Stores Help Hungry on Thanksgiving

Two Livingston businesses have joined the effort to give the disadvantaged in Hudson County a happy Thanksgiving.  Complements Two, a women's clothing boutique, and George Press Fine Jewelers, a retail jeweler, are participating in a food drive and have collected donations within their stores.

Boxes with signs asking customers to donate nonperishable goods were displayed in the atrium by the entrance for George Press Fine Jewelers and in the main showroom of Complements Two.  These boxes will be delivered to the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center in Jersey City  today, November 23, where they will be distributed to the less fortunate on Thanksgiving.

“There’s a need, more so this year than any year,” said Cheryl Press, Marketing Director of George Press Fine Jewelers.  “I went through my pantry at home and gave a donation.”

Both shops are part of a larger volunteer initiative for the holiday; "Hudson Challenge", a volunteer networking website that's like Facebook in that connects people and groups with charity activities, is the organization behind the food drive. 

Both Completments Two and George Press Fine Jewelers have extensive volunteer and charitable experience.

Complements Two donated jeans to a battered women’s shelter.  This year the store has raised money for close to a dozen different charities including Susan G. Komen and the American Cancer Society. George Press Fine Jewelers has been actively helping the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for five years, as well as other charities.

“There are a lot of people that have been hit hard by the economy,” said George Press.  “So many more people are in need of (food).”

People brought non-perishable foods such as hot and cold cereals, crackers, jelly, canned foods, water, juice, soda and peanut butter to both stores. Receiving families will receive these in time for Thanksgiving. For more information or to volunteer, go to www.hudsonchallenge.com/events/profile/45.