Page 4 • Wednesday , September 19 , 2018 • The Hammonton Gazette
Green Weekend Sept . 22-23
GREEN , from Page 1 with nature while learning about some of the latest green practices and products from local businesses and nonprofits , Hammonton ’ s Green Weekend will be sure to have everyone going green and having fun .
The three-event weekend begins with the Hammonton education foundation ’ s ( Hef ) 10th Annual recycling Central fundraiser at the Our Lady of Mt . Carmel grounds from 9 a . m . to noon on Saturday , September 23 . The annual recycling drive serves the dual purpose of allowing residents to live a greener lifestyle while supporting the Hammonton School District . for a $ 20 donation , community members can bring up to three 33- gallon bags full of paper that will be shredded on site after being loaded into a secure mobile paper shredding unit courtesy of Docu- Vault . Businesses are also welcomed to participate in recycling Central , and will be charged per pound of paper shredded on a sliding scale that ranges from $ 50 for quantities up to 150 pounds and $ 250 for quantities up to 1,000 pounds . for the first time ever , the event will also allow people to bring old computer hard drives for shredding ($ 10 donation per unit ). recycling Central will also feature several recycling vendors from local organizations and volunteers , such as the Hammonton Lions Club ( collecting prescription and non-prescription eyeglasses / sunglasses and hearing aids ), Atlantic County Library ’ s Hammonton Branch ( collecting children ’ s books , cook books , self-help books , biographies and novels suitable for family reading ), the Hammonton High School Green earth Club ( collecting cell phones , used / dried markers , including dry erase markets and highlighters that are accepted by Crayola for recycling ) and Migrant Worker Outreach of South Jersey ( collecting fabric , thread , scissors , zippers , buttons , pins , travel-size toiletries separated in bags per each type of item , powdered laundry detergent and feminine supplies ). fulton Bank of New Jersey is the major sponsor of recycling Central . The Hef will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from the event to the Hammonton School District , to which is has awarded more than $ 500,000 worth of grants since the foundation was founded in 2003 . events like recycling Central help the independent , nonprofit organization achieve its goal of distributing and acquiring funds and other resources in order to boost the quality of education for local students .
“ i enjoy giving back to the community and helping to raise funds that are greatly needed for scholarships and school programs that we help out to implement in our school district that are above and beyond what the normal funding would be able to supply ,” Hammonton Police Lt ., Hef member and co-chair of the recycling Central event committee , Kevin friel said . friel has been working alongside other event committee chair Carol Orsi in preparing for this year ’ s recycling Central event , which he said is an integral part of what Green Weekend represents .
“ it ’ s important that Hammonton participates in recycling Central and the Green Day festivities because it ’ s a way of helping to protect our environment . By hosting this recycling Central , we reduce a drastic amount of paper waste that people would just actually throw out in their garbage ,” friel said .
Joanne Pullia , first-year president of the Hef , will be at this year ’ s recycling Central along
with many of the Hef ’ s 28 other members . Pullia said the event has been a perennial success due to the organized nature of the Hef and its membership , and a consistently large turnout that comes back year after year with plenty of materials to shred and recycle .
“ every year , we say , ‘ Well , that ’ s it . Did everybody already shred everything and should we not do it again ?’ And amazingly enough , every year , we have new businesses or people in the community that haven ’ t shredded yet , or that have stuff that they know they ’ re collecting throughout the year and know they can come in and shred … it ’ s an excellent event ,” Pullia said .
Those who participate in recycling Central can fill their newfound personal space by bargain-hunting at some of the 50- plus homes that will be participating in Hammonton ’ s 14th Annual Townwide Yard Sale from 9 a . m . to 2 p . m . on September 22 . Previously a MainStreet Hammonton event , this year ’ s Townwide Yard Sale was organized by Chatter ’ s Baskets and the Hammonton family Success Center , and is sponsored by Scott Brown insurance Agency .
Mary Young , owner of Chatter ’ s
Baskets , was asked to consider taking over for MainStreet Hammonton in organizing the event , which she agreed to do because of how popular the event has become over the past 13 years .
“ it was a long-running event and i know that a lot of people enjoy it . i myself like going around to the yard sales — i don ’ t like having them — and then , i just thought it was an opportunity to give back to the family Success Center ,” Young said .
Young said that all proceeds generated from yard sale registrations will be donated to the Hammonton family Success Center in order to perpetuate programs that benefit children and their families .
A majority of the Townwide Yard Sale will run concurrent to recycling Central , which Young said are two thrifty outdoor events that both aptly represent the spirit of Green Weekend and make for a highly enjoyable Saturday in Hammonton .
“ People who are into upcycling obviously go around to yard sales and they find their treasures that way , so i definitely feel it ’ s something that ties in together . When they come in , they ’ re marking it on their calendar . They already had their days planned out : they ’ re going down to the carnival ground , then they ’ re going to get lunch , then they ’ re going to do this . So , i hear everybody buzzing about how they ’ re spending the whole Saturday here ,” Young said .
The Green Weekend festivities will conclude at Hammonton Lake Park on Sunday , September 23 with Hammonton Green Committee ’ s 11th Annual Green Day festival from noon to 4 p . m . The free event will feature crafts , live music , outdoor activities , food vendors and , most notably , a number of local businesses and nonprofits championing various green products and demonstrations .
“ it ’ s really just to showcase the businesses that are putting that green foot forward , if you will , as a primary part of their business model . And there are so many throughout South Jersey ; it ’ s not limited to Hammonton businesses ,” Hammonton Green Committee Chair Mica McCullough said .
This year ’ s Green Day festival will be held at Hammonton Lake Park . Given the theme of the festival , McCullough said returning to the lake park last year was a perfect fit .
“ it ’ s such a beautiful setting , and we are really giving people the opportunity and an excuse to get outside . People always talk about how kids are addicted to technology , and this is a really great way to get them outside and having fun on the lake ,” McCullough said .
There will be plenty of outdoor activities available during the festival , including nature walks , live workshops on topics like raising urban chickens and for the first time ever , free canoeing on the lake courtesy of Pinelands Adventures in Shamong Twp . During its first year , the Green Day festival took place by itself with no other weekend events . A year later , MainStreet moved the Townwide Yard Sale to the day before the festival and shortly thereafter , the Hef followed suit with recycling Central , thus creating Green Weekend as it is known today . McCullough said a strong synergy has developed between the three events over the past decade . Now , when Green Weekend begins each year , it doesn ’ t take long for people to start thinking green , even if it only lasts a couple of days for some .
“ i think it ’ s nice that everything is all in one weekend , and it does get people in that mindset . My goal is to have people in that mindset all the time , to have people always be thinking of : ‘ Oh , i ’ m done with this TV . What should i do with it ? What ’ s the best and most-environmentally friendly / least harmful way to get rid of something that you ’ re no longer using ?’” McCullough said .