Warren Launches 'Pride in Warren' Initiative for Valerie Fund [VIDEO]

Warren Township Mayor Carolann Garafola announced the month of May will be "Valerie Fund Pride Month," a town-wide initiative to raise money for this local pediatric cancer charity.

There are currently several children from Warren being treated at The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers.

A planned proclamation will involve the participation of Warren schools, businesses and civic groups in various fundraising activities and all proceeds will be counted towards The Valerie Fund Centers in Morristown and Overlook.  

“We are very excited to have the members of our community come together for this town wide campaign,” Mayor Garafola said.

Deputy Mayor Vic Sordillo will be part of the this kickoff with the mayor, as he and Committeeman Gary DiNardo are kicking off a year of activities for "Pride in Warren" and the Valerie Fund Foundation is one aspect of those activities. 

The funds raised by Warren Township Valerie Fund Pride Month will be dedicated to funding the services at their Morristown and Overlook Centers. The campaign will include events at each of the elementary, middle and high school. Fund raising campaigns at the local churches and synagogue, a comedy night, participation by local business, and a town wide dine around.

To learn how to get involved, contact Township Clerk Patricia DiRocco at 908-753-8000, ext. 223.

More than 35 years ago, Warren residents Sue and Ed Goldstein founded The Valerie Fund after their daughter, Valerie succumbed to cancer in 1976 at the age of nine. The Goldsteins wanted Valerie’s courage to be memorialized in a meaningful way.

During her six years of treatment, Valerie and her parents would travel several hundred miles a week to hospitals in New York City, the only place where Valerie could receive the most advanced care.  The Valerie Fund was born in the Goldstein's basement by a group of benevolent friends supporting the Goldstein’s wish that no family should have to endure what they had during Valerie’s treatment. The idea was simple:  To provide families with outpatient treatment centers at top pediatric hospitals within an hour’s drive of most of the state’s population.

In 1976, The Valerie Fund Children’s Centers at Overlook Hospital in Summit was the first of seven centers to provide state-of-the-art medical and emotional care in a happy, upbeat, child-centered atmosphere. Today, these Centers comprise the largest network of healthcare facilities for children with cancer and blood disorders in New Jersey, and one of the largest in the nation. Annually, more than 4,000 children and their families turn to The Valerie Fund for the combination of medical care, counseling and other psychosocial services.

For more information about this campaign and to learn more about The Valerie Fund www.thevaleriefund.org