User talk:Star ledger

The Peanut Butter & Jelly Club

Formation of club
The club was started when seven teenagers from Livingston, NJ were trying to find a way to help the less fortunate when they stumbled upon a simple idea: Peanut butter and jelly. The teens called around and found a shelter interested in the food, then started making sandwiches for charity. Every Sunday morning they met in someone's garage and assembled the snacks on a tablecloth until they ran out of bread. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are so basic, and some people can't even afford them," recalled Benjamin Wald, now a senior at Livingston High School. After the sandwiches were made, one of the boys' parents drove the boys and the sandwiches to the Salvation Army in Montclair, where the food was donated to the agency's meal program. That was three years and nearly 3,000 sandwiches ago.

Expansion of Organization
Since then, the founders of the "Peanut Butter and Jelly Club" have turned their enterprise into a sanctioned student club at Livingston High School. This year the club boasts 116 members but not all the members attend every meeting. Twice a month members gather in the cafeteria and make up to 250 sandwiches to fill other peoples' stomachs.

Besides hanging out with friends, students say they like the club because it doesn't take up too much of their time. It's simple, it's easy, you just come.

The club was the brainchild of seven students, four of whom are still active in the club. Seniors Benjamin Wald, Scott Elman, Glenn Welt and Joe Milano say their club has come a long way in the three years since they started it with friends Jordan Elman, Adam Schlossberg and Adam Kruvant.

"People can come in, make a sandwich and leave," said Welt. And Wald added, "Everybody wants to help people."

Funding
In previous years, they had to pay for the food themselves or solicit donations from local businesses and club members. Genmar Packaging of West Orange was an early sponsor, but this year the club got financial help from the school and a grant from the United Way of North Essex.

Organizers estimate they go through 23 loaves of bread every two weeks, two large containers of peanut butter and two large containers of jelly, along with rolls of foil. They estimate it costs about $65 to $70 for a session worth of sandwiches and said they'd try to make more, but that's as many as their shelter can handle.

PB&J Today
Another difference this year is that the boys are now old enough to drive themselves.

Anna Marie Goglia, the Salvation Army's director of volunteers, said the sandwiches are refrigerated and given to the approximately 60 people who come to a hot meal program offered three times a week. She said the stu dents have been reliable contributors and Salvation Army clients are grateful for the food, "We put it in a bag and they have something to leave with."

In previous years, the students also donated sandwiches to a shelter in Union City. The club's ad viser, Jennifer Alvich Maier, said the organizers are motivated. They advertised the club at freshman orientation day and they publicize the meetings on the school's television station and remind students by e-mail. "They are amazing to work with and self-motivated," she said.

Vice Principal Dan Finkle said the club is an example of students participating in social action. "They're not just raising money. They actively see what they're doing. It's getting their hands dirty and putting in the effort."

The boys say though they are graduating, they hope some of the underclassmen will keep up the tradition in future years. Wald said he's looking forward to coming back and visiting the club after he graduates.

"I hope they'll be making 1,500 sandwiches."