Catholic Charities Volunteer Spotlight: Jenn Minervino (Video)

For over 5 years Jenn Minervino has been leading the Fight for the Right Community Service Group for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Paterson, Department for Persons with Disabilities (DPD).
 
The Fight for the Right Group, is a volunteer group, consisting of adults who happen to have intellectual and developmental disabilities. The name was created by an individual from DPD who is a member of the group and implies fighting for what is right and providing service to those in our local communities, nation and worldwide who are in need. Jenn works tirelessly to identify possible projects and solicit ideas from the members and DPD staff alike and often reaches out to her family and friends to support the work of the group in giving back to the community. Jenn has led numerous projects including making get well cards and gifts for the sick, buying holiday presents for children of domestic violence, donating mom and baby gifts for Mother’s Day to a pregnant women’s shelter, doing yard work and clean up at a park on Community Service Day, creating centerpieces for an annual Easter brunch held by a local women’s club, delivering handmade appreciation gifts to law enforcement and participating in a Holocaust Museum’s butterfly memorial wall project. The group has held many drives to provide food, supplies, funds, clothing and products to our military troops and veterans, food pantries and banks, animal shelters and sanctuaries, families in new homes built by Habitat for Humanity and women in need of business attire for job interviews.

The Department for Persons with Disabilities’ Fight for the Right Group remained hard at work to support those in need in 2020. Early in the year, the group supported Benny’s Bodega to provide basic necessities to families struggling to get by and worked alongside Senator Kristin Corrado in a Socks for Soldiers event supporting veterans. They also made a "Stop the Spread" photo collage that was aired during one of Governor Phil Murphy's daily COVID-19 briefings, created post cards to honor the veterans that visit the Catholic Charities, Diocese of Paterson's Veterans Clothing Closets and donated Thanksgiving food to our food pantries and sent thank you letters & cards to those working tirelessly during the pandemic. One of the recipients of the thank you cards, a nurse, wrote a reply: “I can’t thank you enough for sending me such kind words of gratitude and encouragement, especially during the challenges I face each day walking into a hospital where people are so sick with COVID-19. Your letter brightened my day and gave me strength to keep fighting the illness for my patients. I am keeping the letter visible to give me more strength every day.” This project and the overall work of the group was also featured on Catholic Charities USA’s website, featured nationally. We owe a debt of gratitude to Jenn Minervino for her continued dedication to the important work of the group through the pandemic. Through COVID-19, the group stayed engaged with admirable projects from home.

We are truly blessed to have Jenn as an important member of our family. God bless Jenn and those who assist us in providing help and creating hope for those most in need!