Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Jake Papa dropped off a truck load of children's books to those less fortunate.
How many books was Long Valley’s Jake Papa able to gather and donate to less fortunate children in New Jersey? He needed a pick-up truck to transport them. That’s how many. Papa, a junior at West Morris Central, carried the torch he and his sister lit two years ago in asking for children’s books donations from the community. In turn, Papa and his sister, Katie, would give the books over to The Bridge of Books Foundation; an organization whose mission is to provide an ongoing source of books to underprivileged and at-risk children throughout the state. This year, however, Papa had to fly solo, as Katie was away for her first year at college. In 2011, the duo collected 2,190 books. Despite the team being cut in half, Papa set his 2012 goal …
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Twp. residents got to meet their favorite athlete.
The final week of September–and first full week of fall–ushered in some cooler temperatures and plenty of news. Take a look at what went on in the past seven days. The Festival of Hope, an outdoor concert with food and fun for attendees took over Ort Farm last Sunday, and Patch was there to chronicle the picture-perfect day. The festival’s proceeds directly benefited Glenn Lightner, a Long Valley teen battling brain cancer. On July 28, the Pampenin family of Long Valley lost their dog, Bandit, who ran away just minutes after bringing him home for the first time. The family wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, and spent nearly two months searching for the dog and setting up traps to capture him. In the end, the family prevailed, and …
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Flying solo, Jake Papa enters his third year of collecting books for underprivileged children.
Jake Papa has spent the last two Octobers collecting books for children who can’t afford them as part of Bridge of Books. During those successful volunteer efforts, he worked alongside his older sister, Katie. This year, however, Jake is going alone, as Katie graduated West Morris Central in June and is off to college. It’s an endeavor, Jake says, that shouldn’t stop just because the manpower is cut in half. In fact, he’s aiming for an even higher goal this year. The 16-year-old Central junior hopes to gather more than 2,400 donated books this year, hundreds more than last year’s total of 2,190. The Papa siblings were able to collect 1,800 in 2010, the first year running the program. "Reading has always been a large part of both my sister'…
Eileen Stokes
2:58 pm on Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Awesome job, Jake! We should all be so selfless and thoughtful towards others. Your sister must be proud. more ›