Madison Eagle Christmas Fund (MECF) Helps During Pandemic

MADISON, NJ, April 8, 2020 -- The Madison Eagle Christmas Fund (MECF), a proud Madison tradition that has assisted thousands of Madison’s families, disabled and seniors for 45 years during the holiday season, is pitching in to help during the Coronavirus Pandemic. In an effort to help during these unprecedented times, the group voted to make an additional distribution of grocery gift cards to assist Madison neighbors who were facing considerable financial challenges before the pandemic. Last week the MECF organized the purchase and distribution of Stop & Shop cards valued at $13,100, working with Stop & Shop's corporate office to obtain a 5% discount to help several Madison neighbors in need.

Stacey Smollen, co-chair of the MECF, said "We knew we had to do something to quickly help some of the most vulnerable residents in our town during this pandemic: families and senior citizens who were facing financial challenges even before COVID-19. This outreach will help close to 200 of our neighbors and will make them feel supported by all of us in Madison. We hope it will help them cover some of the necessities that will be required for the coming weeks."

Tanya VanOrder, deputy director of the Madison Housing Authority, adds “Food gift cards will help families get by while they wait for unemployment payments to begin. For seniors, it will help stretch their dollars while they depend on others to shop for them. It is a huge boost both materially and spiritually!”

The MECF is a community effort with civics and religious groups, merchants, schools, volunteers and individual donors teaming up to help neighbors with financial challenges. Last year, the fund assisted 48 families and 52 senior citizens, providing holiday gifts such as coats, toys, books, grocery and gas gift cards for close to 200 Madison residents.

The MECF relies solely on donations and volunteers to cover operating expenses. Tax deductible cash donations to help with costs for the pandemic outreach can be made by posting a check payable to the Madison Eagle Christmas Fund, PO Box 2, Madison, NJ 07940 or directly through the website at http://www.madisoneaglechristmasfund.org/donate. To learn more about MECF and other donation opportunities in town, please visit our webpage at www.madisoneaglechristmasfund.org and like the group on Facebook.