We’ve launched our 2020 Annual Fund Campaign – Planning To Stay!

You can contribute:
1. on our ioby campaign page,
2. or, if you prefer, by sending a check to:
The HUUB
47 Cleveland St
Orange, NJ,
07050

Our campaign title, Planning to Stay, comes from the community planning prompts: What brought you here? What do you need so you can stay? This activity comes to us from our colleagues Catherine R. Brown and William Morrish, who said that before people begin a neighborhood planning process they should commit that they plan to stay, which is what First UU did five years ago when the founded The HUUB.

The following letter is from The HUUB’s board president and its managing director (which can be found in PDF format at the bottom):

Dear HUUB Friends,

It is hard to believe the extent to which our lives have changed because of the Coronavirus. We hope you all are taking good care of yourselves both physically and emotionally and that you and your families remain healthy.

On behalf of our staff, our partners, and our board of trustees, we extend a sincere thanks for your support. This has been a rewarding year for our development as an organization and, in recent months, an extremely challenging one in our efforts to stay connected with our community.

As we plan our annual fundraising campaign to support HUUB programs and to continue to improve our facilities, there are a couple of things we would like to bring to your attention. First, our rental base which has grown significantly over the last several years and has helped to support our community outreach work has been nonexistent since COVID-19 forced us to shutter our campus. Fortunately, we have applied for and received Payroll Protection Plan benefits which will cover salaries through June. While more funding may be forthcoming, there are no guarantees.

We need your help!

Second, staying connected with our community is more important now than ever. Our neighbors, program participants and our partners and allies rely on The HUUB as a solid source of information about our community. To that end, The HUUB is working closely with the Healthy Orange Coalition to develop an online resource guide for COVID-19 information. “Turn on the Love, Orange! We are all in this together!” is the theme and content of new lawn signs to be distributed throughout the city directing residents on where to go to get valuable information and assistance. The HUUB recently applied for a $10,000 multi-year grant through the NJ Faith Based Coalition titled “Planning to Stay.” If awarded, we will be developing a “grassroots coalition focused on equitable development that will not be harmful to members of the community.” This is in response to the city’s non-inclusive Main Street Redevelopment Plan.

While some in-person programs and activities will gradually resume on our campus in the weeks to come, we are continuing to develop other new and innovative programs for online participation. To date, we have had Faith + Works celebrations with First Church, a couple of board meetings, a workshop on Asset Based Community Development, an Easter Sunday Seder all by remote participation. We also helped sponsor an online mayoral debate. Our monthly potluck dinners — where we share a meal with friends, neighbors, and other partners in our community — have evolved into Tuesday Teatime on the first and third Tuesday of the month via Zoom.

As you can see, The HUUB has risen to the occasion and adjusted to the demands of social distancing with many irons in many fires and lots of activity coming from many directions. The loss of our rental base, for now at least, has greatly affected us. While grant applications will continue and appropriate government subsidies will be sought, they are simply not enough to help us thrive in the way we plan to and in the way we are now needed.

We need your help!

A donation in any amount will help The HUUB to maintain existing programs and develop new ones, provide space to the community, and improve our facilities for when we all can come together in person.

The title of this year’s campaign is “Planning to Stay.” Please go to the IOBY site (https://ioby.org/project/planning-stay) and follow the prompts to make a secure and fully tax-deductible donation in any amount. If you prefer, you can mail a check directly to The HUUB, at 47 Cleveland St, Orange, NJ, 07050. Please remember it does not matter how much you give but that you give.

“…..Like the spokes of a wheel extending out from a HUUB, we connect people in Orange, helping to create a better city.”

Please stay safe!

Sincerely,

Charlie Wirene
(he/him/his)
Managing Director, The HUUB, Inc.
(w) 973-674-0010 (m) 315-525-2773
charlie@orangehuub.org

Frank Barszcz, MSW, LSW 
(he/him/his)
President, The HUUB, Inc. Board of Trustees
(201) 303-1810
frank@orangehuub.org