Feeling good on #GivingTuesday: Morristown nonprofits say benefits work both ways

Mayo Performing Arts Center President Allison Larena, fourth from left, with staff of Morristown Women in Business: Maria Rivera-Jones, Mary Dougherty, Michele Reinhart, Marisa Sweeney and Irene Leavy. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Mayo Performing Arts Center President Allison Larena, fourth from left, with staff of Morristown Women in Business: Maria Rivera-Jones, Mary Dougherty, Michele Reinhart, Marisa Sweeney and Irene Leavy. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
0

Video: The MPAC president speaks about Giving Tuesday.

Allison Larena, president and CEO of Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center, suggests a very compelling reason for donating time and treasure to nonprofits like hers on #GivingTuesday.

It feels good.

“Giving back is good for business. But it’s also good for us. It feeds the soul, and I think it’s partly for our personal benefit as well,” Larena told the Morristown Women in Business on Monday at the group’s monthly luncheon.

She spoke from personal experience. Larena credits a volunteer stint at a small Bergen County theater with launching a career that led her to the Mayo Center, an economic engine for Morristown and a cultural hub for Morris County.

“They put me to work stuffing envelopes, licking envelopes. I ushered. I took tickets. I did anything they needed. I realized how much I loved volunteering,” Larena said of her years at the John Harms Center For The Arts (now Bergen PAC) in Englewood.

In the 1990s, volunteers rescued Morristown’s Community Theatre, a 1937 movie palace, from ruin. Since coming to what is now known as the Mayo Performing Arts Center in 2002, Larena has worked with private donors, corporations and foundations to raise millions to modernize the facility.

Now, MPAC presents more than 200 shows a year by the likes of Tony Bennett and Liza Minnelli, pumping an estimated $14 million into the local economy.  A small army of 150 volunteers makes performances run smoothly. Hundreds more young students participate in the theater’s performing arts school.

For today, Dec. 2, 2014, the Mayo Center is asking patrons to mark #GivingTuesday by posting an “unselfie” photo on social media sites of themselves making a donation.

BEQUESTS AND COMFORTERS

Larena and Sam Pirozzi, executive director of Mrs. Wilson’s, a Morristown home for women recovering from substance abuse, spoke at the Hyatt Morristown about the benefits of charitable giving, on the eve of #GivingTuesday.

The #GivingTuesday campaign was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, as a response to the commercialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

 

Video: The impact of Giving Tuesday on Mrs. Wilson’s

The Morristown-based Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, which is in the business of evaluating nonprofits and giving them money, has compiled the Jersey Give-Back Guide to help people find worthy organizations to support in the Garden State.

Grow It Green Morristown  is among the 22 organizations recommended this year.  If at least 50 people donate to Grow It Green, or to any of the others in the guide, by Dec. 31, 2014, Dodge will make a $1,000 grant to those organizations.

“Giving to a nonprofit organization you feel a connection to is a powerful and fulfilling way to celebrate the holiday season,” said Chris Daggett, Dodge Foundation President and CEO.

“Your support on #GivingTuesday, or any day, is a way of thanking them for the important services and experiences they bring to New Jersey communities at a time when they need it the most,”  Daggett said.

Morristown’s  Community Soup Kitchen has partnered with several area spas and restaurants to collect donations on Giving Tuesday.

Mayo Performing Arts Center President Allison Larena, fourth from left, with staff of Morristown Women in Business: Maria Rivera-Jones, Mary Dougherty, Michele Reinhart, Marisa Sweeney and Irene Leavy. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Mayo Performing Arts Center President Allison Larena, fourth from left, with staff of Morristown Women in Business: Maria Rivera-Jones, Mary Dougherty, Michele Reinhart, Marisa Sweeney and Irene Leavy. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Hans Dekker, president of the Community Foundation of New Jersey, said state residents donated $5.3 billion to philanthropic causes in 2012.

“On Small Business Saturday, we shop close to home. On Cyber Monday, we shop from the comfort of our couches. And on Giving Tuesday, we shift gears, remember what and why we celebrated the Thursday before, and make a gift to a charity of our choice,” Dekker said in an op-ed piece on MorristownGreen.com.

He added that #GivingTuesday serves “as an inspiration to all New Jerseyans to not only give back, but also think about what types of positive changes they would like to see in their communities.”

The team at Mrs. Wilson’s said it’s grateful for donations of any size. Even gifts of linens, comforters and kitchen items are appreciated.

“Every bit helps,” said Sam Pirozzi, the executive director.

“The women of our treatment program really benefit from the charity contributions. And, in the spirit of the holidays, it makes the person offering the donation feel good about themselves,” Pirozzi said.

Larena said MPAC benefactors often end up thanking her for the opportunity to help.

“Many times, they’ll say, ‘I got so much more out of that gift than you will ever know, personally.'”

Editor’s note: Although MorristownGreen.com is not a nonprofit, we feel we perform a vital community service by reporting the news of Greater Morristown–news that nobody else covers. Financially, it’s a challenging endeavor. If this service is valuable to you, please consider donating here.

MORE ABOUT #GIVINGTUESDAY

Michelle Reyes, assistant director, and Sam Pirozzi, executive director, of Mrs. Wilson's in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Michelle Reyes, assistant director, and Sam Pirozzi, executive director, of Mrs. Wilson’s in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

LEAVE A REPLY