More than 350 Lunch Break supporters and friends came together for a magical evening of dining and entertainment to honor the selfless work of philanthropic community leaders on behalf of financially and food-insecure community members during the 2022 Fall Gala “Renew the Promise of Hope,” at The Park Loft, Fort Monmouth, on Friday, Oct. 14th.
The event was hosted by Siobhan Fallon Hogan, actress, film producer and screenwriter featured in “Men in Black,” “Forrest Gump” and “Charlotte’s Web.” Mrs. Fallon Hogan, who wrote, produced and starred in her first feature film, “Rushed,” released in August 2021, also is the writer, producer and star of the soon-to-be-released “Shelter in Solitude.”
The gala committee, co-chaired by Mimi Keenan and Tina Pflaster, coordinated the fundraiser’s fall harvest theme — a symbolic nod to Lunch Break’s nutritious food service programs. The committee was thrilled to be the first charity event to debut at The Park Loft, a newly converted venue at Fort Monmouth which was once the storied dance hall for Army personnel and guests. It was the perfect urban chic backdrop to complement Lunch Break’s “Hope” theme.
Guests were treated to musical performances by the NJ Symphony Players and dancing with DJ Tay, along with culinary creations catered by Chef Thomas Schoborg of Park Loft. A live auction, including exciting adventures, featured get-away jaunts to Vermont and Costa Rica; dinner in a trendy Manhattan restaurant, tickets to a premier performance at the Metropolitan Opera and Charlie Puth in concert at the Count Basie Center for Arts and Education, Red Bank. Guests also had the opportunity to support vital Lunch Break programs as part of the “Make A Difference” sponsorships assisting those in our community most in need of vital emergency, social and food services.
“My husband Peter organized the first Lunch Break Gala in 2009, and I am so honored to host this fall’s event. I think Lunch Break is a fantastic place that serves the community in a loving and much-needed fashion. It is a class-act organization helping those in need learn the skills to make better lives for themselves,” said Mrs. Fallon Hogan. “They’re purely doing God’s work!”
The evening was a window into the heart and soul of Lunch Break, the food and social services resource center at 121 Drs James Parker Blvd., with compelling testimonials from clients such as Christina Lane and Amanda Yuhas, each of whom was facing homelessness, financial burdens and other challenging circumstances. They both were offered hope for a better tomorrow after receiving temporary housing, guidance and life skills, and financial and employment counseling from Lunch Break’s Life Skills and Family Promise of Monmouth County programs.
Christina and Amanda revealed their life-changing stories in candid interviews.
If you’ve seen the Netflix series “Maid,” you’d be familiar with Life Skills participant Christina Lane’s story. This mother of three children, who once ran a thriving cleaning business in Ohio, sought help from Family Promise and Life Skills programs after her circumstances took a 180 degree turn. Christina had a mere $100 to her name when she applied for emergency shelter, financial and counseling services with Family Promise. “Just about enough to afford a hotel,” she said.
Through Family Promise, Christina, then homeless and living in a broken-down Volkswagen, found temporary shelter and was offered family services to help regain her footing.
Within months, Christina was nearly self-sufficient after forming an LLC and re-establishing her cleaning business with marketing help from Lunch Break’s Life Skills and Family Promise programs.
“I don’t know what I’d do without Lunch Break and Family Promise,” Christina said. For her, the mentoring has been “life-changing.” “They inspired me to keep fighting in life.”
Through guidance and support from the Life Skills Program team, Amanda Yuhas now has a strong foundation. Over the past three years, she has found employment and managed to save enough money to buy a home and transportation and decided to continue her education. Additionally, three of Amanda’s children are thriving after having enrolled in Life Skills, as well as the Alliance For Success college prep and vocational mentorship program for at-risk high school juniors and seniors.
As part of the evening’s program, Mrs.Fallon Hogan introduced this year’s honorees, which included such distinguished community leaders as Jeremy Grunin, president of the Grunin Foundation and the Grunin Group, Norma Todd Service Award; Dr. Thomas and Bonnie Johnson, Heart to Hand Award; and Jamie Giovinazzo, founder of Eat Clean Bro, and Paul Sansone Jr., owner of Sansone Jr.’s 66 Automall, Corporate Platinum Partner Award recipients.
Their legacy of giving is unparalleled.
Jeremy Grunin, President, the Grunin Foundation and the Grunin Group, Norma Todd Service Award
For more than 10 years, Jeremy has been actively engaged throughout the community as President of the Grunin Foundation, a proactive grantmaker focused on economic growth at the central Jersey Shore, and he has served in several volunteer leadership roles with nonprofit and advocacy groups, including Lunch Break.
With Jeremy’s leadership, the Grunin Foundation supports organizations that implement projects in the arts, education and healthcare, initiatives that must drive economic excellence, have a measurable impact, and align with one or more of their equity commitments. Over the years, the foundation has supported Executive Director Gwendolyn Love and the Lunch Break resource center through operational and capital assistance, which has benefited individuals, the community, and the economy as a whole. Jeremy also is a partner of Grunin Holdings, LLC., a New Jersey Partnership specializing in investing in third-party commercial ventures. He has served as a volunteer advisor with such nonprofit organizations as the Count Basie Center for the Arts, the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Community Medical Center, and Monmouth University, to name a few.
Dr. Thomas and Bonnie Johnson, Heart to Hand Award
Stalwart volunteers Tom and Bonnie Johnson began their more than decade-long affiliation with Lunch Break when Bonnie joined the Board of Trustees in 2011. Executive Director Gwendolyn Love soon asked her to chair the first-ever capital fundraising campaign, and Bonnie agreed on the condition that Tom becomes the Budgeting and Expense monitor. They have since applied their wisdom and experience in the current capital campaign. The longtime Red Bank residents love the challenge of raising funds to continuously improve the services Lunch Break offers to the community, and they delight in working with such talented committee members.
The Johnsons have been tireless volunteers, devoted to advancing healthier, stronger households and human dignity. Bonnie started her social justice journey in the early 1990s, when she served on the Board of 180 Turning Lives Around, and has been a member of the Board of the Community YMCA and The Center in Asbury Park. She is a current member of the Foundation Board for the Visiting Nurse Association and is a weekly volunteer at InterFaith Neighbors in Asbury Park. Bonnie participates proudly on the Lunch Break Advisory Board, and volunteers weekly in the Donation Room. Tom, who has delivered meals to our seniors, tutors young students through the Lunch Break Life Skills Program and volunteers weekly at The Center in Asbury Park.
Jamie Giovinazzo, Founder, Eat Clean Bro, Corporate Platinum Partner Award
Jamie’s mission has been to help improve people’s health and happiness, and the fast-growing Eat Clean Bro meal-prep delivery company is his brainchild. He set out to change peoples’ lives by giving them nutritious eating options and a chance to improve their health, as well as combat obesity. He kickstarted his company about a decade ago, dropping his last $300 on groceries that he converted into more than 80 customer meals, and since then, the company has delivered fresh, never frozen, meals to customers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and beyond. Today Eat Clean Bro is one of the most successful, privately owned, meal-prep companies in the country, and Jamie’s success story has been featured in media outlets such as Forbes, Men’s Journal, Men’s Health, Fox News, NJ News12, NewsBreak, and The Asbury Park Press.
Each month, Eat Clean Bro donates thousands of meals to local food banks — Lunch Break being among the regular recipients — and Jamie often can be seen behind the grill and smoker, cooking for friends and serving meals at company-sponsored events. His passion is to help people achieve their goals, whether in personal health or in business development, and he strives to create opportunities for other entrepreneurs to live the American Dream.
Paul Sansone Jr., owner, Sansone Jr’s 66 Automall, Corporate Platinum Partner Award
Paul Sansone Jr. has been the driving force in major New Jersey auto dealerships for nearly four decades. To give back to the community that has supported his businesses, Paul created the “Hope For A Ride” program. Sansone Jr’s 66 Automall partners with local non-profit organizations, such as Lunch Break, to donate vehicles to local families and individuals in need of reliable transportation. Whether to get to work, to drive a family member to an ongoing medical treatment, or to get to school to earn a degree, these donations can be life-changing. Since the program’s inception, Sansone Jr.s has donated nearly 50 cars.
In a recent “pay-it-forward” moment, one “Hope For A Ride” recipient, who became able to afford a new vehicle for herself, donated her “Hope” car to another person in need. Paul’s dealerships also participate in the “Basket Brigade,” which contributes hundreds of meals to families in need during the holiday season. The Monmouth Beach resident and his wife, Christine, married 30 years, have three adult children, two of whom work with him at the dealership, while Christine serves as a spokesperson in all the dealership’s radio and television commercials.
Gala proceeds will be used to sustain the food, clothing, outreach, mentoring Life Skills and Family Promise programs and services critical to so many individuals and families in our community who continue to be impacted by the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We can’t thank our wonderful honorees, supporters, organizations and businesses, the Board, our volunteers and staff, and the amazing Siobhan Fallon Hogan, for their commitment to ensuring Lunch Break remains an invaluable resource for our food- and financially-insecure community members. Their support enables us to provide basic needs, temporary housing and life skills as a path to self-sufficiency for so many of our neighbors,” said Executive Director Gwendolyn O. Love. “Our community’s support is the reason Lunch Break continues to operate.”
Mrs. Love also acknowledges the overwhelming response to the resource center’s $12 million Capital Campaign building expansion project, which provides funding for the future home of Lunch Break’s programs and services. The building addition is scheduled to be completed late fall 2023 to spring 2024.
Lunch Break accepts donations online at www.lunchbreak.org or at its headquarters, 121 Drs. James Parker Blvd. in Red Bank. Follow Lunch Break on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Help for Today. Hope for Tomorrow.
Lunch Break is a registered 501© 3 nonprofit. The resource center freely provides food, clothing, social services, fellowship and life skills to those struggling with financial insecurity as a path to well-being and self-sufficiency.
