Newarkers Among Winners of 'Make a Difference' Award

During a ceremony at Ramapo College Thursday morning, a dozen New Jersey residents -- including a number of Newarkers -- joined an elite group of do-gooders who have been awarded by the Russ Berrie Foundation for having a positive impact on the lives of Garden State residents over the past 17 years.

The annual Russ Berrie Awards for Making a Difference were started by the Berrie Foundation’s namesake in 1997. Berrie, who founded a stuffed animal and toy company in the 1960’s, was known for his philanthropy. Since his death in 2002, Berrie’s wife Angelica and members of the Russell Berrie Foundation have continued the tradition of giving.

Thursday afternoon, inside the theater on the campus of Ramapo College that bears Berrie’s name, 12 volunteers from throughout the state were honored by the foundation for the positive impact they’ve had. Eight of the finalists were each given $5,000 awards, three were given $25,000 awards, and one award recipient – Regina Coyle of Little Ferry – left Thursday’s ceremony with a $50,000 check.

Residents from across the state are nominated each year. Members of the foundation’s board said they chose Coyle for the way she helped the communities of Little Ferry and Moonachie during and after Hurricane Sandy. 

Coyle, a member of the St. Margaret of Cortona Church Parish Council, and a trained Certified Emergency Response Team volunteer, organized the Parish Hall to become an emergency shelter after the storm. She and a crew of volunteers worked to serve food to 300 residents a day, and to provide clothes, shelter and other emergency needs to locals. She reached out to and received help from FEMA, the National Guard, and UPS. All the while, Coyle had lost her own car to the storm, many of her belongings had been destroyed, and her parents’ house had suffered significant damage.

Coyle and a network of volunteers are still working to help return the community to some sense of normalcy.

Among the $25,000 winners is: 

• Jack Fanous of Marlton is the founder and executive director of the G.I. Go Fund. For almost seven years, this organization has helped homeless war veterans in Newark.  The vets can be found along Heroes Highway, a derisive name given to a stretch of Market Street near Newark’s Penn Station. They help war veterans secure jobs and to obtain financial assistance, benefits and shelter.  Fanous views veteran homelessness and hopelessness as an epidemic and has expanded the program to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, DC. Newark Mayor Cory Booker gave the G.I. Go Fund an office at City Hall. 

There were eight $5,000 winners from across the state, including:

• Robert Clark founded YouthBuild Newark in 2003 and is the organization’s executive director. It is modeled after a national program of the same name.  Clark is the first YouthBuild graduate to start a YouthBuild program. From a storefront in downtown Newark, YouthBuild Newark gives youth ages 16 to 24 a second chance. This intensive yearlong program helps them earn a high school equivalency diploma, teaches important life skills and the value of hard work. 
• James Credle of Newark has led a life of activism and advocacy. He is a leader within the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning communities since 1980. In 1987, 25 percent of men living with HIV/AIDS were gay. Credle assisted in creating the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention, the first national HIV prevention program directed at black men and men of color. Continuing to work and serve where he lives, Credle cofounded the Newark Pride Alliance in 2003 in the aftermath of the murder of Sakia Gunn, a 14-year-old lesbian who spoke back to a street harasser. He’s also embarked on an anti-bullying campaign, Stop Hate, Report Bullying that focuses on community groups.