Essex County Honors Bloomfield 'Superwoman'

The Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders recently honored Carol V. Alves-Ward of Bloomfield during its Annual “Women’s History Month Celebration” held at the Hall of Records in Newark.

Alves-Ward’s commendation was sponsored and presented by District 5 Freeholder Cynthia D. Toro, also of Bloomfield.

The theme of the celebration was “Superwomen,” a concept that Toro elaborated on in her speech.

“It is my pleasure to introduce you to my honoree, a true ‘Superwoman’ in every sense of the word… a woman who has somehow managed to find time in her schedule, and room in her heart, to help everyone,” Toro said at the event.

According to a release, Alves-Ward was born in Glen Ridge and has lived in Bloomfield for 68 of her 70 years, where she attended Bloomfield High School and the Essex County Vocational School. She was employed at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville from 1982 until her retirement in 2010, where she worked in a variety of roles and departments, including as a Certified Nursing Assistant in the Cancer Unit, a Patient-Staff Liaison and Billing Clerk in the Emergency Department.

She has been an active member of Bloomfield’s New Light Baptist Church (NLBC) since the age of nine, where she has been a participant, coordinator and leader in many of its compassionate community programs, including: the Carla Ward Memorial Walk-a-thon in memory of her late daughter, an event that raises scholarship money for current and future college students; the Youth Christmas Party, held in collaboration with local businesses, that provides food and toys to less fortunate children; the NLBC Funeral Repast, which sets-up, cleans-up and provides food following funeral processions; as well as efforts to feed the homeless at Newark’s Penn Station and provide food to the local Senior Building.

Alves-Ward leads the NLBC Kitchen Ministry; hosts the Carla Ward Annual Memorial Picnic; participates in the Annual Winter Coat distribution in conjunction with the Bloomfield United Way; hosts the NLBC branch of the Township’s Code Blue Program for homeless citizens; provides Thanksgiving baskets for those in need, often out of her own pocket; and, while employed at Clara Maass Medical Center, was instrumental in bringing various health fairs and instituting a CPR program at the Church. She has been a host in her neighborhood for Bloomfield’s Annual Night Out; sponsors an annual picnic at Clark’s Pond South in memory of her late daughter, where children are given food, toys, arts and crafts, and where she also participates in Bloomfield’s Neighborhood Watch to prevent drug trafficking there; and is also a regular attendee at Municipal Council meetings and participant in local election campaigns. Her compassion for others was further demonstrated in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy when she prepared dinners for people who had no power, and sat in long lines at gas stations to fill gas containers she then distributed to those who needed it most.

She is the proud mother of four children, Sharon McIver, Ronald Ward, Kurtis Ward and the late Carla Ward, and the loving grandmother of seven.

“Anyone who knows me knows I’m not one to speak”, said Alves-Ward, “but I would like to thank the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders and Freeholder Toro for acknowledging me, and I’d also like to congratulate my fellow honorees.” She spoke of being surprised when told she would be honored, wondering aloud, “Honored for what? Because I just do what I do without expecting to get anything for it!” She went on to say, “I will continue to do the things I do in my neighborhood and in my church, and again, I thank you very much.”

In addition to Alves-Ward, the event’s other honorees were: Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer of Newark; Anna B. Scott of Irvington; the Junior League of Montclair-Newark; the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills; and Emerge New Jersey. The event was sponsored by the women members of the Board: Freeholder President Britnee N. Timberlake of East Orange, and Freeholders Lebby C. Jones of Irvington, Patricia Sebold of Livingston, and Toro.