Community agency has new home, same mission
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN - The Samaritan Center settled into its new home at the end of December and the transition was smooth because volunteers stepped up to help, according to Carol Puorro, the center's director.

The Samaritan Center is a full-time food pantry and crisis center that has served the Manalapan-Englishtown area for 20 years.

Puorro learned several months ago that the Samaritan Center's lease for space in a building on Harrison Avenue, Englishtown, would not be renewed when it expired on Dec. 31.

That turn of events left the future of the organization in doubt, but after township officials, past and present, intervened, a temporary home was found that will allow the Samaritan Center to stay open while its administrators continue to look for a permanent home.

The Samaritan Center is now housed in space the township provided behind the Manalapan Senior Center, Route 522.

Puorro, a Manalapan resident for more than 30 years, has been the director of the Samaritan Center since it began and was concerned the agency's good work would come to an end.

That was when former mayor Anthony Morelli asked Manalapan officials to help provide temporary quarters for the Samaritan Center.

Addressing the Township Committee two months ago, Morelli said the Samar-itan Center expects to need the temporary quarters for about six months, during which time the organization would work to secure a permanent location and lease. Morelli said it had been difficult for the Samaritan Center to find a new location due to the high rent being charged for Manalapan real estate.

Morelli impressed upon the members of the committee the importance of the work that is done by the Samaritan Center. He said the agency is the difference between having food and clothing or going without for the 430 families that are served through a variety of programs. He said Manalapan could not afford to lose the Samaritan Center as a resource.

Municipal officials agreed with him and came up with the space behind the senior center.

Puorro said the agency made the move to 211 Route 522 on Dec. 27 and "opened for business" on Jan. 8. She said the work that went into getting the two rooms cleaned, ready and stocked was a Herculean effort undertaken by her son, Frankie, and her food coordinator, Karen Thompson. She said they worked hard to get the shelves built and shopped to fill them.

Puorro thanked Richie Hopkins of Freehold Movers for donating trucks and time to move the Samaritan Center from Englishtown to Manalapan at no charge. She also thanked Doug Lallier, of Englishtown, for donating warehouse space where food and clothing may be stored.

In a letter, Puorro said, "A special thanks to the Manalapan mayor, Town-ship Committee, Administrator Tara Lovrich, who offered the space, Alan Spector and all the members of the Man-alapan Road Department who worked diligently to prepare our space to be as comfortable and accessible as possible, Peter Becker of Four Boys Restaurant for his help and cooperation, Greg Linnett of Linnett Office Furniture for donating a desk to fit the new office space, and especially Matt Nicosia, Ray Thompson, David Murillo, Tom Caruso and Ray Proietti for all their assistance in helping to make the move as easy as possible. Without their help our job would have been overwhelming."

Puorro said the group effort included her secretary, Anne Arnold, and her husband, Greg, who she thanked for helping to shop for and assemble the computer desk so that the Samaritan Center could be "up and running on time."

For the third year in a row the members of the First Presbyterian Church of Englishtown marked Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 4) in their own fashion by celebrating "Souper Bowl Sunday" and the Samaritan Center was the recipient of their humanitarian efforts.

According to Elizabeth Atwater, church members and Boy Scouts worked to gather donations of money, canned goods and other nonperishable food items.

Atwater said the First Presbyterian Church of Englishtown and St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, Manal-apan, co-founded the Samaritan Center and both churches have "a long history of supporting this ministry with donations of food."

"The generous response to 'Souper Bowl Sunday' is our way of continuing to support the much needed work of the Samaritan Center," she said.