From left: Ed Russo, CEO of Russo Development; John Saraceno Jr., co-founder and managing principal of Onyx Equities LLC; Jose Lozano, chief of staff and vice president for corporate services and governance at Hackensack Meridian Health; and Ron Simoncini, chairman of the Meadowlands YMCA board, were among those on hand for the Heart of the Meadowlands Gala at Il Villaggio in Carlstadt. The event celebrated fundraising for the organization’s food pantry, exceeding $846,000, including a naming gift of $250,000 from Ed Russo of Russo Development and the Russo Family Foundation. — Courtesy: Meadowlands YMCA
By Joshua Burd
Two of the state’s leading developers were among the honorees last week as the Meadowlands Area YMCA marked a fundraising milestone for its food pantry program.
The organization on May 11 hosted its Heart of the Meadowlands Gala at Il Villaggio in Carlstadt after shattering its target of $700,000, having raised more than $846,000 with the help of some 100 companies and individuals. That total included a naming gift of $250,000 from Ed Russo of Russo Development and the Russo Family Foundation, helping to establish the Russo Family Food Pantry.
To that end, the gala honored Russo, John Saraceno Jr. of Onyx Equities, Jose Lozano of Hackensack Meridian Health and the organization Table to Table, highlighting their commitment to the Meadowlands community and their generous support of the food pantry.
“The Y is a lot of things to a lot of people, and within six years of opening our doors we’re not only a center for fitness, wellness and daycare — we are one of the largest social services agencies in Bergen County,” said Ron Simoncini, chairman of the YMCA for the past 11 years. “Our goal of 240 attendees was as important as our fundraising goal, and the fact that we will host more than 300 is very gratifying.”
The Meadowlands Area YMCA food pantry, largely coordinated by volunteers, said it has distributed more than 2.5 million meals since the start of the pandemic.
“After the gala we will continue to cultivate support for the food pantry as our intention is for it to operate in perpetuity,” said David Kisselback, Meadowlands Area YMCA CEO. He noted that food pantry primarily serves Bergen and Hudson counties with weekly service, while its monthly food distribution program has a broader geography and is open to anyone who gets in line, which is frequently 300 cars long.
“We want to make sure we satisfy both cohorts because we see license plates from out of state that will wait in line for three hours to get a $20 box of food, and that shows how drastic the situation has become,” Kisselback added.
