GLEN RIDGE — A “Meet and Greet” for borough residents was at Freeman Gardens on Friday, Sept. 25. Its purpose was to help mitigate the persistent problem of acquainting new-comers and people living here for years with the community services available to them. An added benefit, because the early evening event was an all-hands-on-deck effort by a myriad of recreation and social service volunteers and personnel, was an awareness of the many volunteer opportunities here in town.
Borough Councilman Steve Zimet, as he was with the Glen Ridge commuter survey earlier this year, was front and center. It was the first time, he said, that a borough-wide meet and greet was being undertaken.
“The last time we had a survey, coming out of that, was that people who lived in town didn’t know about all the services,” he said.
The same problem was with newcomers, he said, especially when they did not have school-age children.
“You meet a lot of people when you have kids,” he said. “When I moved here, we had a one-and-a-half-year old and you don’t meet many people. This event tonight is about community building. You’ll see a lot of people here from the volunteer organizations that make this town run.”
Greeters included Mayor Deborah Mans, Borough Council and school board members, members from the Gas Lamp Players, the Women’s Club, Historical Society, Kiwanis and the volunteer EMS squad, whose ambulance was an especially interesting attraction for small children.
Congresswoman Analilia Mejia, District 11-D, came to the event. From her office, Jasmine Metellus provided information about student internships with Mejia’s office, either in Montclair or Washington, D.C. The deadline for applications is Sunday, Nov. 1. For more information, the office can be reached at 973-526-5668.
Photos by Daniel Jackovino
About the Author
