SUEZ, JCMUA, and Shauger Donate Back-to-School Backpacks for Kids

by Alexandra Gakos

For the second straight year, SUEZ and The Shauger Group (TSG) have teamed up to donate back-to-school backpacks to local children; the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA) has also partnered with TSG for this year’s donation effort as well.

Together, the three organizations gave 500 backpacks to the Jersey City Housing Authority (JCHA), New Jersey’s second largest public housing authority, which provides affordable housing opportunities to over 15,000 residents. TSG and SUEZ also donated another 100 backpacks to WomenRising, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that offers support to women and children in need; 250 backpacks to residents of the City of Orange; and 200 backpacks to those in need in the Town of Kearny.

SUEZ, JCMUA, and TSG presented the backpacks on Monday, August 17, to representatives from JCHA and WomenRising, who will manage the distribution of the backpacks to children served by their organizations. All of the donated backpacks are filled with a variety of school supplies: notebooks, rulers, folders, crayons, pencils, erasers, and glue sticks. The backpacks also include something that has become ever-important since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: hand sanitizer.

“We are really proud to team up with SUEZ and JCMUA on such a meaningful and timely project,” said Donald Shauger, Executive Vice President of TSG. “Not only are we helping build the next generation, we are giving kids something to look forward to in these crazy times. These last several months have been difficult for all of us with the COVID-19 pandemic—it changed all of our lives practically overnight, and kids have felt that change. Kids have faced unique challenges this year, and they deserve a treat that will put a smile on their faces.”

Since 1938, JCHA’s mission has been to aid low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities in finding affordable quality housing, as well as in gaining access to safe neighborhoods, health and wellness programs, educational initiatives, and job opportunities. JCHA administers approximately 7,100 housing units, including about 2,500 public housing units and 4,600 Housing Choice Vouchers, which is a voucher program created to help eligible people pay rent in the private market as they work toward financial self-sufficiency.

WomenRising has an over-115-year-history of aiding women and children in need, by offering assistance with job placement and occupational training, safe harbor from domestic violence, and housing. WomenRising provides social services and advocacy services, as well as counseling, intervention, outreach, shelter, and resources in periods of crisis. WomenRising assists around 10,000 to 15,000 women and children annually, with the goal to guide women on the path to self-sufficiency. A longtime supporter of WomenRising, TSG has served as a sponsor of WomenRising’s yearly Celebration of Service Gala for many years. TSG was first introduced to WomenRising through SUEZ; in fact, in 2019, WomenRising renamed its “Corporate Sponsor Award” after SUEZ. This coming October, Donald Shauger, Lisa Shauger (President/CEO of TSG), and TSG will be the 2020 recipients of WomenRising’s SUEZ Corporate Sponsor Award.

TSG has partnered with SUEZ on a variety of other philanthropic projects over the past several years. This spring, SUEZ and TSG teamed up on multiple donations to benefit workers on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic—including providing well over 1,000 meals to essential emergency workers at hospitals, medical centers, police departments, fire departments, emergency services units, and offices of emergency management during the course of March and April, as well as 1,000 Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards to nurses for National Nurses Week in May. Last fall, SUEZ and TSG donated 750 back-to-school backpacks to various municipalities and to WomenRising, and, for the past few Thanksgivings, SUEZ and TSG have donated hundreds of turkeys to families in need. Additionally, in May 2017, SUEZ joined a volunteer effort spearheaded by TSG to renovate Newark’s Apostles’ House homeless shelter.

“This is certainly going to be a difficult school year with the ongoing threat of COVID-19,” said Lisa Shauger. “But one thing we wanted to make sure of was that, despite all of the other challenges kids will be facing this fall, families wouldn’t have the added stress of not being able to afford much-needed supplies for school. We hope our donation helps kids start the school year off on the right foot—paving the way for them to have a successful year.”

“Having been raised in a single-parent household, I know firsthand what it’s like to have financial constraints get in the way of academic opportunities,” added Donald Shauger. “Years ago I received a full scholarship to Upsala College in East Orange, but I unfortunately had to turn it down—and had to pass on the opportunity to go to college altogether—because I had to work to support my family. Knowing how easy it is for financial obstacles to hinder educational opportunities, we are especially proud to do what we can to pay it forward to help these kids and families.”

For back-to-school this fall, TSG has also donated 400 additional backpacks to benefit students in other local communities, including Newark, Hoboken, and East Orange.

About SUEZ North America

SUEZ North America operates across all 50 states and Canada with 3,000 employees dedicated to environmental sustainability and smart and sustainable resource management. The company provides drinking water, wastewater and waste collection service to 6.7 million people on a daily basis; treats 560 million gallons of water and over 440 million gallons of wastewater each day; delivers water treatment and advanced network solutions to 16,000 industrial and municipal sites; processes 160,000 tons of waste for recycling; rehabilitates and maintains water assets for more than 4,000 municipal and industrial customers; and manages $4.1 billion in total assets. The company posted revenues of $1.1 billion in 2018 and is a subsidiary of Paris-based SUEZ.

About SUEZ

With 90,000 people on the five continents, SUEZ is a world leader in smart and sustainable resource management. We provide water and waste management solutions that enable cities and industries to optimize their resource management and strengthen their environmental and economic performances, in line with regulatory standards. With the full potential of digital technologies and innovative solutions, the Group recovers 17 million tons of waste a year, produces 3.9 million tons of secondary raw materials and 7 TWh of local renewable energy. It also secures water resources, delivering wastewater treatment services to 58 million people and reusing 882 million m3 of wastewater. SUEZ generated total revenues of 18 billion euros in 2019.

About Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority

Operating and managing the sewerage and water systems of Jersey City, the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA) is responsible for providing water and wastewater collection services to more than 250,000 Jersey City residents. Originally created as the Jersey City Sewerage Authority in 1949 before it was reorganized into the JCMUA in 1998, the JCMUA maintains over 230 miles of sewers and 5,000 catch basins as part of its daily operations. Drawing water from two reservoirs that collectively store over 11 billion gallons of water, the Jersey City water system is comprised of 240 miles of water lines within Jersey City; the City’s water treatment plant treats and purifies an average of approximately 50 million gallons of water on a daily basis, handling as much as 80 million gallons per day during periods of heightened use.

About The Shauger Group

Recognized for high-quality service, hands-on management, and a family team approach, The Shauger Group offers a wide spectrum of diversified construction and maintenance services to clients in the New York metropolitan region. Since 1981, The Shauger Group’s family-owned and operated business has earned a reputation as a leader in the industry and has fostered lasting relationships with a host of clients, vendors, and subcontractors alike. Serving clients in both the public and private sectors, The Shauger Group offers an extensive range of services, including construction, underground utility, landscaping, street sweeping, maintenance, snow removal, and emergency response services. Known for reliability, responsiveness, and quality work, The Shauger Group has become one of the largest private employers in East Orange, New Jersey, where its state-of-the-art headquarters house over 200 company-owned vehicles and pieces of equipment, as well as a complete fleet maintenance repair facility.