Local agencies and staff worked tirelessly to aid their clients during the pandemic. Here are some stories of their important efforts. Celebrate the “unsung heroes” of our community with us.
Alex Braunstein - Tenafly Nature Center
Alex Braunstein is Tenafly Nature Center’s Land & Facilities Manager. In March of 2020, as the governor made the decision to shutter businesses Alex made the snap decision to move his family to live at the nature center where he could remain onsite throughout the pandemic. Under his watchful eye the Center would remain a safe space. Alex devised a 1-way trail system that permitted safe social distancing so that the Center could remain open while all the state and county parks were closed. Visitation was unprecedented as community members sought refuge in nature for destressing and restoring mental and physical health during the pandemic.
Alex patrolled the trails early in the morning and late evenings, cleaning up discarded masks and gloves and keeping our property safe and observant of CDC guidelines. All of the Tenafly Nature Center staff appreciate his dedication and personal sacrifices.
Bergen Family Center - Team
Bergen Family Center closed its doors to “in-person” services in March 2020. Staff quickly set up home offices to continue serving its clients. This created a need to re-imagine their entire service delivery model.
Their early weeks were dominated by pivoting all services to a virtual platform. They worked around the clock to establish connection with each other and with families. They discovered ways to deliver diapers, personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies, hot meals, groceries, and basic concrete supports in such a time of need.
Essential workers needed childcare. In August of 2020, their dedicated childcare team returned to the Center and opened their doors to forty children. They fostered a secure and COVID safe workspace, following CDC guidelines. Despite weekly testing and safety measures, parents tested positive, whole families became ill. Staff became symptomatic with positive COVID tests. Fortunately, they survived. They continued their work.
The staff at Bergen Family Center are a resilient, creative, and caring group of professionals and friends.
Spectrum for Living - Direct Support
Spectrum for Living is pleased to pay tribute to all of our Direct Support Professionals (“DSPs”) who breathe life into our Mission every day. They have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic in order to address the needs of the many adults with disabilities who rely upon us for stability, comfort, and support. Their efforts have helped to ensure that those we serve have not just survived the pandemic but have thrived. We are forever indebted to our DSPs for their undying commitment to our Mission and those that we serve.
Thurnauer School of Music - Robyn Searle
Personal care and individual attention is essential to music education. It is in the DNA of the Thurnauer School of Music. Our unsung hero is Robyn Searles, our Scheduling Director. It takes hours to schedule a student’s combined program that includes lessons, classes, and ensembles, all while navigating studies around a families’ work schedule. It is even more complex if siblings are studying with us.
COVID brought so many challenges to families,’ including interruptions in schedules and juggling work with family life. Yet, Robyn accomplished the extraordinary task of having our music education continue in the lives of our students, which provided a joyous outlet during an unprecedented time of stress for these young people. She accomplished this with innovation, dedication, and extraordinary patience. Robyn is our rock of Gibraltar, and we are forever grateful for this unsung hero.
Vantage Health System - Residential Team
Vantage Health System would like to recognize the amazing Residential Team as our unsung heroes.
This amazing group of individuals have each performed heroic acts of kindness since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic. To this day, this #team continues to work with great pride and determination in caring for our most vulnerable population. Neither the pandemic nor the changing seasons could stop them from displaying their superhero powers.
They have rescued, comforted, counseled, entertained, and cared for each person entrusted into their care as if they were members of their own family. Dedicated to stop at nothing less than their personal best they ensured that “Covid” never entered our homes.
For this reason, this team is being highlighted as our unsung heroes. We respect them and thank them for their gifts of time and talent. We also extend a grateful heart to their families for sharing them with us.
YWCA of Northern New Jersey - Team
Social isolation in seniors became a mental health crisis due to COVID-19. Many seniors found themselves feeling alone and disconnected. The YWCA NNJ team swiftly pivoted their programming to create virtual platforms that offered fitness classes and information programs to keep seniors healthy, engaged and connected to their peers during the lengthy pandemic. One participant had this to say, “I want to sincerely thank the YWCA for helping so many seniors, both mentally and physically, during a most stressful time. The pandemic has kept many of us homebound, but your virtual programs enabled us to get much needed physical exercise and mental stimulation. In some ways, these programs have helped us to survive and flourish.”
Women’s Rights Information Center – Donna Dalton
In the height of the pandemic, Donna Dalton, WRIC’s Senior Case Manager and Education Counselor, made her clients a priority. Pushing her fears aside, she picked up and delivered food vouchers, nonperishables from the food bank, and diapers for two single moms with COVID. She connected them to mental health resources and relocated a family in need.
Under her guidance, clients enrolled in short-term certification programs, GED classes, and BCC apprenticeship programs. One client is now in nursing school. Another became a Phlebotomy Technician.
Donna tutored via zoom on her own time. She helped prepare them for life after COVID, helping them to secure employment and to create a life for themselves and their children which they may not have otherwise envisioned.
If there’s ever a time we need heroes, it’s now. To Donna, and heroes everywhere, thank you for the work you do.
Bergen Volunteers - Team
As the world shut down in 2020, dedicated unsung heroes, the staff of Bergen Volunteers, stepped in. From food security events, necessity drives for items not covered by SNAP, to volunteering for Feed the Frontlines, and matching volunteers to needs within the community, Bergen Volunteers was busier than ever.
Michele Ogden, CHEER and CHORE program manager, successfully guided staff members to call each client to see if there were any needs with which they could help. CHEER volunteers continued to make safe, socially distanced deliveries to clients. Their main goal was to ensure clients had food, medications, safety supplies, contact information for resources, and emotional support.
Lisa Tredici, mentoring program manager, matched an impressive 14 mentor/mentee alliances in record time. She coached mentors to prepare them for relationships with mentees that commenced during the pandemic.
While the world was forced to shut down, Bergen Volunteers continued matching needs with resources. They saw increased collaborations with other area nonprofits to ensure that gaps were filled in the social welfare network, and helped lift the community, one volunteer at a time.