May 28, 2021

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ (OCEAN)–Partnering with HELPSY, the Board of Directors for Veteran’s Memorial Garden in Jackson, New Jersey recently added a valuable source of revenue to help with the next main phase of construction and maintenance of the memorial park.  Three clothing recycling bins have been placed strategically in the park’s main parking lot…which is located at the intersection of Jackson Mills Road and Commadore Blvd.  The purpose is not only to prevent unwanted clothes from filling local landfills, but also to provide funds to help support the park.  Placed a little over a month ago, the bins are on track to recycle hundreds of pounds of textiles each month.     

“We were in the final stretch of construction’s main phase when the pandemic hit and we lost 80% of our funding,” Board President Charles Garofano explains.  Because opportunities for fundraising all but dried up, the Park’s Board of Directors looked to new ways to support the park and found HELPSY.  HELPSY partners with organizations across ten states to collect unwanted clothing and has helped to raise more than $10 million for non-profits and organizations while also helping the environment.  Through a combination of clothing drives, collection bins, thrift store partners and curbside pickups, HELPSY diverts 30 million pounds of textiles from landfills every year. 

“HELPSY is dedicated to changing the way people think about clothing recycling while adhering to the highest level of social and environmental performance,” said HELPSY’S CEO and Co-Founder Dan Green.  The Company’s efforts have earned it a Certified B Corporation designation…using business as a force of good ™.

Army Vietnam Veteran Charles Garofano and Marine Corp Vietnam Veteran Kenneth Bressi had the idea for the Memorial Park in 2007.  They wanted to honor men and women of all five branches of the armed forces… Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force.  They created a 501C(3) corporation and with the support of the surrounding communities, Veterans organizations and countless individuals, groundbreaking on the 4-acre park began in earnest in 2008.  According to Garofano, the memorial garden is truly a grassroots operation… completely staffed by volunteers and 100% of all funds raised go directly to construction and maintenance of the park.

The next phase of park construction is planned for this summer with the proposed erection of several monuments.  Each monument will be a replica of the Washington Monument with a 17” diameter and three-dimensional bronze plaque with insignia of each of the five military branches.  Residents who are interested in supporting the memorial garden, can bring unwanted clothing, shoes, stuffed animals, bedding, towels, table linens and curtains…all bagged clean and dry to put into the HELPSY Recycling bins.   To purchase a granite bench or an engraved paving stone…go to www. JacksonVetsMemorial.org or contact Charles Gasfano at 732-492-3601 or Ken Bressi at 908-692-8817 for more information. Monetary donations are also accepted.

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