Christmas RAINES for thousands of New Jersey children

Over three hundred volunteers showed up at the former K-Mart on Route 35 in Hazlet last night.  37 of the men donned Santa suits, whitened their brows and reddened their cheeks.  50 or elves dressed in red and green got off the shelf to join the Santas and the other volunteers in loading up the fire trucks and vans with toys and bicycles that they had donated, sorted, wrapped and assembled over the prior two weeks.  Then they all headed out in 37 different directions to deliver the gifts to 340 Bayshore families, from South Amboy to Highlands, and a side trip to Long Branch.  Over 800 kids received gifts from Santa and his RAINE dears last night. Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Hazlet Boy Scout’s Eagle Project Saves RAINE Foundation $4K Per Year

Kyle Mulvey

A Hazlet teenager’s leadership and commitment to his community will have a lasting impact on the RAINE Foundation, the all volunteer local charity that delivers thousands of toys to hundreds of Bayshore families at Christmas and supports families in crisis everyday.

Kyle Mulvey, a Raritan High School junior and a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 66 of the Twin Lights District of the Monmouth County Council, Boy Scouts of America led 80 volunteers….fellow scouts and members of the Raritan wrestling and football teams..in building a new operations center for RAINE. The project, which is part of Mulvey becoming an Eagle Scout, consisted of acquiring a storage trailer, securing a location and rigging it with shelving and solar powered lighting.  RAINE will use the facility to store the supplies it uses to help families in need.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

RAINE Foundation passes the flag to Kyrillos

RAINE Foundation volunteers in Union Beach, November 2012. Click for larger view.

During the first week of November, 2012 Tim Mills was alone working on cleaning up what remained of his Union Beach home.  He was making very little progress. His home was badly damaged and he felt there was no way possible for his family could return to the shambles or overcome the devastation. “I was in a very dark and desperate place emotionally that day, ” Mills recalled.

Mills noticed a group of at least 20 men and women walking down the street, approaching his home. He was scared, fearing they were looters coming to steal what little he had left.  One of the group pulled the family’s American flag from the muddy debris that used to be the front lawn.

“Who the hell are you?” Mills shouted at the group. “We are from RAINE. We here to help,” the team leader responded.  Mills stood in silence as the man, a U.S. Marine, who pulled his flag out of the mud draped it over the furniture that was drying out on his lawn.

“It was at that point that I didn’t feel alone or lost any more. I felt like somehow, we were going to be OK. That team saved my life that day.”

Mills donated his flag to RAINE (Reaching All In Need Everyday). Since then the volunteers that lead the non-profit have put the flag on tour as a symbol of leadership, perseverance and strength in the face of adversity.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet