Press release from Calvary Baptist Church
Calvary Baptist Church was established in 1884 and is the first African-American Baptist Church in the town of Red Bank. Calvary, in 1886, purchased the old house of the First Baptist Church and moved it to a new location (corner of Bridge Avenue and River Street). That building was lost by fire and, as such, the current build was newly erected. Calvary has been a part of the Red Bank community for over a century.
Students working on a mural in the background as new plants soak up the sun in the community garden at the Coffee Corral. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
On a mostly vacant corner lot in Red Bank that was to have been the home of a new restaurant, the kids have taken over.
In recent weeks, students from the borough’s middle school have planted a community garden behind the Coffee Corral, at the corner of Shrewsbury Avenue and Drs. James Parker Boulevard. Others are in the process of transforming two sides of a garage into lush, coffee-themed murals.
Brigid Hempstead, right, with her twin sister Siobhan and teacher Brian Nesci planting vegetables on the lot last Saturday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
On a vacant lot in Red Bank, students from Red Bank Catholic High School are mixing the ancient lessons of agriculture with new technology to help tackle food insecurity amid a global pandemic.
They’re also hoping to create a new model for food-sharing.
Area senior citizens are invited to join members of the YMCA and Senior Citizens Activities Network for a free day of wellness at the Red Bank Family.
Press release from the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
It’s been a long and often lonely year for senior citizens. From losing family and friends to the coronavirus to enduring long periods of isolation, the pandemic has impacted older adults in unimaginable ways.
Jon Greene during a recent rehearsal. (Photo by Allan Dean. Click to enlarge.)
Getting the members of the Red Bank Area Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society together for practice has not been possible during the pandemic.
And as the group has learned over the the past 13 months, rehearsing via Zoom just doesn’t cut it because of audio latency issues.
So director Craig J. Page found a workaround.
Press release from the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce Educational Foundation
A scholarship for higher education is life changing, just ask Laura Burns, a school teacher in Hazlet, who wanted to continue graduate work to reach her goal in school administration. As a middle school language arts and social studies teacher, Laura (at right) dreamed of taking the next step but realized the financial hurdles to make it happen would be an obstacle. She applied to the Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce (EMACC) Educational Foundation for its annual scholarship and the rest is history or her story.
Late getting that book or DVD back to the Red Bank Public Library? Not to worry. Fines for overdue materials are now a relic of the past.
The owners of Fair Haven’s Dunkin’ coffee shop presented $5,000 Monday to Compañeros de Comida, a student-run volunteer organization that has provided more than 144,000 meals to children and families in need since April, 2020.
Using drone video, Trinity Church, Red Bank’s oldest house of worship, took it heavenward to promote restoration work on its 170-year old chapel and bell tower.
An app-in-development reported on by redbankgreen last September is now available, offering users its first history tour of Red Bank.
The tour spotlights significant places in the early life of William ‘Count’ Basie, the world-renowned bandleader who grew up in a Mechanic Street house on the site of the one shown above.
Press release
The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank has announced the retirement of Yvonne Lamb-Scudiery, founder of the nonprofit organization’s performing arts programs and a member of the Basie Center family for more than two decades.
Press release from Count Basie Theatre
The Count Basie Center for the Arts has been approved for a $100,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support mindALIGNED, the organization’s collective impact initiative in the areas of professional development for educators, creative teaching strategies, artist residencies and arts experiences.
MLK essay winner Alexandra Lewis is a senior at Red Bank Regional High School.
It was an unconventional commemoration to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But the theme of love, perseverance and service shined throughout YMCA of Greater Monmouth County’s first virtual event honoring the civil rights leader. More →
Gwendolyn Love, executive director of Lunch Break, will receive the Dr. King Human Dignity Award at the YMCA’s virtual Dr. King commemoration January 15. (Photo by Danny Sanchez.)
Press release from the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
2020 was filled with uncertainty and canceled events near and far, but the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County is busy preparing for its annual community celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Like so many other important events taking place during the coronavirus pandemic, the commemoration will be a live virtual event hosted on Zoom, Friday, January 15.
More →
The funding will pay for 500 Chromebooks, according to the announcement. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund
The New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund announced November 20 that it will provide $187,000 to Red Bank Borough Public Schools to help students stay connected via remote learning.
Andrew Guage Aliperti from the YMCA’s Counseling & Social Services team prepares to deliver warm coats donated by the community to children.
Press release from the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
While no one wants to hear the words COVID and Christmas in the same sentence, it looks like the pandemic is going to have a real impact on the holidays and gift drives for needy families in 2020.
The YMCA of Greater Monmouth County’s Counseling & Social Services team has kicked off its annual Adopt-A-Family holiday gift drive, and this year it features a different kind of fundraising effort: a “virtual giving tree.”
While their parents work, the Vaclavik children – Juliana, John and Victoria – log in to their remote classes at the new Y Academy at the Red Bank YMCA.
Press release from the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
When local districts announced they would start the 2020-2021 school year with a blend of in-person and remote learning for students, working parents like Dr. John Vaclavik and his wife Barbara of Fair Haven were worried. They were trying to figure out how they could balance the new hybrid learning model for their four children in grade school and continue with their professional careers.
The Basie marquee in 2018 touted a concert in memory of Smithereens’ singer Pat DiNizio, below.
Press release issued Monday by the Count Basie Center for the Arts:
On what would have been the Smithereens’ lead singer’s 65th birthday, details were announced today for the 2021 Pat DiNizio Musical Performance Scholarship, named in honor of the New Jersey band’s legendary frontman, who passed away in December 2017.
Ricardo Paz with Liz Schuber and restaurateur Danny Murphy outside Danny’s Steakhouse Tuesday, and below, in Fair Haven in July. (redbankgreen photos. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank landscaper who hauls his equipment around in a trailer attached to his bicycle needed a new set of wheels.
And thanks to a fund drive set up by a stranger, Ricardo Paz now has $3,600 to buy one. But because there’s been a run on bikes triggered by the pandemic, Paz hasn’t been able to find a bike sturdy enough to accommodate his trailer, which carries more than 300 pounds of gear.
So last month, Paz –yes – started pushing his gear to his clients’ homes.
Press release from Family Resource Associates
A new school year means new beginnings as Family Resource Associates (FRA) reopens its doors. The nonprofit organization, which serves people of all ages who have developmental or acquired disAbilities, has received guidance from the State of New Jersey and is planning to start reopening its facilities in October. FRA is expected to offer two classes per day, alternating between its two locations in Red Bank and Brick, which will allow them to fully monitor the health and safety of its students and staff.
A Halloween image painted by Markham Place School students on a Prospect Avenue window in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[Correction: The borough website will have downloadable signs for homeowners to indicate their participation in trick-or-treating, not a sign-up list as mistakenly reported.]
By JOHN T. WARD
For more than an hour, Little Silver officials and residents wrestled Monday night with how to safely pull off Halloween in a pandemic.
Without being buzzkills, that is – particularly to residents of one neighborhood where the holiday has become something of a communal party.
The interior of one of the four new HABcore apartments at 119 River Street. (Photo by HABcore. Click to enlarge)
HABcore press release
On Tuesday, September 29, 2020 HABcore celebrated the grand opening of its 4-unit expansion project on River Street in Red Bank. This project was funded through donations by generous community individuals as well as New Jersey Natural Gas, the Lydia Collins deForest Charitable Trust, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ National Housing Trust Fund, and the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.
YMCA members continue to support food drives at the Red Bank Family YMCA.
Press release from Laurie Goganzer, President & CEO, YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
When COVID-19 hit last spring, the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County had to close our doors and lay off 80 percent of our employees. We felt the worry of the uncertainties facing our team, the 35,000 people we serve every day, and our greater community.
But we trusted that our cause to strengthen community would bring us together and make us even stronger as it did in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and in other times of crisis.
Red Bank teachers Carol Boehm, left, and Kristen Maiello with nurse Cathy Reardon, right. (Photo by Red Bank Borough Schools. Click to enlarge.)
In March of 2020, we were preparing to celebrate several incredible educators but the health pandemic and ensuing school closure forced us to hit the pause button. Of course, late is better than never and these educators deserve to be recognized for the outstanding work they do for our students. Each exemplifies the “Red Bank Borough is Best in America” (#RBBisBIA) mindset, which is deeply rooted in our school district’s culture. We strive to be the Best In America so we can be certain we are the Best for Red Bank. Moreover, we all know an organization is only as strong as its people. Luckily, here in Red Bank we have some distinguished exemplars.
[Press release]
Fisk Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Fair Haven was the recipient OF an outpouring of community assistance on September 12, when local volunteers helped paint the house of worship.
