Personal loss deepens couple's devotion to people in need
Ginny and Ivan Olinsky of Upper Freehold Township have a passion for making a difference in the lives of others and for helping those in need.

Ivan and Ginny Olinsky

A great personal loss has been part of the catalyst for their involvement in bettering the lives of members of the community.

T

he Olinskys grew up together and

often double dated other partners in high school. Ginny recalled how they both got married on the same day - to other people. Through the years they remained friends and stayed in touch.

When their first marriages ended, both were single again and each had two daughters. Ivan called his old friend and he and Ginny had dinner together. A relationship soon developed and they married in 1985.

The couple's daughter, Michelle, who died of cancer in 2000, has been the inspiration for much of the work they have done.

Ivan Olinsky recalled that Michelle had a garden at her Medford home and raised vegetables. She put her produce on a table by the road in front of her house with a sign that read, "Take what you need and leave the rest for your neighbor."

Olinsky remembered that when his daughter was ill, her neighbors gave back to her by bringing her family food every night. When she was diagnosed with cancer the doctor gave her a prognosis of having only three months to live, but she vowed to live long enough to see her infant son, Corey, go to school.

Corey, now 13, is a real tribute to his mother's legacy, said Ivan. He volunteers with the family's Give Back Foundation and has spoken of becoming a cancer researcher, according to his grandfather.

In what his grandparents call a great blessing to the family, Corey's father, Michael McAleer, married the Olinskys' younger daughter, Danielle, in 2004. They had a daughter, Callie, earlier this year. All together, the Olinskys have five grandchildren.

Despite the difficulties they have endured, the Olinskys say they are very fortunate. AfterMichelle's death they started a Relay for Life fundraiser in Plumsted for the American Cancer Society.

"It was a healing process for both of us," said Olinsky. "It raised a lot of money for the American Cancer Society."

After running the Relay for Life, along with other members of the community, for four years, Ivan thought it would be good to create a foundation that could focus on the needs of the local community.

Organized in 2005, the Give Back Foundation is a nonprofit organization operating in Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Mercer and Middlesex counties to help people in need with life-altering circumstances. Ivan serves as the executive director of the foundation's board. Other members of the board of directors are Michele Lawrence, Ronald Dunster, Frank P. Armenante, Susan Rosenshine, Robert Rosenshine, Ruth Ann Lenart, Nancy Nitahara, and Dolores George.

Since its inception the foundation has raised $200,000, nearly all of which has gone directly to helping those in need, Ivan said.

"We don't raise money and keep it," he said. "As soon as it's raised, we give it out."

Volunteers for the foundation are always needed, he said.

Ginny has chaired both of the fundraising galas the foundation has thrown.

The most recent gala was held at The Shadowbrook, Shrewsbury, on Nov. 10, and raised $20,000.

The foundation had five people on the gala committee, which organized activities, dancing, a band, and a silent auction for the event, she said. The foundation honored three recipients at the gala who will also be honored, as all recipients are, with a summer picnic at the Olinskys' home.

The foundation's most recent round of giving included providing a freezer to an organization that feeds hungry children in need, according to Ivan. The Give Back Foundation will also give a financial grant to a family who needs immediate eye care for one of their children.

The foundation recently gave another gift of financial aid to a family that lost two young children to a genetic disease. The group also distributed toys during the holiday season to needy children, he said.

Ivan is the president of Princeton Nurseries, Upper Freehold Township. Earlier this year, Princeton Nurseries officials announced they would phase out operations within the next three years.

When the project is finished, Ivan said, he will retire and devote most of his time to charitable work.

Ivan believes that people who have not faced a crisis may take certain things for granted.

"When you have the opportunity to reach out and help people in need, you realize how many people do have difficult times," he said.

Olinsky said he keeps in contact with all of the foundation's recipients. Unfortunately, four child recipients died in the past year, he said.

"That's the hardest part of it," he said. "We lost our daughter. The memory goes on."

For more information visit theWeb site at www.thegivebackfoundation.com or call (609) 259-4961.

Donations to the foundation may be sent to P.O. Box 535,Allentown, NJ 08501.

- Jane Meggitt