Parsippany Woman’s Club Has Holiday Cheer Despite COVID-19

Things are a little different this year with COVID-19, but the Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is determined to help make the holidays a little brighter for the residents of local nursing homes. Operation Cookie/Candy has been a project of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs (NJSFWC) for over 50 years and is always a club favorite. Some of the cookies being distributed are pre-packaged rather than home-made but the love and holiday spirit is still there. Due to limits on indoor gatherings only a few of our members could be present to fill the brightly decorated cans, but all members were there in spirit. In total 111 residents of the Country Home in Morris Plains, the Troy Hills Home in Parsippany and the Fireman’s Home in Boonton received the cookies, candy and a holiday card from our members.

Another recent holiday project of the club was Operation Yellow Ribbon. Club members, family, friends, community members and co-workers filled 145 Christmas stockings with toiletries, games, snacks, telephone cards and other assorted goodies for members of the military serving overseas. These stockings were taken to the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs (NJSFWC) headquarters to be shipped with stockings filled by the other women’s clubs affiliated with NJSFWC. This year clubwomen throughout New Jersey filled 1,650 stockings. Since Operation Yellow Ribbon had requested 1,000 stockings the remaining 650 stockings were distributed to Operation Jersey Cares which supports deployed soldiers, veterans and military families, Operation Shoebox NJ which supplies personal care packages to US troops deployed overseas and Veterans Haven South, which us a transitional housing program for homeless veterans operated by the state of New Jersey,

Because of COVID-19 restrictions club members donated gift cards only this year to be used to purchase gifts and food for children through the Dover Head Start “Adopt A Class” Community Program. Through the generosity of the Parsippany club members $1,350 in gift cards to Target, Walmart and Shoprite were collected and given to the center.

The club also supports the Wreaths Across America program by sponsoring several remembrance wreaths which will be used to Honor our veterans at the Denville Cemetery on December 19, 2020 where the wreaths will be laid upon the graves of our country’s fallen heroes.

The Woman’s Club was also very proud to purchase 5 trees in support of the Trees for Troops event sponsored by Cerbo’s Parsippany Greenhouse & Garden Center on Littleton Road. The fresh-cut trees are distributed to military personnel and their families in the true spirit of Christmas.

While the club has continued to support many of the traditional holiday projects there is a concern that some of the educational projects the club supports throughout the year may suffer due to the cancellation of the Annual Tee Off for Education Golf Classic, Tricky Tray and Luncheon. All proceeds from this major fundraiser goes to our dedicated Education/Scholarship Fund. This money is used to give scholarships, reading and citizenship awards to Parsippany students. Other projects include support for our local library, Eagle and Gold Scout Awards, supporting Dr. Seuss Read Across America Day at the library and day care centers within the community and much more. It has been a struggle to raise sufficient funds to support these endeavors at the same level we have in past years. If you would like to donate to our Education Fund please send a check made out to WCPTH and send to WCPTH P.O. Box 98, Parsippany, NJ 07054.

The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a 501(c)(3) organization and all donations are tax deductible.

The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a member of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs of GFWC, which is the largest volunteer women's service organization in the state, providing opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service. For more information call Marilyn at 973-539-3703, e-mail the club at womansclubofpth@gmail.com, check us out on the web www.parsippanywomansclub.org .or follow the club on FACEBOOK.