Meet The Matchmakers - Susan

Redefining Retirement, a new program at the Bergen Volunteer Center works with interested nonprofits to identify their volunteer needs and connect them with retired volunteers who have the specific skills needed. We are excited to introduce to you some of the programs volunteers! Redefining Retirement Matchmakers are trained volunteers who will make initial connections between the nonprofits and interested retirees. 

Meet Susan!

Susan Proietti is a retired clinical social worker with a 40-year history of work with patients and clinicians doing clinical supervision, program consultation and administration.  She worked for 20 years with the State of NJ as a School Based-youth Services Director and consultant. Past work experience also includes New York Presbyterian Hospital in the departments of Medicine and Psychiatry.

Now retired and involved in her community, Susan serves on the boards of the Bergen Family Center and the Southeast Senior Center for Independent Living.  We are lucky to have her working alongside the Matchmakers from the Redefining Retirement program.

Reflections InterACTive Summer Experience ( RISE)

Summer is here and the RISE ( Reflections InterACTive Summer Experience) program, now in its 6^th year, is open for enrollment. The program is free with open enrollment to any Bergen County teen entering 9th  through  12^th grade.  Spread the word!

Reflections InterACTive Summer Experience

a program of the

Bergen County Division of Family Guidance

 Summer Acting improvisation experience for teens 
 Rehearsals, Performances, Workshops and Social Events 
 Meet other teens with similar interests

Activities will be held :

 When: Tuesday nights  from July 10^th - August 28^th

            Time:   5:30 pm-8:00 pm 

 Where: 1 Bergen County Plaza

                      Division of Family Guidance – Multi-purpose room

                      Hackensack, NJ

You can attend ONE rehearsal, or attend ALL – whatever works for you!

Contact Staci Block at sblock@co.bergen.nj.us and/or 201 336- 7361. Additional information https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/187/Reflections-and-RISE

Introducing Chris Schwake, Program Manager Extraordinaire at Making-It-Home

By Cynthia Massarsky

How well would we operate without Chris? Anyone who has come in contact with Chris knows the answer – not very well at all! Chris brings both style and organization to Making-It-Home, and all with a sensitivity and patience that helps make our program sing. On a daily basis, Chris coordinates a myriad of activities that many would find daunting – from interacting with furniture donors to recruiting volunteers to driving the truck that transports gently-used pieces to dozens of clients in need. Intuitively, Chris works to select the best combination of furniture for our clients and the right volunteers to help bring it to them. She knows how to organize our warehouse space to promote maximum efficiency. .She compiles all our statistics. Her master ability in scheduling both donor pick-ups and client deliveries in a single afternoon is unsurpassed. And she’s our resident photographer too, snapping shots of our clients in their new spaces and thoughtfully sending them to their case managers as well as Bergen County residents who donated the new furnishings. Kudos to Chris Schwake whose warm smile and extraordinary talent is appreciated each day!

Announcing the CHEER program at Bergen Volunteer Center

The Bergen Volunteer Center is proud to announce CHEER as its newest program. CHEER was previously one of the services offered by Visiting Homemaker Home Health Aide Service of Bergen County. CHEER is funded in part by a grant from the Bergen County Department of Human Services. It also receives funding from corporations, private foundations, and individual donors.

CHEER provides a helping hand to isolated and frail seniors of Bergen County, thus allowing them to retain their independence. Trained CHEER aides and volunteers conduct weekly visits to assist with shopping, errands, laundry, and light housekeeping. Aids and volunteers often develop lasting relationships with these seniors as they offer companionship and, whenever possible, create opportunities for them to be engaged in their communities. This type of minimal service is sometimes all that is needed to enable an elderly person to continue to remain safely in the comfort of their home.

To be eligible for the CHEER program, the senior must:

•           reside in Bergen County

•           be at least 60 years old

•           have no other able bodied person living with them.

CHEER is a life saver to all we serve and thus far CHEER under the auspices of Bergen Volunteer Center is helping approximately 90 seniors per week.

“The addition of CHEER to our other services, Chore Service and Redefining Retirement makes the Bergen Volunteer Center an essential part of Successful Aging in Bergen County. We are thrilled to welcome CHEER and endeavors to help these volunteers turn their caring into meaningful action for our senior citizen neighbors and friends,” remarked Lynne Algrant, Bergen Volunteer Center CEO.

To participate in the program and/or to volunteer, contact Michele Ogden at 201.489.9454 x203 or mogden@bergenvolunteers.org. 

Nam Knights Motorcycle Club Invests Time, Money

By Chris Schwake


It wasn’t enough for members of the Nam Knights Motorcycle Club to provide significant financial support to furnish the homes of 14 disabled, formerly homeless veterans at the Emerson Veterans Supportive Housing development last year. Certainly, hearing their Harleys roar as they rolled up to the ribbon cutting ceremony could have been the icing on the cake. But they didn’t stop there… 

Since October, Nam Knights members have switched out their bikes for a moving truck, rolled up the sleeves on their leather jackets, and hauled more than 50 pieces of furniture for five new clients of the Making-It-Home Program.

Part of the Nam Knights’ mission is to “…assist veterans and police officers in their time of need…” These great men live up to every word. Making-It-Home brings gently-used furniture to formerly homeless people leaving emergency shelter for new apartments. Many of our clients are veterans, some are disabled, and all are in need of help. Our corps of volunteers help us get the donated furniture where it needs to go. Some even stick around to assemble tables, re-arrange pieces so they’re just right, hang pictures, and do whatever else is necessary to make our clients feel comfortable in their new spaces. That’s what the Nam Knights do!

Thank you to Mike, Jack, Don, Pat, Jim and other Nam Knights members– we couldn’t succeed without you!