Cherry Hill Township encourages members of the public to give back to the community for the Martin Luther King Day of Service collection drive on Monday, Jan. 15.
Cherry Hill Township encourages members of the public to give back to the community by donating items for the township’s fourth Martin Luther King Day of Service collection drive on Monday, Jan. 15.
The drive originated with an idea from Councilwoman Carole Roskoph four years ago, according to Director of Recreation Megan Brown. With the help of the mayor, council, employees of the Cherry Hill government, departments and volunteers, the idea was able to become a Cherry Hill tradition.
Volunteers will gather at 9 a.m on Cherry Hill’s 80-acre property, Croft Farm, for a day of charitable events and to work together of a cause.
“It’s nice to get a group of people together that don’t really know each other and see them work together,” Brown, who attends the drive every year, said.
Volunteers will have the opportunity to partake in a plethora of charitable activities, including trail maintenance and clean up with the Cherry Hill Environmental Board, in addition to on-site sorting of collected items.
“It becomes a nice teamwork effort in the community,” Brown added.
A limited number of volunteer opportunities will be available on Jan. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon at Croft Farm, located at 100 Bortons Mill Road, on the day of the events, according to the town council. Although volunteers are appreciated, the council is always in need of more donations and encourages residents to donate requested items at drop-off sites.
The donated items will go toward replenishing local food pantries and community organizations that have depleted inventories due to the holiday season. Some needed items include household cleaning products, plastic utensils and bags and paper products. Other donations include cases of water, non-perishable food items, deodorant, shampoo, scouring pads, used children’s coats and books in “good-condition,” preferably children’s and teen books, graphic novels and foreign language books — no textbooks, encyclopedias or magazines.
Donation locations are located at the Cherry Hill Township Municipal Building and Cherry Hill Public Library, where collection bins will be placed until Friday, Jan. 12. All donations either go to Cherry Hill Food Pantry, Cathedral Kitchen, Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge, Cherry Hill Public Library or Little Hands, Little Feet.
For more information, call the Cherry Hill Recreation Department at (856) 488–7868 or email [email protected]. To register to volunteer or look at a full list of needed items, visit www.cherryhill-nj.com/1085/Martin-Luther-King-Day.
