FLORHAM PARK — The members of Frank Patterson American Legion Post 43 went above and beyond in their mission of “veterans helping veterans” Thursday, April 6, as the organization presented some $59,000 in donations to groups in Madison, Florham Park, and across the state.
The Florham Park-Madison Legion Post hosted about 30 people in its Ridgedale Avenue meeting hall Thursday evening for a donation event, in which Legion officials handed out checks to representatives of local and regional nonprofit groups.
Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps Volunteers and Florham Park Memorial First Aid Squad accepted $1,000 checks from the Legionnaires. Later in the ceremony, 2022 Madison High School graduate Jake Mocko accepted $1,000 to aid in his recovery from rare cancer that left him partially paralyzed.
Post Adjutant Robert Holtz, who announced the names of each recipient during the ceremony, noted Post 43 is donating some $5,000 each to veterans homes in Vineland, Paramus, Glen Gardner, and Hammonton, plus $2,500 to Veterans Affairs hospitals in Lyons and East Orange, among other donations to aid fellow veterans.
Peggy Banko, development director of the Parsippany-based Community Hope, was on hand to accept a check benefiting the group’s mission to help veterans overcome homelessness, poverty, mental illness, and addiction.
Joseph Noonan, the post’s sergeant-at-arms, also accepted a $1,000 donation for New Jersey’s Mission of Honor. Noonan is the Morris County representative for the group, which works to identify the unclaimed ashes of military veterans abandoned at funeral parlors, then enters them in a military cemetery with full honors.
Holtz pointed to numerous other Post 43 donations this year, including $500 for the Madison Eagle Christmas Fund, $500 for Madison Little League, and $3,000 to send Madison, Chatham, and Hanover Park high school students to the New Jersey Boys State program this summer, and $4,000 to be awarded later this year in scholarships for graduating Madison High School and Hanover Park High School students.
Florham Park Mayor Taylor, a member of the Sons of the American Legion (SAL) at Post 43, praised the Legionnaires for their work to give back to the community.
“I thank our first aid squads, both, for all that you do,” he said, “and all the people here donating their time and efforts to veterans in our country and our town. Thank you all for what you do.”
The crowd erupted in applause and some cheers as Holtz announced that the Legion had just given away some $59,000. Many in the crowd stuck around afterward to enjoy a buffet at the Legion Hall.
For more information on Frank Patterson American Legion Post 43, click here.
The members meet on the first Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the Post home at 20 Ridgedale Avenue, Florham Park. Call (973) 377-7756 for additional information.
