2024 Evening of Hope Honoree – Community Partner Award
The Woman’s Club of Paramus has been supporting Center for Hope & Safety for more than 20 years. Established in 1944 by five women, the five grew to 230 women, currently led by President Debbie Cibelli. With its six active departments, the club works to promote the civic and social welfare of the community and to elevate the social and intellectual life of its members. The Woman’s Club of Paramus provides assistance for veterans, youth organizations, the elderly, the disabled, the needy, and is an active supporter of Center for Hope & Safety.
In addition to financial donations, the Woman’s Club has been especially fond of supporting our children—donating much-needed items to help them feel at home in unfamiliar surroundings. They have provided hundreds of baskets for Easter; filled drawstring bags for our Summer Campers and backs packs for Back to School; donated hundreds of Halloween costumes, turkeys and sides for Thanksgiving, as well as toys and sweet treats for the Holidays. From food and baby items to clothing, they have made sure our clients have everything they need on their journey to self-sufficiency.
As the Domestic Violence Chairperson for the Woman’s Club of Paramus for the past 20 years, Past President Marie Sullivan has long been responsible for making our mission the organization’s mission. During the initial COVID outbreak, the Woman’s Club donated fresh food from various restaurants, hundreds of dollars in gift cards, and also convinced a donor to give us a new freezer! Marie became known as the Bergen County mask wizard, hand-sewing thousands of masks to be distributed in area hospitals as well as to Center for Hope & Safety.
As New Jersey State Federation of Woman’s Clubs Special State Project Chair, Marie is also instrumental in garnering support for domestic violence survivors from Woman’s Clubs across the state, a membership of over 5,800 women. With her big smile and wonderful laugh, she has helped spread awareness of our organization’s work throughout the Paramus community.
We are honored to present the Woman’s Club of Paramus with the 2024 Community Partner Award.