Continuing a tradition of nearly 30 years, the First Baptist Church, above, offers a Christmas Day dinner. JR’s Burgers, below, will offer free meals on Christmas Eve. (Click to enlarge)
At least two Red Bank operations will be feeding those in need of a hot meal for Christmas.
On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, from 6 to 8 p.m., JR’s Burgers on West Front Street will be giving out free burgers, sodas and fries.
Dean Ross, owner of the Doc Shoppe shoe store in Red Bank, gave away 629 pairs of new shoes to borough schoolchildren over two Sundays in September, events that drew lines of families down Broad Street. On Wednesday night, Mayor Pasquale Menna and the borough council honored Ross, seen above with his wife, Sharon, for his generosity. The giveaway “really thrilled and touched a lot of people,” Councilman Ed Zipprich told Ross.
“I got more hugs and high-fives those days,” Ross said. “It was worth it.”
Ross, himself a product of the borough school system, tells redbankgreen he’s not finished. With about 100 pairs of surplus shoes, he said he plans to double back to the borough schools to see who he missed – and hopes to find a donor to throw in gloves for the kids, too. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
The big Red Bank shoe giveaway of 2014, which began last Sunday with the Doc Shoppe handing out 250 pairs of free shoes to borough kids, resumes this Sunday at 8 a.m., when store owner Dean Ross, his employees and a team of volunteers expect an even bigger turnout than this week. “I think maybe people who had reservations about coming will feel less intimidated,” said Ross.
Any borough resident who’s a student is eligible, though last Sunday redbankgreen saw Ross give a pair to a two-year-old, based on her future learning potential. The event wraps up at 11 a.m. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Free shoes for any Red Bank student who wants a pair? As reported by redbankgreen earlier this month, that was the offer by Doc Shoppe owner Dean Ross, himself a product of the borough school system. And Sunday morning, the giveaway got underway with a long line of families waiting for the Broad Street store to open. By 9:30, Ross, his employees and a team of volunteers had sent dozens of kids ranging in age from 2 to 16 with a new pair of shoes, as well as a toothbrush donated by dentist Hector Morales-Medina.
“This is awesome,” said borough schools Superintendent Jared Rumage, who gave out water to those in line. “It’s just so genuine.”
Ross plans to repeat the giveaway next Sunday from 8 to 11 a.m. Meantime, check out the photos below to see who benefitted. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Do you walk to school or take the bus? Doesn’t matter. Any child who lives in Red Bank is eligible for a free pair of shoes from Doc Shoppe owner Dean Ross, below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Here’s an offer you don’t see every day: free shoes for kids.
Dean Ross, owner of the Doc Shoppe on Broad Street, is planning to give away hundreds of pairs of shoes to Red Bank children later this month.
Why? Because kids need them, he’s got them, and he wants to help parents in a town he loves.
“This is where I went to school,” says the alumnus of the Mechanic Street School, the River Street School and the old Red Bank High School (’69).
A trio of classic Alfa Romeos parked outside the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank accompanied a screening of ‘The Graduate‘ Tuesday night – and inspired one woman to pose for a photo as a trunk ornament. Up next in the series: the Beatles’ flick ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ on July 16 (tickets are free, but must be obtained at the box office). Perhaps we’ll see a couple of Vauxhalls for the occasion? (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
A four-stall restroom with a ramp over the seawall is expected to be completed by Memorial Day, officials say. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
To those in the know, it’s Sea Bright’s “free beach,” and free it shall remain for the foreseeable future, town officials say.
But one of the tradeoffs in visiting the Anchorage Beach – reliance on porta-potties for bathroom service – is finally about to end, at a steep cost.
Jersey Shore Free School students on the nature trail in Little Silver last month. Below, student Sophie makes a point while staff member Michael waits his turn. (Photo above by Michael Quirk; below by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)
By SARAH KLEPNER
It’s a dream come true.
The kids follow the rules because they made them.
If you respect children, they listen to you.
My day is seamless: I’m learning all the time.
These are voices of parents, teachers and students at the Jersey Shore Free School, a social oasis tucked away in a onetime residence on Birch Ave in Little Silver.
It’s a place where the usual rules don’t apply and unusual ones do. For starters, there are no ‘teachers’ here, staff member Katie Finn tells redbankgreen one recent morning. There’s no fixed syllabus or schedule: all classes are on request, like a recent impromptu lesson in calculating a tip for the delivery of a recent communal lunch. And the school is a full democracy, entrusting even the youngest students with an equal say in all aspects of school functioning, including budget, policies, programs and even hiring.
“The kids follow the rules because they make the rules,” Finn said.
