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ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
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by ALLAN DEAN RED BANK, NJ — Blue Plate Special was singing and playing some gutsy blues while small clusters of people listened and clapped. Some shared a thought or whispered a prayer. Or cuddled a stuffed animal or bought a cinnamon roll from girl scouts. Some viewed the work of student artists or bowed at sidewalk memorials that lined the street with old candles and tattered flags. Some smiled and cheered children with balloon animals. Others beamed with pride at the patriotic new work by world-renowned "Goosebumps" artist Broeck Steadman. All were there to remember.
A Day of Remembrance was held at Riverside Gardens Park in Red Bank on Saturday, October 20. For the two nights previous, Alliance of Neighbors had assembled a constellation of stars who graced the stage at Count Basie. Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Joan Jett, Phobe Snow Henry Gross and Felix Calaveri among many others played for sold out crowds on Thursday and Friday. The Pilgrim Baptist Church Celestial Choir, Red Bank, opened the three-day event at Count Basie Theater on Thursday night. Alliance of Neighbors began on September 12, 2001 by Rick Korn, Rumson resident and entrepreneur, and Bill Ayers, president of World Hunger Year (WHY) and radio talk show host for WPLJ, who were working to produce a concert at Count Basie for World Hunger Year. They decided to switch gears following the World Trade Center disaster. Korn and Ayers agreed WHY needed to take a back seat to the more pressing needs of the families of Monmouth County. Alliance of Neighbors Founders: Rick Korn, Bill Ayers, Ed McKenna, Mayor of Red Bank, Danny Murphy, Corinda Carford and James Wassel moved quickly to form a corporate non-profit organization to serve the families of Monmouth County affected by the attacks.
The purpose of the Alliance of Neighbors is to coordinate fund raising activities and existing assistance organizations in Monmouth County to provide surviving families with a short-term and long-term plan of getting their lives back in order and self-reliant. The Alliance of Neighbors will also directly allocate and administer funds to help families regain some semblance of their lives by the effective use of the monies raised through its fund raising activities. Some of the ways The Alliance of Neighbors can help are: food, clothing, crisis counseling, ongoing counseling, insurance advise, temporary assistance loans, child care, educational finance and assistance, grants, professional training, job search and placement, according to information on the organization's website. http://www.allianceofneighbors.org/ More than 1 million dollars has been donated by individuals, corporations, and groups, and raised from events like the two concerts last week, and a previous benefit concert by Holiday Express. (read Daniel Murphy's column - Until
the Last Child) Broeck Steadman, whose work appears on the cover of several R. L. Stine "Goosebumps" books, created a poster featuring the head of Lady Liberty and blending elements of the U.S. flag and dollar bill in the background with a soaring eagle in the forefront. Poster and digital image sales of the image will be donated to the Alliance of Neighbors. The image can be downloaded here: http://www.monmouth.com/~artofficial/alliance.html - DOWNLOAD IMAGE Mr. Steadman lost his cousin Jeff Hardy, who was an Executive Chef with Cantor Fitzgerald, in the September attacks. He would like the image to be recreated as a mural somewhere in every capital in the country.
He was at the park Saturday with an art crew that included his wife, Marlis, Jim Fitzmaurice and Mary Connell-Gaynor. They were recreating the image on canvas. Mr. Steadman is working with the Elks lodge and the borough council to create a mural of the image on an exterior B.P.O.E wall facing Riverside Gardens Park. He hopes to get the mural up sometime in the spring. Also on display at the park throughout the day were the works of students from Belmar and Rumson-Fair Haven. Art teacher, Suzanne Parmly of R-FH said, "Art is a very powerful force and this is a good example of it." Middletown Girl Scout Troop 1173 also helped raise money for Alliance of Neighbors. Molly Montgomery, Sarah Bickler, Sasha Matson and Elizabeth Thompson sold Barbie dolls and cinnamon rolls that were baked by Monica Paulson and her Mom, Joan. Clowns, Alice Yorke, Aly Honsa and Sarah Kniesler, all Rumson, created balloon animals and brought smiles to children and adults alike.
The goal is to have the Alliance of Neighbors "run by the families in three to five years," said Mr. Wassel. "The strength of some of these women...that self-reliance is what will take them into the future when they take over (the Alliance,) said Mr. Wassel whose own father died when he was a 1-year-old child. Mr. Wassel said the organization would continue its mission until the "last child was out of college." James Wassel and his wife have five children. "If something happened to me, I would hope someone would be there for them." Your Comments
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