+ December 2011 - Sean Potter Raises Money For MORE for Second Year

M.O.R.E. would like to thank SEAN POTTER, a Randolph high school student
and a parishioner of St. Matthew the Apostle Church, who again this year, volunteered to organize and run a poinsettia plant sale with all proceeds going to help M.O.R.E.’s children. His hard work resulted in a donation of $420.50 to M.O.R.E.! We are so impressed with Sean’s dedication and send Sean and his family our sincere thanks with a special thank you from the Children of M.O.R.E.

+ August 2011 - Macy's Shop for a Cause Day

On August 27th, Macy’s held its 6th Annual Shop for a Cause Day, benefitting charities nationwide. M.O.R.E. was able to sell coupons for $5, which granted shoppers 25% off almost everything at Macy’s – the best discount they offer, even to its cardholders! We hope you were able to participate and enjoyed having a great excuse to shop!

 

+ July 2011 - Board Member Tony Zecca Visits Medhen

In July, Board member Tony Zecca spent 4 days in Ethiopia at which time he visited with Sister Senkenesh and the staff, attended the kindergarten graduation, met with participants in the IGA program (income generation activity for caregivers), met with 8 of the University students who just completed their first year, visited the homes of some of the children and finally, and presided with Sister on a fabulous dedication ceremony for the new Early Childhood Center campus. It was a busy 4 days!

Tony told the Board “how amazed I was at how much improvement there has been since my last visit in 2008 and how wonderful it was to see how much the financial support of our donors has made a difference”. However, there is so much more to do. The number of children being served now has doubled to almost 1,000 and that has put strains on infrastructure and on operating costs. On behalf of the M.O.R.E. Board, Tony told Sister that we will continue to work with our present donors and work to expand our donor base so that the financial support the program needs will continue to be provided by M.O.R.E.

 

+ June 2011 - MORE Bonkos Dinner

On Wednesday, June 29, 2011, some of the members of the Board of M.O.R.E. hosted a fundraising dinner for the Randolph Bonkos group. The dinner for 16 was held at the home of  Barbara Zecca in Randolph. It was a wonderful night that included stories and photos from board member Nancy Holland on her recent trip to visit the children of Medhen. 

+ June 2011 - Card Sale at Nancy Holland's House in Randolph, NJ

On June 1st, M.O.R.E. held our 3rd Card Sale, hosted by Board Member, Nancy Holland. Nancy creates original cards for any of your stationery needs, donating her supplies, time, and talent – plus, 100% of the proceeds go directly to M.O.R.E. This June, we raised over $1,500 for the sale of these cards! Thank you especially to Nancy, but also to those who helped with the event, and all who purchased cards!

While the Card Sales happen once every few months, you can get in contact with Nancy to put in specific orders or find out more about the next event!

 

+ May 2011 - MORE holds Third Annual Golf Outing at Panther Valley

This May, M.O.R.E. held our 3rd Annual Golf Outing at Panther Valley in Allamuchy, New Jersey. We were lucky enough to have a gorgeous, warm Spring day (compared to last year when the golfers stuck it out through a cloudy, cool day!). In just one day, we were able to raise over $15,000 thanks to the generous donations of the players, those who attended the dinner, sponsors of each of the 18 holes, and through our raffle and silent auction.

We can’t thank Panther Valley enough for their continued support of M.O.R.E. and we hope the golfers and attendees had as much fun as we did! Thank you to all who participated and we hope to see you again next May!

See more pictures on Facebook:

 

+ April 2011 - Bob & Nancy Holland Visit Medhen in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Board members Nancy and Bob Holland visited Sister Senkenesh and the Medhen community in April. They were warmly welcomed by Sister, Staff and Children. They were able to see the many improvements that have been made to the compound thanks to our generous donors. The new school building houses 4 rooms for the Pre school and 3 for the education of the tutors for the tutoring program. One of the rooms is furnished with new Montessori teaching activities where the children are instructed in small groups.

The new playground was in the final stage of completion. This is the only playground in the entire community. When completed, there will be an area for the children to play on equipment and also run and play. Once the grass is planted, the project will be open for the children.

Bob and Nancy went on 3 home visits accompanied by Sister and a staff member. All the children are assembling a Memory Book and the staff was checking on their progress. Many of the parents do not read or write so the staff member is available to assist in recording the information and to give suggestions. The children will have a piece of their history when completed.

Nancy spent 4 days showing the teachers how to use the many donated art supplies they brought along. They were not familiar with the items nor what to do with them. At the end of the 4th day, the teachers understood that art with little children is about the experience of creativity more than the final project.

Nancy and Bob took some amazing photos during their trip. Check out the photos on Facebook!

 

+ March 2011 - MORE Collects more than 100 pairs of shoes for children

The parents and children of The Learning Nest School in Randolph, NJ, held a collection for shoes for the children of the Medhen Center. Sister Senkenesh’s request was for shoes in small sizes. More than 100 pairs were collected by The Learning Nest School, employees of JH Cohn in Roseland, NJ and other friends of M.O.R.E.

 

+ December 2010 - Poinsettia Sale at St. Matthew's Parish Raises Money for Orphans

Sean Potter is a high school student and a member of St. Matthew’s. He took it upon himself to organize, plan and carryout a poinsettia sale at the parish. His hard work and dedication raised $636.50 for MORE.

Special thanks to Sean and the entire Potter family! Also, thank you to all the members of St Matthew's who purchased poinsettias.

+ Saturday, November 13, 2010 - Girl Scouts of Randolph Design Tote Bags for Children

Four women in Randolph, Bonnie Hodge, Alexandra Kehayas, Amy Wagner, and Theresa Kubert organized a district wide event where over 300 Girl Scouts came together to decorate 600 beautiful canvas bags for the children of MORE to replace the old plastic grocery style bags that they carry and cherish. The bags and all supplies were purchased and donated by the Randolph Township Girl Scout Service Unit in support of the local charity.

It was held on a Saturday and several board members walked in to find about 10-12 tables with approximately 6 children and an adult at each table, designing and decorating their bags with great enthusiasm and love. The children also included notes and pictures for the MORE children. On the day of the event, over 300 girls participated in the decorating and everyone was amazed to see the effort that all put in to this project. It was a very moving experience.

+ Thursday, September 23, 2010 - Sister Senkenesh visits the Chancellor Avenue School in Irvington, NJ

During her visit to the United States, Sister Senkenesh and two board members took a trip to the Chancellor Avenue School in Irvington, NJ - just outside of Newark. The children at the school have been involved with MORE for a while and Sister decided to say a thank you in person.

The students were very excited to meet Sister and the chorus even performed for her! See a few photos from her visit below.

 

+ August 6, 2010 - MORE Featured in the Randolph Reporter Newspaper

Bringing MORE to Ethiopian children
Group now cares for more than 600 orphaned children
By NEIL PALEY, Contributing Writer
Published: Aug 6th, 7:09 AM

RANDOLPH TWP. - The smiling faces of dozens of children of all ages in Addis Adaba, Ethiopia, only tell part of the story.

But you’d never know from watching them play what real poverty is until you learn their stories...

Read the full story by clicking the Randolph Reporter logo below:

PAST EVENTS

+ Thursday November 19, 2009 - Paul Michael's Holiday Open House

From 4pm to 8pm on Thursday November 19th, Paul Michael Designs - a home decor and floral design store in Randolph, NJ - donated 20% of all sales to M.O.R.E. Paul also donated the sale of a fully-decorated Christmas tree to the charity. Thanks to Paul Michael and everyone who attended the event!

 

 

 

+ Saturday November 14, 2009 - Dinner / Dance Not Only Fun, But Raises over $5,000 for Children
The Dinner/Dance, titled "A Bottle of Red, A Bottle of White," was a huge success for M.O.R.E. Held at the firehouse in Mt. Freedom, NJ, there was great food and great music provided by the Cameron Avenue Band. With 107 guests attending, the event raised over $5,000 which will go directly to the children. Part of that donation was $1,000 from the 50/50 raffle, where Terry Christopher donated her $500 in winnings back to the charity! Great job to everyone who helped plan the event, and of course, everyone who attended!

  

+ Thursday September 17, 2009 - Handmade Card Sale
On Thursday September 17th, Nancy Holland hosted a card sale at her home in Randolph, NJ. She designs and produces all of the cards herself and at this special fundraiser, 100% of the proceeds went to benefit M.O.R.E. Over $1500 was raised at the event, with an additional $760 coming in the weeks following the sale. Nancy plans to have another card auction at her house in the spring of 2010 with new designs! Stay tuned for more! If you are interested in purchasing cards, please email Nancy at neh213@optimum.net.

 

+ Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - Golf Outing Raises Almost $20,000 for Children
The First Annual M.O.R.E. golf outing was held Tuesday May 12, 2009 at Panther Valley Golf Club in Hackettstown, NJ. The event was a huge success for M.O.R.E., raising almost $20,000 in profit. In total, 43 golfers participated in the scramble event. The winning foursome came into the clubhouse with a score of 64 - seven shots under par.

 

Prior to the event, the golfers and friends enjoyed a barbeque lunch. Following the 18 holes of golf on the sunny Tuesday afternoon, everyone indulged in appetizers during a cocktail hour, followed by a delicious banquet dinner which included a raw seafood bar, many different entries and finished with desserts
and ice cream sundaes. Additionally, there was a 50-50 raffle which raised over $800 thanks to the generosity of the winner donating his half back to the children. The event concluded with another traditional raffle featuring donated prizes such as golf shirts and equipment, items from Ethiopia, a spa vacation, and much more!

Everyone commented on the success of the event and promised a repeat of the event next year! Congratulations to everyone who helped with the event, especially coordinators and board members Tom Padula and Charlie Strenk!

Special Thanks to All Our Sponsors!

+ Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - Tony Zecca, Board Member, Featured on One-on-One with Steve Adubato.

+ Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - St. Virgil's School gets MORE involved!
The students of St. Virgil’s School in Morris Plains, New Jersey heard about the children of M.O.R.E. and wanted to help. After “meeting” M.O.R.E.’s children in a slideshow presentation, the students, especially Mrs. Susan Guglielmo’s 8th grade class, came up with creative ways to raise money by conducting a “Chocolate Basket” raffle at Thanksgiving and then selling M.O.R.E.’s Ethiopian necklaces at their Christmas Store. 

Thanks to all of their hard work, especially Victoria Wayne and Matthew Karr, 8th grade Class Representatives of the Student Council, St. Virgil’s was able to present a check for $220.00 to M.O.R.E. which will go a long way in helping these children in Ethiopia ~ The Children of M.O.R.E.! ~  Thanks so much St. Virgil’s!!!

 

 

+ Saturday, December 7, 2008 - New York event sponsors M.O.R.E.
Last December 7th, 2008, on a very cold Sunday evening, NYC board members Asqual Getaneh and Tonette MIller, along with the a group of the New Jersey board members, hosted their very first NYC fund-raising event at Balon, http://www.yelp.com/biz/balon-new-york, a quaint and lovely wine bar at the upper east side of Manhattan. The pre-holiday event was a chance to inform the NYC crowd about the wonderful work that M.O.R.E. advocates for the children of the Medhen Social Center.

Despite the below freezing temperatures, there was a very good turn out, which yielded a total of approximately $ 1,500.00 garnered from the sales of local hand-made Ethiopian jewelry and other donated merchandise. Jim Miller, the president of the board of trustees and one of the founders of MORE also spoke about how his small efforts 8 years ago- had catapulted into this incredible circle of love, now the MORE group. Notwithstanding, this amount will go a long way in feeding the hearts and minds of the children. Thank you to all who attended and donated and a special thanks to Ilona, the proprietor of Balon, for graciously donating the space for the successful pre-holiday fund-raiser.

+ Saturday, September 27, 2008 - Fundraiser raises over $40,000 for children
At the annual fundraiser held at the house of Barbara and Tony Zecca in Randolph, NJ, M.O.R.E. raised over $40,000 from generous donors to directly benefit the children. The event included a silent auction and a raffle, as well as speeches from board members Jim Miller, Asqual Getaneh, and Diane Padula.

There was also a special multimedia performance by M.O.R.E. Board Member Maureen Strenk's niece Colleen Reynolds and nephew Jim Reynolds. The duo performed "Imagine" by John Lennon and Colleen was featured in a solo performance of Whitney Houston's "When You Believe." During their performance, videos and picture slideshows of the six board member's recent trip to Addis Ababa were displayed in the background.

Photo gallery coming soon!

+ Thursday, July 3, 2008 - Connie Britton discusses charity

Actress Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights, 24), M.O.R.E. donor, discusses her involvement with orphans in Africa.   
 

+ Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - Women meet Ethiopian orphans' needs

Eight years ago, a dozen Randolph women each began donating $5 a month to a program benefiting orphans in Ethiopia. The women recently expanded their efforts, founding a nonprofit organization called Medhen Orphan Relief Effort and raising approximately $72,000 for the children in the past year.

+ Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - Delta Sigma Pi sells jeans, raises money
On Wednesday, April 2nd, the Gamma Chapter at Boston University of Delta Sigma Pi, a co-ed business fraternity which sponsors professional and community service events at universities, held a fundraiser to benefit M.O.R.E. The event consisted of a jean sale titled "Charity Denim" where the group sold brand name jeans at discounted prices. The proceeds from the sale went to the children of M.O.R.E. The event was coordinated by webmaster, Tommy Padula, who is a student at Boston University.

Additionally the group took donations to support M.O.R.E. giving hand-made Ethiopian jewelry in return for the students' generous donations. Overall the event raised $1,351 for M.O.R.E.! 

 

+ Friday, March 21, 2008 - The women of M.O.R.E. visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
For 10 days in March, the women of M.O.R.E. finally got their chance to visit the children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The women, along with M.O.R.E. president Jim Miller, met Sister Senkanesh and the children at the center. Additionally, the group took field trips with the children to a nearby pool and a park and recreation center.

For more photos from the trip, visit the photo gallery.

+ Saturday, May 12, 2007 - Premier Designs Jewelry featured at two events
Premier Designs Jewelry was featured at two events, one at The Learning Nest School, in Randolph NJ, the other at the Zack home in New Providence, NJ, which together raised over $3000.00. We thank Premier representative, Karen Perrucci, for kindly donating her personal profit for these sales.

 

+ Saturday, April 7, 2007 - Fundraiser raises over $30,000
In April, a house party was hosted by Tony and Barbara Zecca  of Randolph, NJ. Over 150 invited guests heard guest speakers, including Connie Britton, star of the film and television series, Friday Night Lights, share their experience and involvement with M.O.R.E.

A video from the children and Sr. Senkenesh was a special treat! The generosity of the guests gave the children over $ 30,000.00 in support.

+ Wednesday, March 28, 2007 - Ethiopian jewelry fundraisers continue
Authentic, hand crafted, Ethiopian jewelry, made by the caretakers and staff of The Medhen Center, was displayed for sale at the home of the Leeds family in October. This jewelry was also featured at Paul Michael Creative Designs, a local gift boutique‘s, holiday open house. Paul Giordano,  hosted and generously donated a portion of his own profits for the evening.  Sale of this beautiful jewelry has totaled over $10,000 to date.

 36 Heather Lane, Randolph, NJ 07869    |      info@morechildren.org   |    973-361-2558