Mayor Rich LaBarbiera Welcomes Habitat For Humanity To Paramus

Habitat For Humanity - Paramus- Early Saturday morning Paramus Mayor Rich LaBarbiera welcomed Jacey Raimondo, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Bergen County to Paramus Borough Hall for a special “Brush with Kindness” effort revitalizing the homes of single working mothers and senior citizens living in Paramus. This joint effort overseen by Diane Marichal, Housing Liaison Coordinator, and Joe D’Arco, Borough Administrator, saw an assemblage of Paramus leaders and student volunteers. Together they approached ten houses in Paramus to tend to lawns, leaves, hedges and property maintenance.

Habitat For Humanity - Paramus Teams from all over Bergen County were joined Habitat Bergen and Diane Marichal, Paramus Municipal Housing Liaison in a special “Brush with Kindness” effort revitalizing the homes. This extensive one-day project coincided with the 2011 “Make a Difference Day”, this year’s national day of volunteering.

FDU student-athletes, sorority sisters from FDU’s Lambda Theta Alpha, members of NYU’s Habitat for Humanity club, members of the Paramus Sunrise Rotary Club and countless others tackled chores outdoors and in:  raking leaves, trimming bushes, performing minor repairs, spackling/painting walls and doing other necessary “punch list” tasks under the supervision of Habitat Bergen supervisors and Paramus volunteers.  The NYU students are to be commended for their diligence. They came to NJ by train to Hoboken and then by taxi to Paramus.

“In addition to homes being revitalized, the volunteers will have made a major difference in the lives of those homeowners.  There is a great sense of pride in knowing that you’ve assisted someone less fortunate.” said Raimondo. Mayor LaBarbiera said “We thank the students and volunteers who made the effort to lend a helping hand. This partnership with Habitat For Humanity and Paramus, for which we thank Diane Marichal, is the beginning of an annual joint effort. Council President Maureen O’Brien, Councilwoman Cathy Bentz and Councilman Ralph Amato agreed.

To volunteer for future projects, go to www.habitatbergen.org/volunteer .  For more information, contact Christine Incontro, Director of Special Events & Marketing at 201-457-1020 or christinei@habitatbergen.org.