Store Owner Honored For Donating $10,000 To Union County Groups

UNION, NJ — Angel Cartagena, store owner of Batteries Plus Bulbs in Union Township, was honored for his enormous generosity.

He was given the ‘James Shaefer President’s Award’ at Union Township’s Chamber of Commerce 63rd Annual Gala on April 13.

“As a business that’s what we are supposed to do,” Cartagena said of donating back to the community. “The community supports businesses so the business should support the community. It’s not a one-way street.”

Cartagena opened his business 10 years ago but his generosity was instilled in him long before that.

He had served in the US Air Force for 37 years during which time an allotment of his monthly paycheck was donated.

After retiring from the military, the Linden local continued to give back. He has donated more than $10,000 to groups within the community last year, including the Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, as well as several families with sick members.

His biggest donation was towards the hurricane relief efforts of Puerto Rico, in which he donated 40,000 batteries to the cause.

But it doesn’t stop there. This month he will be donating 200 blue light bulbs to Union Township residents in support of Autism month, and in June, he’s sponsoring a float in the Puerto Rican Day parade in Elizabeth.

“My goal is to give back to the community because they support my business. Without them I would have no business,” Cartagena said.

(Images provided)

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