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‘The Bag Project’ packs pride for homeless kids

PRINCETON, N.J. – For homeless kids in New Jersey who receive bags filled with goodies when at

The Bag Project volunteers pack a bag with contents for homeless kids.
– Provided photo
local homeless shelters, it lessens the effects of their traumatic experiences and offers a degree of comfort.

Anupa Wijaya, executive director and founder of The Bag Project, (TBP) started this organization about two years ago in an effort to support and comfort these kids in crises.

“I learned that the discretionary funding of most local organizations went towards transportation costs which didn’t allow them much flexibility in being able to systematically provide a duffel bag filled with basic necessities and comfort items to the children they serve,’’ states Wijaya.

After hearing stories about how kids are sent on their way from homeless shelters with their belongings in trash bags, and that they also lacked many of the personal care items they needed to survive, Wijaya decided to change these stories that were consistent for nearly all the children.

Therefore, she decided to start The Bag Project service organization, where she solicits donations to purchase bags and stuff them with “familiar items’’ to serve the needs of kids who are in transition.

Wijaya thinks this project is perfect for families with young children like hers who can go to a local Walmart or dollar store and purchase products to fill their own bags to give to other children.

Volunteers pick up items to pack in the bags.
– Provided photo

“I was looking for service projects for my young children and I was not able to find anything age-appropriate and not scary,” says Wijaya.

“[But] this is a great service project to do as a family: go to your local store and pick up a duffel bag and fill it with age-appropriate toiletries, a book, comfort items and a blanket and know that it’s going to another child in need,” she says.

The Bag Project has grown quickly.

“As a result of new partnerships, we have already distributed over 1,000 emergency bags and almost 400 activity bags to our partner organizations,’’ states Wijaya.

She has managed to piece the missing part of the puzzle together across organizations by offering the very necessary bag service to the children in these homeless shelters.

Wijaya says the service is in great demand within the Greater Mercer County, New Jersey area.

“The need is so great and we barely scratched the surface in New Jersey. There are so many more organizations that we haven’t reached out to as yet, even here in Greater Mercer County,’’ said Wijaya.

The Bag Project has evolved since its inception.

At first, the service offered only emergency and infant bags. Now, it is offering activity bags to some of the children.

Those who receive emergency bags are usually in crisis, removed from an unsafe home, enters foster care, or a domestic violence or homeless shelter. The ones who receive the infant bags are usually infants facing the same crises. The activity bags are for children waiting for services or waiting for a parent or guardian to receive services.

The basic, self-care items and comfort goodies in their bags such as shampoos, toothpaste, feminine hygiene products, teddy bears, blankets, books, crayons, and so on, are age-appropriate and in many cases gender-appropriate as well.

The Bag Project 1000th bags packed for HomeFront.
– Provided photo

While Wijaya does not directly work with the children and families, she does get feedback via questionnaires about the children’s reactions to their bags.

“Responses we see often are: they were grateful, thankful, excited and/or happy that it filled an unmet need,” states Wijaya.

She also said that case managers at one of their partner agencies have told her that the bags have impacted their teens. They said carrying their belongings in duffel bags allowed them to feel like everyone else.

They were no longer carrying their items in garbage bags or shopping bags.

Wijaya also said that they are now in a position where they need to make sure that funding matches the need.

So far, individuals, families, companies and funders such as Allstate Insurance Company, have been supportive.

Other supporters include Age 1912 vintage jewelry store of Hamilton Jewelers and Project Linus of Mercer County.

Others also include are the Junior League of Greater Princeton, Johnson & Johnson, Church & Dwight, and private foundations that gave in-kind items and grants.

According to Wijaya, the bags are affordable. A donation of $100 can buy about five bags. She encourages folks to visit the website to learn how to donate.

Wijaya said her goal is to reach as many infants, children and teens as possible. She continues to work with organizations such as HomeFront; Anchor House; and Department of Children and Families, Division of Child Protection and Permanency in the counties.

Wijaya said that the Division of Child Protection and Permanency now take a TBP bag with them when they have to remove a child from an unsafe environment.

Ultimately, “my goal is to be able to provide bags for every child that needs them in New Jersey, and that would be amazing,” she said.

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Rider celebrates 150 years of women

LAWRENCE, N.J. — Rider Women’s Leadership Council (RWLC), organized a networking session, a women’s giving challenge, and a panel discussion for an audience of mostly women on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus, yesterday.

The council is celebrating 150 years of women at Rider University. These women include current students, staff and faculty, family and friends, as well as alumnae.

Among many noteworthy women at yesterday’s function were: Joan Mazzotti, class of ’72, and chair of the women’s giving challenge and also former executive director of Philadelphia Futures; Dr. Erica Ryan, chair of gender and sexuality studies; Sharrie Williams, news anchor at 6 ABC, Action News and mentor and moderator at event; Meghan Holohan, class of ’99, ’01, and sales manager at Bloomberg LP; and Krishna Powell, class of ’05, and president of HR 4 Your Small Biz, LLC.

Following the networking segment, Mazzotti asked the audience for 100 per cent participation in making donations or pledges to the “Giving Challenge” to raise $15,000 for the council.

She notes, “This is our chance to pay it forward by ensuring that current and future generations of Rider women have the opportunities and resources they need to succeed in the 21st century. Our time is now. Never has women supporting women at Rider been more important.”

The challenge was surpassed within 10 minutes of asking.

Women supported each other from the start, with Williams mentoring current students and others who are interested in her career as a television news anchor.

Williams was also the moderator of the panel discussion, which was entitled: My style is my strength: Leadership from a place of authenticity.

The effort was a part of 2017 Homecoming celebration at the university. The event organizers recognized that “Rider women take the reins,” as they continue to support each other.

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Trenton Junior Chefs focus on healthy food choices

Yazhawn Barlow is the lead chef at recent events in the Trenton Junior Chefs program.
– Provided photo
TRENTON, N.J. — “Let’s go with hummus for the vegetable dip,” says the 19-year-old chef, Yazhawn Barlow recently at a cooking event.

As a participant in the Trenton Junior Chefs (TJC) program, Barlow knows the health differences between a choice of a ranch dip and the all-vegetable chickpeas dip – hummus.

“I am truly amazed and impressed by the knowledge and skills of the youth in the Trenton Junior Chef program,” says Marie Thelusma-Chase, executive director of Shiloh Community Development Corporation.

The TJC program was started in 2015 as a summer pilot program and was a direct response to the youth-related violence in the City of Trenton at that time. It has now evolved, and is funded and supported by the Trenton Health Team (THT) via their Faith in Prevention program and Shiloh Baptist Church members.

This summer, the chefs who are nationally certified as ServSafe food handlers, demonstrated their culinary skills in the community. They catered events such as the Black Issues Convention at Thomas Edison State University, a dinner for the Latin-American Legal Defense Fund, and a barbecue at Princeton Farminary.

“The TJC program is an outstanding career pathway for local youth interested in the hospitality industry that encompasses management, financials, IT, and culinary arts,” states Michael Taylor, VP of Operations at Thompson Hospitality-Johnson & Johnson Account.

For example, Barlow, a culinary arts student at Daylight Twilight program, is the lead junior chef for the Black Issues Convention reception Friday, Sept, 29. He is a product of an exemplary program run by the Trenton School District, where he obtained his ServSafe certification.

“It is truly exciting to see our children acquire these skills that are the fulfillment of the mission of the Trenton School District, which is to ensure our students are prepared to be successful in their choice of career or college. The knowledge, skills and experience acquired by our students in Trenton Junior Chef program prepares them to live productive and successful lives. As Frederick Douglass said, ‘It is easier to build strong children than repair broken men,’” says Trenton Board of Education President, Gene Bouie.

Trenton Junior Chefs and staff seen here. From left to right: (back row) New Jersey Black Issues Convention State Chair Reva Foster, Yazhawn Barlow, Musa Kamara, Bryanna Jackson, Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver, Shiloh CDC Executive Director Marie Thelusma-Chase, (front row) Shakira Cáceres
-Provided photo

TJC’s goals are to:
• Ensure that at-risk youth gain valuable skills that will prepare them for their careers and entrepreneurship;
• Empower community members to aim for healthy food choices through local farmers’ markets;
• improve the quality of life for youth that are at risk of conflict with the law;
• and improve participants’ math and literacy skills

This fall, the TJCs will be very busy catering events and shadowing master chefs at local corporate sites. They plan to cater at Isles Fall Fest on October 21. Furthermore, they will start the Faith in Prevention training – a program operated by THT and funded by the New Jersey Department of Health. It encourages healthy lifestyle choices and will ultimately reduce the burden of chronic diseases among communities of faith.

The program uses revenue from events to pay the youth’s stipends and to invest into the program.

It encourages the young chefs to use their knowledge for houses of worship and also as a tool to train their peers about how foods such as hummus have a significant role in developing minds and bodies.

Barlow said that five years from now he plans to come back to the program to show “the younger junior chefs what [he has] learned by showing all the different things that can be done with food…”

He said he learned food is an art form and that healthy foods, which have less salts and sugars, can also taste great.

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Hamilton’s public high schools now compete for George O’Gorman Trophy

HAMILTON, N.J. – Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede has started a new athletic tradition among Hamilton’s three public high schools, where they will compete against each other annually to earn the new, distinguished George O’Gorman Trophy.

View of one of Hamilton’s public high schools, Steinert. Steinert H.S. is the winner of the first annual George O’Gorman Trophy.

George O’Gorman is a name synonymous with Hamilton high schools’ sports. As a newspaper sports writer for The Times of Trenton, The Trentonian, the Monitor, and Burlington County Times, he has covered nearly every Hamilton high school athlete and team for about half a century.

Therefore, it is appropriate to dedicate a trophy for excellent Hamilton high school athletic champions to a man who has such a sports legacy with the township and who is also a resident.

“I can’t think of no more deserving individual to receive this particular recognition than George O’Gorman,” explains Mayor Yaede.

“During the past 50 years, he has covered the games, matches and competitions that Hamilton high school athletes and their families will remember throughout their lifetimes. Thanks to his dedication and passion to high school sports, a half of century of amazing memories were recounted in ways in which generations of Hamiltonians will always cherish,” said Mayor Yaede.

During his sports reporting career, O’Gorman covered the gambit of high school sports, including every State track and field championships since 1976. He also covered the Cosmos professional soccer team for 12 years, and the New York Giants (NFL) from 1978-2015.

In addition to his reporting, O’Gorman was a former soccer coach for St. Anthony High School. He also started the Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame. He was a past honoree and recipient of the Trenton Select Man of the Year Award. He was former president of Chambersburg Little League, and recently was a member of Hamilton Township Public Library’s Board of Trustees.

“When you’ve spent over 45 years in a job that never felt like work, you are a very lucky guy. I’ve been that lucky guy,” said O’Gorman.

“Reporting on high school athletics at Hamilton, Steinert and Nottingham has allowed me to compile so many great memories of friendships with coaches, student athletes and administrators who have remained close friends. It’s why five decades covering sports in Hamilton’s three public high schools has been a love – because of all the coaches and athletes who made it happen,” he said.

So, this new competition that Mayor Yaede has started among the public high schools is significant to the schools, to the athletes, and to carry on O’Gorman’s legacy.

The three public high schools track both boys and girls’ sports over the school year, and award the high school athletic program with the most victories in games and matches against their counterparts the George O’Gorman Trophy for that school year.

This year, Steinert High School has achieved the most victories in head-to-head sports competitions against the other two high schools.

Therefore, on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., Steinert High School will accept the first ever O’Gorman Trophy on their home field at halftime during a football game called Friday Night ‘under the lights’ with Notttingham High School.

“Competitions like this are a constructive way to promote the virtues of hard-work, dedication, commitment, and teamwork in our high schools athletes,” says Councilwoman Dina Thornton, who is a former member of the Hamilton Township School Board.

“Through his distinguished career in covering our young adults as they competed through high school athletics, George O’Gorman truly earned the honor of having this competition’s trophy bear his name,” she said.

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Major movie plans to shoot exclusively in Trenton

TRENTON, N.J. — A new political thriller titled, Enhanced Interrogation, which addresses the current issues of terrorism and torture in America, has plans to be shot in the City of Trenton.

Provided poster for movie, “Enhanced Interrogation” to be shot in Trenton

The film’s producers and screenwriters are Trenton’s own, Daryl Brooks, along with Stephen Martino of Bloch Wall Productions.

These men collaborated with veteran Director Terry R. Wickham of Manta Ray Pictures to create a movie that raises questions of moral and ethical dilemma.

Wickham states that, “Daryl Brooks and Stephen Martino have constructed a controversial story that is incredibly topical in our modern-day society, and asks the potent question of ‘what if’ our country was put in a pressure-cooker situation of the moral dilemma this story raises?”

Even though the movie provokes debate, Brooks decided to make the film in Trenton because he wants to do something positive for the city by bringing excitement and business opportunities here.

In front, Daryl Brooks, and film cast of movie, “Enhanced Interrogation.”
– Provided photo

In addition to asking for support from Trenton’s local businesses, Brooks said, “I wanted to wake people up and to make them think about terrorism and torture in America.”

Enhanced Interrogation is about a foreign-born terrorist who now finds herself legally on American soil, preparing to bring terror and death from her native country to the states. The FBI uncovered her plot for another 9-11 type terrorist attack, but still does not know how, where, or by whom the attack will take place. When standard interrogation methods fail, the decision is left to the president of the United States whether to utilize Abu Ghraib-type torture techniques to obtain the information.

So, the movie explores much of the history of modern-day radical Islamic terrorism, states Martino.

“Tempers flare as the audience watches the terrorist plot unfold on the big screen. Will they torture her or not? That is the question,” he writes.

Brooks said they hope the movie will be thought provoking.
The film is also proud to feature actors who are from Trenton such as Lance Lopez Sr., Dewane Parker, Nacone Martin, Carter Patterson, and Raina Williamson.

“In the end, we’re very pleased that really talented actors in the city embraced the script and signed up for the film,” states Martino.

Dewane Parker, said given his background as an experienced actor, author, and FBI agent, he was curious about the script and cannot wait to start filming.

The producers plan to release Enhanced Interrogation domestically and internationally in December. They also plan to enter it in most major film festivals across the country and the globe.

At this time, they are seeking monetary support via indiegogo.com and gofundme.com

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Loose balloons — hazard to power lines

TRENTON, N.J. — Early Saturday afternoon, the Mill Hill District section of downtown Trenton experienced more than an hour of power outage that inconvenienced residents and businesses in the area.

PSE&G electricians arrive at Market Street between South Broad and Jackson streets Saturday to remove balloons from the power lines after they caused a power outage in the Mill Hill District area of downtown Trenton.
– Photo by Michelle Dryden

Shortly after Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) electricians arrived on the scene, they discovered that the cause of the outage were the party balloons made of aluminum-like materials that were hanging on the wires along Market Street between South Broad and Jackson streets.

A PSE&G workman explained that the materials the balloons are made of, ignited with the electricity in the power wires and caused the loud explosion that the folks in the neighborhood heard at the moment of the power outage.

One resident commented that she now realizes how much she is attached to her television and computer because she really wanted the power back on so she can get back to them.

The electricians quickly restored electric service to the neighborhood after removing the balloons from the power lines and then turning back on the power fuse.

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Summer camp kids get new bikes

HAMILTON, N.J. – Earlier this month, Brenda Cusack, grandmother of two children at the CYO Summer Camp at the Hamilton Bromley Neighborhood Civic Center was patiently waiting to know why she was asked to be there at Bromley Center.

Kids at the CYO Bromley summer camp in Hamilton recently got new bicycles as a surprise. They try out their new bikes as parents, staff, business owners and Mayor stand in the background.
– Photo by Michelle Dryden

“I am here to support my grandkids. They told me to come and my daughter checked to see if I am here, and I am. I come to find out what’s going on. That’s the way it should be. They said come, so I am here,” said Cusack.

Parents and children were in for a big surprise.

More than 50 children and their parents at the CYO Summer Camp at the Bromley Center got a big surprise when camp staff unveiled a nearly $7k effort of 55 brand new bikes with bells and helmets that were sitting under tents outside for each kid.

Several local businesses in the Hamilton area such as Shop Hamilton, Shine and Inspire, Doctors Express, Mixbin Electronics LLC, and others made the purchase and donation of the bikes possible.

CEO and Founder or Mixbin, Cory Zeitzer, said his company that is located across the street in the Studio Park buildings, raised the funds to purchase half of the bikes.

“We decided to donate half the bikes for this event for all the kids to enjoy themselves for the summer, and we hope to continue doing donations to the Bromley Center for the rest of the year and for many years to come,” said Zeitzer.

The idea for the bikes came about when the executive director of the non-profit organization, Shine and Inspire, Inc., Carol Feldman, said she bought two bikes for kids at a summer party last year and then decided she wanted to buy all the kids bikes.

“Shine and Inspire is based on the premise of ‘paying it forward,’” explains Feldman. “And that is exactly what this effort was all about.”

Feldman thought the idea of the bicycles was a great idea because many of the children do not own one.

She brought her idea to Shop Hamilton and other local businesses that made that mission possible where they were able to purchase the 55 bicycles from a Hamilton-based, local business — Economy Bicycle & Skateboard Shop.

“Time and time again, the members of Shop Hamilton have given back to our community in so many ways. This charitable project, thanks to the idea of Carol Feldman and support from our members, shows exactly what Shop Hamilton is all about,” states Joyce Cantalice, Chairperson of Shop Hamilton.

Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede was present for the children and their parents’ bikes donation surprise.

She said, “This effort illustrates the very best of our community. The generosity of our local businesses and the compassion of our local non-profit organizations never cease to amaze me. Thanks to their combined efforts, today was a very special day for our Bromley summer campers.”

CYO of Mercer County Executive Director, Thomas Mladenetz, also praised the efforts of those involved with the Bromley Center and the bikes surprise.

“We are grateful to the continued support we receive from Mayor Yaede and the Township Council; and we cannot thank Shop Hamilton, Shine and Inspire, and Doctors Express enough for their generosity,” said Mladenetz.

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Horizon Foundation supports Millhill Corporation with $11k grant

TRENTON, N.J. — The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey recently awarded Millhill Child & Family Development Corporation $11,000 in grant to support its Health Literacy Program.

Left to right: Cynthia H. Oberkofler, Millhill Executive Director, Jeanine Lewars, Horizon BCBSNJ Community Engagement Specialist, Filomena Machleder, Horizon Foundation Program Officer and Tamara Noizy. Millhill Director of Family Support Services during a site visit to Millhill Child & Family Development Corporation.
– Provided photo

The grant will help to provide health education, access to developmental and behavioral health care screenings, as well as public health interventions.

“Millhill is excited to continue our partnership with The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey to bring health and wellness education to our children and families,” explains Nicole Cowan, Millhill’s health literacy coordinator. “We especially look forward to collaborating again this year for our fourth annual health fair in September to provide health information to the Trenton community.”

In addition to providing youth, families and caregivers with health literacy training and tools necessary to leading healthy lives, Millhill also aims to eliminate barriers to education and care.

According to Karen Schoenitz, director of development, barriers to health were identified in a Trenton Health Team Community Needs Assessment in 2013 with an update and addendum in 2016.

“We also witness firsthand the health disparities and challenges our clients experience both accessing health care and they also have a general lack of understanding an education around basic health literacy,” states Schoenitz.

Thus, with the support of its partners, Millhill has expanded its health literacy initiative across core programs including early education, family support and counseling services.

Millhill services and topics include proper medicine use, communicating with your doctor, coping with stress, mental illness, addiction, oral health, technology, community resources and nutrition, among others.

With the support of the Horizon Foundation for NJ, Millhill’s Fourth Annual Health Fair will take place Sept. 29 at 101 Oakland St., Trenton, where they are expecting about 200 children and families.

“The Health Fair is the highlight of our year round health literacy initiatives,” states Schoenitz.

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey has been supporting Millhill and its Health Literacy Program since 2014, she said.

She explained that Millhill also benefited last year from capacity building assistance from the foundation’s pervious partnership with The Support Center.

And, NJ Horizon Health volunteers are also assisting in Camp RISE this year, which is Millhill’s summer camp.

The Horizon Foundation for NJ is committed to working with those who can help them to improve health care in the community. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ is the sole member of The Horizon Foundation for NJ. Both are independent licensees of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, visit www.community.horizonblue.com.

Millhill Child & Family Development Coporation is a 501 © (3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping families in the Greater Trenton area. For more information about their programs, visit www.millhillcenter.org or call (609)989-7333.

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Thousands celebrate Independence Day in Veterans’ Park, Hamilton

HAMILTON, N.J. — Approximately 30 thousand people gathered in Veterans’ Park in Hamilton Monday for the annual Mayor Kelly Yaede July 4th, Independence Day Concert.

The featured music band was The Heartbeats, who kept the crowd dancing for more than three hours. The Mayor and council members welcomed and thanked everyone for attending, and then later got on the dance floor.

The music continued after the speeches and the night ended with dazzling, spectacular fireworks.

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Breast cancer survivors tell stories at arts event

Breast cancer survivor, Billie Smith, of Lawrence, N.J., tells her story through performance at RWJ Hamilton’s WE vs. C breast cancer awareness event, Sunday, June 4, at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton.
–Provided photo

HAMILTON, N.J. – Twenty-two breast cancer survivors recently participated in the Project WE vs. C event at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, where they told their stories in artistic ways.

Project WE vs. C was a two-day event led by Roxey Ballet and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton, recognizing National Cancer Survivors Day.

Performances at the event featured personal stories of triumph from the 22 breast cancer survivors who are affiliated with RWJ Hamilton and YWCA Princeton Breast Cancer Resource Center.

One such survivor is Billie Smith of Lawrence, who has stage-one breast cancer, and who shared aspects of her journey, hoping to inspire others.

“Participating in a program like this gives you a different perspective,” said Smith. “When you hear the word cancer it is scary but this shows you can talk about it with people because you can live. We are all proof,” she said.

Smith said being a part of the breast cancer support group at RWJ and participating in the arts event at Grounds for Sculpture is good for her.

“So many people came up to me after the performance. This woman I didn’t know…hugged me and said, ‘I am going through cancer too.’ We just hugged and cried, but it makes you feel good when somebody got something out of what we did,” said Smith.

She believes in giving other breast cancer patients hope to fight the disease.

She said a benefit of being a part of RWJ cancer support group, she ‘’gets to hear from other women and…can tell her story and give others hope. I can fight this. We can fight this and give each other hope,” she said.

Smith got her diagnosis from a breast surgeon with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Program Director of the Cancer Center at RWJ Hamilton, Dr. Firas Eladoumikdachi, in July 2016 after an abnormal mammogram a month earlier.

At the Project WE vs. C event, her story inspired the performance, “Don’t Google ‘Til You Know What You Got.”

She explained that before she got her official diagnosis from her surgeon, she was reading about her illness and assumed she had stage four breast cancer, and was near dying.
“I had a really bad moment when I started reading, “ she said.

She also said her two sisters had breast cancer and have made so many advances since finding out. She believes that with the many advancements in technology, she too will make progress.

“So many things are different. New things are happening. My doctor is phenomenal,” she stated.

She said she tries to be strong for everybody and likes talking to survivors. She expresses her belief in medicines, and said RWJ Hamilton is redoing the cancer center, “putting the best technology for radiation.”

RWJ Hamilton believes that community involvement is critical to care and that was why the hospital created the Project WE vs. C, working with cancer survivors and the arts. They hope to spread the word about cancer in a meaningful and unique way.

Michael Ashworth, director of marketing and public relations at RWJ Hamilton, stated that the Grounds for Sculpture has designed and curated all of the Grounds for Healing gardens at RWJ Hamilton, and so they were inspired to hold their Cancer Survivors Day event at Grounds for Sculpture to showcase their arts – music, poetry, painting, fashion and printmaking.

The money raised will contribute to an $8.5 million, two-year project geared excusively for enhancements to RWJ Hamilton’s comprehensive cancer program, according to the hospital spokesperson.