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Princeton Corridor Rotary Club Offers $10K Match for Fisherman’s Mark Hurricane Ida Relief Grant
The Princeton Corridor Rotary Club has committed to matching up to $10,000 of funds raised for the Fisherman’s Mark Hurricane Ida Relief Grant.
Fisherman’s Mark, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization in Lambertville, NJ, has been on the front lines of the Hurricane Ida relief effort in Lambertville and throughout Hunterdon County.
“One of our members lost his entire home in the floods that came in the wake of Hurricane Ida,” said Ed Keenan, a resident of Robbinsville, NJ, and Secretary of the Princeton Corridor Rotary Club. “He is currently living in temporary housing and has been splitting his time between running his business, which he used to run from home, and searching the house for what can be salvaged. His home is uninhabitable but his mortgage remains and is greater than the sum of assistance that he will receive from insurance and the government. He is literally and metaphysically unmoored.”
The floodwaters that resulted from the deadly September 1st hurricane-damaged nearly half of the properties in the City of Lambertville as it wreaked havoc across New Jersey. Accuweather estimates the damage from Ida to reach $95B, the seventh costliest storm to hit the US since 2000.
“This happened and continues to happen right here in our home state to our neighbors and friends and family members. This is our tragedy,” Keenan said. “Yet, as the effects of the flooding fade from the news headlines, the cleanup, the repairing, the rebuilding, the healing all continue to take place. The flood victims continue to need our help.”
The Chapter’s president, John Molinelli, is a financial advisor for the firm Sheehy & Molinelli in Hamilton, NJ which also sponsored a matching grant for Fisherman’s Mark last month. “The Sheehy & Molinelli matching grant was so successful and the need is so great. I brought the idea to the Club and they loved it,” said Molinelli.
“While our efforts will ultimately be dwarfed by the need, we wanted to help in the best way we could,” continued Keenan, who owns Document Depot in Forrestal Village in Princeton. “The Club chose Fisherman’s Mark for its reputation, its services, and its location.”
The Princeton Corridor Rotary Club has its own foundation established 25 years ago. The funds raised through club activities and member donations are used to support hunger initiatives, family support initiatives, several scholarship programs, and charitable organizations throughout Mercer County.
Jennifer Williford, the Executive Director of Fisherman’s Mark, said, “We are so grateful to the Princeton Corridor Rotary Club for recognizing the exceptional need in Lambertville with this generous offer. We have 50 families in need of rental assistance or who are otherwise struggling financially as a result of the storm. $200,000 is currently earmarked for relief funding and, while this may sound like a lot, we are looking at a long-term situation in an area where housing costs are high. The Princeton Corridor Rotary Club gets it.”
The matching grant will be in effect from November 25th to December 15th. Donations can be made here.