WWW.NJCOPSMAGAZINE.COM ■ DECEMBER 2014
Kearny Local 21 Octoberfest
sends packages to troops abroad
On Oct. 18 in front of the VFW on Kearny’s Veteran’s Row,
Kearny Local 21 held an Octoberfest event in support of our
troops overseas.
“My brother, a Bayonne cop, is deployed right now,”
explained Kearny Patrolman Rich Pawlowski, who pioneered
the event. “I reached out to the VFW in August and spoke to its
commander, Jennifer Long, who is a retired sergeant major
from the Army. I told her that our Local wanted to do a care
package drive, and we sat down and came up with the idea of
having an Octoberfest.”
New Jersey currently has around 900 National Guardsmen
deployed overseas, and the basis of this event was to raise
money and collect items to send to various units abroad.
“We ended up doing pretty well,” Pawlowski said, noting that
the event culminated in the shipping of 40 boxes, each weighing 50 pounds, to two National Guard units as well as Pawlowski’s brother’s unit in Africa.
“We shipped magazines, deodorant, popcorn – anything and
everything you could possibly imagine,” Pawlowski added.
The event raised about $13,000, and after covering expenses including food, beer, eight bands and the shipping cost of a
literal ton of goods overseas, there is still some money left that
Pawlowski has grand plans for:
“The remaining cash is going to go toward a big homecoming ticker day parade,” he promised. “You never see those anymore. We’re going to close down a whole street when these guys
get back.”d
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