians Mary Mendoza and Peggy Loennecker who happily accepted a $3,000 gala committee check to benefit the work of the conference. A $9,000 check was received by Anthony Morelli, president of the Samaritan Center’s board of trustees, for the food pantry.

In accepting, Mendoza and Loennecker shared with the audience and municipal officials how 100 percent of the check will be used, according to the precepts of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The focus will be as always, they said, in bringing concrete comfort through assistance with rent and utility costs among other needs.

Describing St. Vincent de Paul as “neighbor to neighbor outreach,” Mendoza shared that years ago, during a rough patch, she and her family were beneficiaries of the outreach. “These are friends who help friends,” Mendoza said. Outside the meeting, she spoke of how uplifting it was to have the conference recognized for their efforts throughout the town.

The Samaritan Center, the main food pantry in the township, helps sustain well over 100 families – including many senior citizens whose fixed incomes are comprised mainly of Social Security, said Morelli, a former mayor, who is a member of St. Thomas More Parish and its parish council president.

Originally founded by Our Lady of Mercy Parish – now a worship site of St. Thomas More – and Old Tennent Church, a Presbyterian faith community – Samaritan Center is a shared ministry of both churches with both pastors involved and members of both on the board of directors.

Other organizations receiving checks included: Kosher Meals on Wheels and Jewish Community and Family Services; the Brennan Stands Alone Foundation which assists current and former members of the U.S. Armed Services injured in the line of duty and the Manalapan Arts Council which which supports community arts programs.

After the meeting, Cochran, a trustee of the Mayor’s Gala spoke of how the fundraising event started 10 years as a volunteer effort to "help the Manalapan Arts Council bring arts to the town.” Eight years ago, she said, there was a sense that the event could be expanded with “more ways to give to the community.”

“We started by giving money to Samaritan Center – the local food bank. Then we got behind having something every year for veterans.” Support for the event is strong across the boards throughout the township, said Cochran.

“A lot of businesses support the gala. There is a silent auction and people make cash donations,” said Cochran, who added that strong support comes in from the township’s emergency teams and the professionals in town. It really centers on the community. We try to keep the recipients local, in Monmouth County,” said Cochran, who has resided in Manalapan for 34 years.

Reflecting later, Mendoza, Loennecker and Morelli spoke of the collaborative nature of the community at-large and the organizations that serve it as contributing factors to the success of the gala.

Mendoza, who also volunteers for the Samaritan Center, has been a member of St. Thomas More Parish for 27 years and helped to found the St. Vincent de Paul Conference 15 years ago. Recalling a time when her own family sought help from Vincentians, Mendoza especially appreciated that the conference was recognized for its efforts by the municipality.

In the past year, she said, the conference has assisted 40 families, or a total of 151 individuals overall. “It is such a blessing,” she said.

The conference, she added, “is so community minded – fellowship is so important. This is a fellowship that has a passion to serve people,” Mendoza said of the 35 volunteers who give of themselves to help the wider community.

“I think it is wonderful that people are becoming more aware that we are out there … We are giving people a hand up, not a hand out,” said Loennecker. “It’s hard for seniors who are on just straight social security. It’s hard for people who get ill and loose their job.”

Morelli spoke of the way the organizations and the community compliment each other. “It’s kind of unique in that respect,” he said. “What (everyone) is concerned about is the end product. Everyone is looking at how what they are doing is benefiting the residents.”