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Community Corner

LAPP GROUP, N.A. AND JCP&L/FIRST ENERGY RECEIVE TOP HONORS FROM MORRIS COUNTY FOOD PANTRY AT 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

The Interfaith Food Pantry, which serves
Morris County residents by supplying emergency and supplemental food during
times of need, will recognize Jersey Central Power &Light (JCP&L), an
operating subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. and the FirstEnergy Foundation, along
with The Lapp Group, a worldwide supplier of wire and cabling technologies at
their Spring Gala on March 28, 2014 at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany, NJ. The

event, “Sowing the Seeds of Hope”, will mark the Pantry’s 20th year

of serving low-income working families, senior citizens, and others at risk of

hunger.


 “We have grown so much in 20 years going from distributing 19 tons of food our first full year to 447 tons last year or almost 1.7 tons of food every day! These two organizations have been such a huge part of this community effort”, said Rosemary Gilmartin, Executive Director of the Pantry.


The Lapp Group has supported the Pantry since President Marc Mackin met Gilmartin through a Morris County Chamber of Commerce event in 2010. Since then, the Lapp Group has been a significant contributor to many of the pantry's programs, and Mackin currently serves on the Board of Trustees. There he serves as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, bringing his years of experience and expertise to the Board to ensure that the Pantry is positioned to meet the needs of the community well into the future. He began his involvement as a member of the Corporate Advisory Council, where he helped develop the Pantry’s “We’ve Got Your Back” program, which supplied over 500 children with back-to-school supplies last year. The company was also involved in the construction of its new facility, providing the pantry with a forklift and cabling for its generator.

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JCP&L and parent company FirstEnergy Corp. first got involved with the Pantry in 2008 through their annual “Harvest for Hunger” program. Overall, FirstEnergy employees raised more than $356,000 and contributed approximately
69 tons of food to many food banks and hunger centers, the equivalent of
approximately 168 meals for each of the company’s 16,000 employees.  Since partnering with IFP, those
working in Morris County offices have raised more than $20,000 for IFP through
yard and bake sales, cooking contests and a variety of employee led activities.
They also volunteered over 160 hours at the Pantry, often bringing along family
members and friends. These activities led to a 2011 grant of $15,000 from the
FirstEnergy Foundation, for the capital campaign to build the new IFP Pantry and Resource Center and to program support grants of more than $5,000. Elaine
Vincent, Manager of Community Involvement and JCP&L Area Manager and Mike Obremski have been driving forces in the company’s partnership, with Elaine serving on the Pantry’s Corporate Advisory Council for
the last three years and Mike coordinating employee volunteer efforts.


“We are excited to be honoring these two very important partners at the Gala this year, which marks such a special occasion for us”, said Gilmartin. “When you are hungry and don’t know where to turn it makes such a difference to know that someone cares.  The efforts and commitment of the people from these organizations are proof that these two truly do. ”

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The Gala is open to the public. For more information, visit www.mcifp.org or call 973-538-8049 x211. 

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