OOIE Outreach focuses on Community Service

Ombudsman James McCracken and staff at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.

Anticipating Governor Chris Christie’s annual “Season of Service,” the Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly lent a hand to two major social service
organizations in the Trenton area.

OOIE staff are pictured with Crisis Ministry
Directors Carolyn Biondi and Mark Smith.

On November 12th, Ombudsman James McCracken and staff served New Jersey residents at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. Also, on November 22nd Ombudsman staff assisted the
Crisis Ministry food pantry by preparing food packages for distribution to local needy families.

The OOIE Outreach Office schedules these volunteer activities not only to give back to the local community but also to increase awareness about OOIE services among the state's most vulnerable and at-risk populations.

Gina Liberali Cavallo: A 'Champion of Change'

According to the White House “Champions of Change” website: “All across the country, ordinary Americans are doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.” 

Gina Liberali Cavallo, OOIE’s Volunteer Advocate in Passaic County, has gone beyond the doors of her assigned facility, Wayneview Care Center, to lend a hand in her community in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Gina stepped in and organized teams of volunteers in the shore towns of Lavallette and Ortley Beach, and matched those who want to help with those affected – restoring the shore while restoring our faith in humanity.

As a result, Gina has been nominated, and is now a semifinalist, to be honored as a White House Champion
of Change and was selected by NJ First Lady Mary Pat Christie as a “New Jersey Hero.”

Our advocates really do make a difference in their community!  Congratulations, Gina!