11/24 – The Atlantic Health Jets Women’s Organization visited The Community Soup Kitchen of Morristown this week to donate and serve food as well as decorate the hall for the Thanksgiving season. The soup kitchen normally serves from 80 to 180 guests daily and is open 365 days a year. About one-third of its guests are homeless, some with mental illness or substance abuse problems. But the majority are the working poor, elderly and disabled who cannot stretch their budgets to cover the high costs of housing, transportation and health care and still afford to eat adequately. "It’s a great cause and the Atlantic Health Jets Women’s Organization is happy to lend a hand," said Julie Mangini, AHJWO member and the wife of head coach Eric Mangini. The JWO arrived with donations of fruit and canned goods before quickly getting to work. They covered tables with decorated tablecloths and lined up an impressive mix of bananas, mangos, apples and pears. Some women hung turkey festoons from the lights while others prepared food in the kitchen. Before long, the line outside the front door had grown with hungry guests on what was a particularly chilly November day. As the doors opened, guests filed in, took their trays and headed toward the long table of food, behind which stood the JWO volunteers, ready to serve the hot meal. The ladies were energetic and friendly as they served soup, mixed vegetables, white rice, pork and more to the guests, many of whom returned for seconds. Wearing the Jets caps they’d received, they thanked the women for their time and even talking a little football. Following the lunch, the women cleared the tables and brought the leftover food to the back to be sealed and refrigerated for the next day’s meal. They cleaned up in the hall and the kitchen and did some dishes. But as impressive as the ladies’ teamwork was, it might not have been quite as organized without the galvanizing instructions of staff member Sandra “Betty” Jones, a volunteer of the kitchen for 17 years. Jones has a way with words. She described the soup kitchen as "an amazing place. It’s like an octopus. It has legs going everywhere.” “I love this work. It stopped being a job years ago, and now it’s a ministry. The soup kitchen is an uplifting place. When I walk in these doors the same joy jumps in my heart every day." “We had about 165 people today,” said director of operations Teresa Connolly. “It was a fabulous meal. They decorated the dining room. It looked great. I think it really made it feel like a special event for our guests.”

'Tis the Season for JWO's Good Deeds

11/24 – The New York Jets, in conjunction with Burgdorff Realtors ERA and A-1 First Class-Viking Moving and Storage, will hold their annual coat drive to benefit Jersey Cares on Sunday at the Meadowlands from 2:15-4:15 p.m. prior to the Jets-Denver Broncos game. Fans are encouraged to bring new or gently used coats that will be collected at all gates upon entering the stadium. The Jersey Cares Coat Drive is an annual lifeline for New Jersey’s neediest citizens during the winter months. Last year, the Jersey Cares coat drive supplied more than 31,000 warm, gently used winter coats to children, women and men who desperately needed them. Again this year, Jersey Cares will work with more than 200 corporations and organizations across New Jersey to publicize the drive and collect coats in their locations, creating a network of publicity and community action for this effort that breeds its great success. Jersey Cares, with extensive volunteer support, will organize the coats and then distribute them to more than 150 non-profit agencies serving thousands of New Jerseyans in need. Click here for a complete list of public collection sites. In addition to the coat drive at the stadium, the Jets are supporting the 20th annual New York Cares Coat Drive through a $1,000 donation and the recording of PSAs by safety Kerry Rhodes and wide receiver Chansi Stuckey urging New Yorkers to give coats. The Jets and New York Cares are also asking people to donate their gently used coats throughout the month of December at the following venues: ■ Any New York Police Department Precinct. ■ Weekday mornings at Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and the NY Port Authority Bus Terminal. ■ The U.S. Coast Guard Recruiting Station. ■ Anytime at The Pond at Bryant Park, Janovic Paint and Decorating Centers, Oz Moving and Storage, and Time Warner Cable stores. ■ At hundreds of private coat collection sites in the region. Visit the New York Cares Website for a complete list.) Ninety percent of homeless adults need a new, warm coat each winter because they have no place to keep one over the summer months. But it’s not just the homeless who need help. Thousands of people in the New York area are forced to make a choice between buying a winter coat and putting food on the table or meeting other basic survival needs. New York Cares has collected and distributed over one million coats since the inception of the coat drive 20 years ago. For more information please visit www.nycares.org. Programs funded by the New York Jets Foundation touch the lives of countless young men and women in the tristate area. Realogy Corporation, a premier global provider of real estate and relocation services, and its subsidiary companies Burgdorff Realtors ERA and Cartus are title sponsors for all of the Jets' community relations programs. Over the past eight years, the Jets and their charitable foundation have donated or contributed more than $8 million to promote youth health, fitness and education, particularly in disadvantaged communities. From fighting childhood obesity through the Generation Jets: Be Lean & Green initiative to launching a football team in a Harlem high school, urging students in the Bronx to eat right and move more, and supporting the efforts of the Alliance for Lupus Research, the New York Jets invest in programs that make a difference in the lives of others. In addition to the Jets Foundation, which supports our own extensive youth initiatives, the Jets partner with numerous established charitable organizations and participate in causes sponsored by the NFL.

Coat Drive Set for Stadium before Sunday's Game

11/03 – From their home at the Atlantic Health Training Center in Florham Park, N.J., the Jets are engaged in public service projects, both in New Jersey and in New York City. In New York, the Jets organization again partnered with the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City to convey important messages about health, safety, education and voter awareness. “The 311 system has made it possible for millions of New Yorkers to navigate the municipal landscape and get quick action on their questions or concerns," said team executive vice president Matt Higgins. “Our players are proud to lend their voices to 311 by providing public service announcements." “Not only are each of these players role models on the field, but by lending their voices for important PSAs, they are providing a great service to our community and our city,” said Mayor’s Fund president Megan Sheekey. “We are grateful to the New York Jets for once again helping to get the word out about important issues and public services.” “Being asked to participate in this program again this year was an honor,” said Jets left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. “Through these messages about very important topics, I hope that we are helping to change the lives of many New York City residents.” The public service announcements, which will air on Radio New York (91.5 FM), Radio NYC and possibly other networks, feature Jets players James Dearth, Nick Mangold, Brandon Moore, Kerry Rhodes, Brad Smith, Chansi Stuckey, Wallace Wright and Ferguson. For many of the players, it was their second time volunteering to share their voices for this city outreach effort. In New Jersey, the Jets have donated their time and voices to build awareness for 2-1-1 First Call for Help, a statewide information and referral service implemented through a strong partnership with United Way. These public service announcements support the community by directing residents to 2-1-1 for help in gaining access to resources and necessary services. “It is an honor to participate in this program,” said Mangold, who recorded a public service announcement as part of this effort. “These topics are not only important to the residents of Morris County, but many of these issues we all face every day.” An easy-to-remember, universally recognized telephone number, 2-1-1 provides New Jersey residents with a free and confidential connection to the services they need. Multilingual certified call specialists are also available to make appropriate referrals to community-based organizations and governmental agencies. Each year thousands of New Jersey residents are connected to health and human services, community resources, and government assistance thanks to the services provided by 2-1-1 First Call for Help. United Way of Morris County will be reaching out to local radio stations to air these announcements featuring the Jets with the goal of reaching as many New Jersey listeners as possible. The New York Jets take pride in playing an active role in making a year-round commitment to our community. Programs funded by the New York Jets Foundation touch the lives of countless young men and women in the tristate area. Realogy Corporation, a premier global provider of real estate and relocation services, and its subsidiary company Burgdorff Realtors ERA are title sponsors for all of the Jets' community relations programs. Over the past eight years, the Jets and their charitable foundation have donated or contributed more than $8 million to promote youth health, fitness and education, particularly in disadvantaged communities. From fighting childhood obesity through the Generation Jets: Be Lean & Green initiative to launching a football team in a Harlem high school, urging students to eat right and move more, and supporting the efforts of the Alliance for Lupus Research, the New York Jets invest in programs that make a difference in the lives of others. In addition to the Jets Foundation, which supports our own extensive youth initiatives, the Jets partner with numerous established charitable organizations and participate in causes sponsored by the NFL.

Jets Helping People to Dial Up Help in NY, NJ