Letters
New Jersey residents urged to ‘give all babies their nine months’

Babies are in crisis today. Nearly half a million are born prematurely every year and the number is rising. In New Jersey, March of Dimes volunteers are organizing events to raise awareness as part of its national effort to save babies from premature birth by funding research to find the causes and by supporting local programs that offer hope and help to families with a baby in intensive care.

Premature birth is the No. 1 killer of newborns and a major cause of serious health problems. It costs society billions of dollars every year. Every year in New Jersey, nearly 14,000 babies are born prematurely. That is why the March of Dimes has designated November as Prematurity Awareness Month — to send the alert that premature birth is a crisis in our country and to bring people together to help give all babies their nine months.

In November, visit marchof

dimes.com and find out what you can do for pink and blue to help prevent premature birth. You can send a message of hope for premature babies by wearing pink and blue, raising awareness with wristbands, sending e-mails and letters, and supporting research. Visit marchofdimes.com to help give all babies their nine months during November and any time of year.

The March of Dimes prematurity campaign has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecol-ogists, and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. American Baby magazine and Working Mother Media are national media sponsors. More than 46 professional and consumer organizations have become campaign alliance members, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Hospital Associ-ation and the American Public Health Association.

The national prematurity campaign sponsors are CIGNA and FedEx, and Prematurity Awareness Month sponsors are First Response and Arm & Hammer Oral Care.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education and advocacy to save babies, and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth.

For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish Web site at nacersano.org.

Stacy Galasso

communications coordinator

March of Dimes

New Jersey Chapter

Pine Brook

Howell residents must speak up on high school issues

I have only been a resident of Howell for about two-and-a-half years. I have taken an active role in trying to fulfill my civic duty as a citizen in this town of 52,000 people. Consequently, I am appalled that in a town with such a large population there are maybe 30 or so people that regularly attend Township Council meetings, planning board, zoning board, local board of education and regional board of education meetings.

These are all the meetings where big decisions are made that have huge impacts on our lives and our pocketbooks. I know that people are busy working and tired at the end of the day. But what is the point of working toward a better life when in one two-hour meeting a board of five to 10 people can make a decision that can have a huge negative impact on your health and safety, your property, your taxes, your quality of life and education. Right now there are many very serious issues before every board that are affecting all of us in Howell. I will pick one issue to share.

Recently, the Freehold Regional High School District has redistricted/tweaked part our town yet again. This move does not only affect the kids that were moved, it will affect every child in this town because they will all be in an overcrowded Howell High School. This is the fourth time our town has been impacted by mandatory redistricting since 1998.

According to the official numbers, this latest move by the board is going to put Howell High School at capacity by the 2007-08 school year. This is a fact presented by the regional district’s demographer, T&M Associates. The numbers were presented at the Nov. 9 meeting.

How do all of you feel about having your children in an overcrowded high school while two other high schools in the regional district will have 500 combined openings for their children? Seem fair? Well, if you want what is best for your child’s education, you might think it is wise to attend the next Board of Education meeting on Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the FRHSD Pine Street administration building in Englishtown.

Alternatively, you can sit idle, and two years from now when there is an overcrowding problem, you will not be able to undo what was done today. It is like trying to piece back together a building that had exploded — the moral is to be proactive, not reactive.

Ask yourself why the other seven towns in the FRHSD have not had their children moved around like pawns on a chessboard. I will tell you why — because when their children are impacted they come out by the hundreds to defend their kids and fight for what is best for them.

Howell has historically allowed themselves and their children to be pushed around. So now it has set a precedent with the district that they can do whatever they need to do at the expense of our Howell kids. Historically, we have not and still are not protecting them. The few that have been fighting this issue were told publicly by the superintendent that Howell does not have the public support to back this fight. Well, I hope that we can show Mr. Wasser what we are made of. We are a very large diverse group of people who do care for our kids and want the best for them.

Karrie Dicso

Howell

Residents in Monmouth County need assistance, too

Two months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, we continue to see images of unimagined devastation. It’s clear that these images will continue for some time. As various groups mounted efforts to help people recover from this disaster, I wondered how successful they would be. I must confess I was a bit skeptical.

First, it has been less than a year since the Asian tsunami. U.S. charities collected nearly $1.3 billion to aid that relief effort. Second, the sudden surge in gasoline prices caused many people to be concerned about the impact that will have on their standard of living.

My skepticism passed quickly. Amer-icans have mounted a relief effort that has no precedent in the history of our country. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that in the 10 days after the 2001 terrorist attacks, Americans donated $239 million to Sept. 11 related charitable causes.

In the 10 days after Katrina, $587 million was raised to help victims of what it characterizes as “the largest displacement of Americans since the Civil War.” And the fund-raising continues, with telethons and appeals of all kinds, ranging from special concerts to children selling lemonade to special collections at churches.

As the president and chief executive officer of United Way of Monmouth County, I admit to watching this unprecedented outpouring of compassion with a mixture of pride and concern. Pride, because once again the people of this great country have shown how generous they can be when moved by the devastating consequences of a catastrophic event. Concern, because of the impact it might have on this community’s ability to attend to the needs of our neighbors in Monmouth County.

Thousands of people in our community need help. As we work to improve our own quality of life, it’s essential that we remember the real and often desperate right here in our own backyard.

We launch the 2005 United Way Campaign knowing there are many residents here in Monmouth County who are counting on us to help them in their time of need. And I’m optimistic that the generosity and compassion of the people from our community will again prevail, as it did in the campaign following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Together, with United Way, move families and individuals beyond poverty, allow seniors to live independently and with dignity and respect, ensure children a quality start and work together to rebuild lives and shape communities right here in Monmouth County.

So, even though there may be more demands than ever on our resources, please remember our friends and neighbors in our own community who are struggling to keep their lives together.

If I could wave a magic wand over our fundraising efforts this year, I would wish for a giant campaign poster with tens of thousands of people we help right here in Monmouth County, 365 days a year. That poster would have the following caption: “We’re counting on your help.”

Now, more than ever, your community needs your support.

Philip A. Brown III

president and CEO

United Way

of Monmouth County

Wall Township