Daily Rundown, Monday, Nov. 6

Chubb volunteers aid Freedom House

The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation's (IICF) Week of Giving was conducted last month, and on Oct. 20, Chubb participated by volunteering at one of Freedom House's transitional locations in Glen Gardner. The volunteers spackled and painted 10 bedrooms, six bathrooms, the main common area and hallways. The outside deck was sanded and stained, vines were removed from the side of the house and they topped it off with mums in the front yard. Freedom House New Jersey, founded in 1986, provides four programs for those suffering from substance use and co-occurring disorders, long-term residential treatment in a halfway house setting to adult males, transitional/sober living programs for men, The Family Afterward, a transitional program for women who are recovering from alcoholism and/or drug addiction and who are seeking reunification with their children and two outpatient locations for men and women who are in need of treatment, but also need to maintain their careers and family life during the recovery period. Call 908-617-5492 or visit www.freedomhousenj.org.

READ:Daily Rundown, Sunday, Nov. 5

‘Project Warm Your Heart’ helps

Winter will be a little warmer for children of Food Bank Network clients, thanks to dozens of donated coats, hats, gloves and scarves collected by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women as part of its eighth annual Project Warm Your Heart. The commission serves as an advisory board to the Board of Chosen Freeholders to address present and potential needs of women and to develop a greater public awareness of women’s issues. Email sccswomen@gmail.com or visit at http://bit.ly/SCCSWomen.

Believe in Yourself Project dresses

This fall, homecoming dresses will be provided to girls around the country by the Believe in Yourself Project. Believe in Yourself (www.believeinyourself.org) is a foundation launched in January 2017 that provides brand-new, never-worn dresses to low-income girls around the country, while at the same time works to promote positive body image, to reduce cyber bullying, and to inspire girls to believe in themselves and their dreams. Dress donations are tied to the girls’ progress in achieving goals. Each girl who wants to receive a dress is entered into a system where they are then tracked to see their progress, whether toward improving their academics or pursuing an extracurricular interest such as music, dance, sports, etc., and Believe in Yourself provides the girls dresses for any upcoming events they have during the school year. Believe in Yourself is part of a broader initiative. The charity brings in Mentors and speakers to motivate the girls to believe in themselves. These mentors also provide tips if the girls are experiencing a negative body image or bullying of any kind, and they counsel the girls to help them achieve their dreams and goals.

Bloomingdales helps Tewksbury club

Bloomingdales of Bridgewater is sponsoring a shopping day and fashion show on Thursday, Nov. 9, in support of the Woman's Club of Tewksbury Township (WCTT). Ten percent of all tracked sales made that day will be donated to the WCTT Charitable Budget. WCTT members, community supporters and friends may visit the store during regular shopping hours, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., taking all their receipts to Gift Wrap on Level 2 for validation before close of business. The New View Fashion Showcase will be presented on Level 2 at 6:30 p.m. following lite bites served at 6 and accompanied by DJ beats throughout the evening. The show, hosted by stylist Leslie Patrizio, will feature clothing from top fashion designers including Elie Tahari, Eileen Fisher, Hugo Boss, Max Mara, Reiss, Ted Baker, Gerard Darel and Halston. Reservations are required and can be made at RSVPbridgewater@bloomingdales.com. Purchases made that day, including those at the fashion show, will generate the donation only if sales receipts are presented to Gift Wrap Level 2 before close of business Nov. 9. Restrictions apply. See store for details. Valid only at the Bridgewater location. All proceeds will benefit Prevention Child Abuse-NJ, the Tewksbury Family Assistance Fund, Tewksbury Library, Oldwick Fire Company, Tewksbury Historical Society, Tewksbury Rescue Squad, Tewksbury PBA, Open Cupboard Food Pantry, SAFE in Hunterdon, Tewksbury Schools and Community, Voorhees High School, Scholarships and other programs. Visit tewksburywomansclub.org.

Teacher to appear on JEOPARDY!

Jason Sterlacci, a  fourth-grade teacher from Somerset, will compete on the JEOPARDY! Tournament of Champions. The event will be shown Tuesday, Nov. 7, on WABC-TV.

Check your local listings or visit Jeopardy.com.

Dog walks at Lord Stirling Stable

The Friends of Lord Stirling Stable Saturday Dog Walks on the trails at Somerset County Park Commission Lord Stirling Stable, 256 S. Maple Ave., Basking Ridge, will continue weekly on the fall and winter time schedule. Check-in time for owners and their pets will begin at 10:15 a.m. The guided trail walk will commence at 10:30 a.m. and last for approximately one hour. Registration is $3 per dog and all pets must be leashed and kept under control at all times. These sanctioned Dog Walks offer participants the only opportunity to explore the beautiful equestrian trails of Lord Stirling Stable on foot. Contact Martha at 973-635-8672 or email pandmwells@gmail.com.  For directions, call Lord Stirling Stable at 908-766-5955.

Women, Leadership conference held

ISM-NJ (NJ affiliate of Institute for Supply Management) held its ninth annual Women and Leadership Conference at The Palace in Somerset on Oct. 26 and 27. Seventy-five attendees heard several speakers discuss a variety of topics, including a pair of keynote addresses about “Next Level Leadership” and “Leading From Your Chair” as well as presentations on Digital Transformation, Personal Branding and roundtable and panel discussions. Sheila Wolney of DSSI received the Diamond Award for outstanding leadership, transforming the way DSSI supports the sourcing and procurement function for its customers. The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) was spotlighted as a charity to increase girls’ and women’s meaningful participation in computing.

ShopRites raise $925K for veterans 

ShopRite Supermarkets Inc.'s annual veterans fundraising campaign raised $925,000 across its 34 stores to benefit local veterans organizations. To raise funds, ShopRite stores throughout the Hudson Valley and Capital Regions in New York, along with three New Jersey ShopRite stores, collected donations at checkout and organized events including 5K runs and walks, food drives and raffles. ShopRite Supermarkets Inc. has raised $3.9 million for local veterans organizations since the campaign’s 2009 inception.
The stores that participated in the fundraising campaign include ShopRite of Spotswood.

12 promoted at WithumSmith+Brown

WithumSmith+Brown PC (Withum), a public accounting and advisory firm, has announced the promotion of 12 employees based in its East Brunswick office to the positions of senior accountant and staff II accountant responsible for supervising team and staff members, respectively. Withum is a regional CPA and advisory firm with offices across eight states and Grand Cayman, and nearly 1,000 staff members. Named senior accountants are Vera Kokoreva of West New York, Michelle Miller of Hillsborough, Bryan Nachwalter of Manalapan, Samantha Schmitt of Hamilton, Alyssa D. Ruane of Jackson, Alysson M. Vamvas of Belford and Alexa Rae Vastano of North Brunswick. Five staff members named to the staff II position are Jaclyn Armellino of Whitehouse Station, Brian Dethlefsen of Basking Ridge, Brittany Mateiro of Iselin, Joseph Miranda of Somerset and Alex Rodrigues of Clark. Visit https://www.withum.com/.

Old Bridge screening 'SCREENAGERS' 

The Old Bridge School District will show “SCREENAGERS,” a film about students growing up in the digital age, as part of its first Parent University series set for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Ellen McDermott Grade Nine Center. The Parent University evening includes exhibitions in the cafeteria, along with community and school district displays, which will be open from 6:30 to 7 p.m. and during the movie’s intermission from 7:45 to 8:15 p.m. The district’s annual Parent University is an ongoing initiative to equip parents with valuable information, resources, and training. Parent University is a home and school partnership. It encourages participation by offering free child care for children 3 years and older, which is provided by students enrolled in Future Educators of America under the direction of teachers Lynn Birsin and Amy Chernet. Free.

Rutgers-led research revolutionizes 

Seeking a better way to capture radioactive iodides in spent nuclear reactor fuel, Rutgers-New Brunswick scientists have developed an extremely efficient “molecular trap” that can be recycled and reused. The trap is like a tiny, porous super-sponge. The internal surface area of just one gram of this material could stretch out to cover five 94-by-50-foot basketball courts, or 23,500 square feet. And, once caught inside, radioactive iodides will remain trapped for eons. Jing Li, distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, is the corresponding author of a study on molecular traps for nuclear fuel reprocessing that was published in Nature Communications. The first author is Baiyan Li, a former postdoctoral associate in Li’s group, and other Rutgers co-authors include doctoral students Hao Wang and Benjamin J. Deibert. Visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00526-3 or https://news.rutgers.edu/rutgers-led-research-could-revolutionize-nuclear-waste-reprocessing-and-save-money/20171030#.WfeL2FtSy72.

BNO acquires Graphic Matter Inc.

Baldwin & Obenauf Inc. (BNO), the award-winning 36-year-old creative agency founded by Joanne Obenauf, announced the acquisition of Graphic Matter Inc., a Hillsborough-based graphic design studio. Graphic Matter, founded in 2002 by Beverly Thomas, has been a BNO supplier and partner for eight years. Like BNO, Graphic Matter is a WBENC-certified woman-owned business. The Graphic Matter acquisition caps off a year that included BNO being named Verizon's global agency of record for recruitment marketing and the launch of the Do Autism Differently campaign for the Autism Treatment Center of America. BNO is a full-service creative agency that specializes in building powerful brand connections for healthcare, technology, financial services and public-sector clients. Learn more at www.bnoinc.com.

Fall membership meeting, lecture

Tessa Gadomski of the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) will be the guest speaker at the Hunterdon County Historical Society’s annual fall membership meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, at the Presbyterian Church, 10 E. Main St., Flemington. Gadomski will discuss the conservation assessment of such projects and the science behind the treatment processes for the conservation of ink and parchment. Guests will learn the behind-the-scenes work done by conservators to examine and determine the best methods to preserve historical documents before they are revealed to the public in museums and historical societies.The talk will last about 50 minutes, followed by questions. Refreshments will be served. No advanced registration needed. Call the society at 908-782-1091 or visit www.hunterdonhistory.org. 

Electric Utility Program info session

Learn about how to become a line worker or substation electrician in the electric utility industry by attending an information session for the Power Systems Institute program offered by Jersey Central Power & Light, a FirstEnergy Company, in partnership with Raritan Valley Community College. The session is from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the college’s Branchburg campus. The Power Systems Institute is a two-year program featuring learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Tuition, books and lab fees will be paid by JCP&L for qualified students. Students who successfully complete the two-year PSI program earn an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electric Utility Technology from RVCC. Visit www.firstenergycorp.com/psi, call 800-829-6801 or go to www.raritanval.edu. 

AC bus trip aids animal rescue group

New Beginnings Animal Rescue will sponsor a bus trip to the Tropicana Casino on Sunday, Nov. 19, departing from the East Brunswick Community Arts Center, 715 Cranbury Road (across the street from New Beginnings). The bus leaves at 10 a.m. and returns at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30, with a $25 casino credit; includes snacks and beverages on the bus. Call Karen at 732-816-7381.

Read more articles and stay in touch with your local news by clicking here

Email news tips to cnmetro@MyCentralJersey.com or hntmetro@MyCentralJersey.com