United Way of Morris County Events
Recent Events

United Way Brings Elected Officials, Business Leaders Together
Monday, February 11, 2008

On a bitter winter evening, state and county notables gathered in the warmth of beautiful, historic Mead Hall at Drew University in Madison, NJ, to greet old friends, make new connections, and take up an important community cause.

Graciously hosted by Drew University and sponsored by Pfizer Inc and Wyeth, United Way of Morris County's fourth annual Public Officials Forum brought over 125 mayors, freeholders, state senators, business leaders, nonprofit representatives, educators, and community members together on behalf of our community's youngest teens.

The forum's program focused on new information from a United Way Young Teen Survey which uncovered critical challenges facing Morris County's youngest teens.  Today's middle school children are forced to deal with tough issues earlier than ever before, and are confronted with pressures to drink, take drugs, have sex, and bully others. 

The event was moderated by United Way volunteer Peter Wolfson of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, P.C.  In presenting Survey findings, Wolfson noted that today's young teens "inhabit a challenging world that includes a war on terror, the inescapable internet, a pervasive celebrity culture, and unprecedented pressures to succeed."  He highlighted four critical survey findings: young teens do not always feel safe in their environment, they face prevalent negative peer pressure, they don't know where to get help, and they feel they have few adults to turn to when coping with a serious problem.

Featured speakers included Morris County Freeholder John J. Murphy, NJ State Senator Bill Baroni, and Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, each noting the need to create a community which fosters healthy teens.

Freeholder Murphy noted that all of Morris County must pull together to support youth in need.  He cited the Freeholders founding of Morris County Partners in Substance Abuse Prevention with United Way and other funders in the County as an example.  The group hosts "Natural High" community events for kids, providing them with safe and fun social alternatives.

Senator Baroni opened his remarks by saying, "We should all be stunned by this data...it's a real call to responsibility, and we should all support United Way in this effort."  He cited steps that would help protect young teens, including keeping parents informed of serious issues, using "repetition" to impart information, encouraging schools to stay open longer each day, and including cyber bullying in any legislative efforts to crack down on internet predators.  "We cannot fact these issues just as politicians, or educators, or business people, we must do this as New Jerseyans."

He also suggested that middle school aged children face a vacuum of opportunities for productive engagement, and that local offices and businesses should consider providing internships to the group. 

Congressman Frelinghuysen address the crowd, noting that, "No community is immune from these issues…Our young people are under attack 24/7."  He saluted United Way for taking on the challenge and noted "You have every mover and shaker in Morris County here tonight...and a chance to make real change.  But if it were easy to fix, it would have been solved by now.  You have your work cut out for you."

John Franklin closed the program, sharing details about United Way's new Youth Empowerment Alliance, a community group dedicated to tackling some of the most pressing problems raised by the Teen Survey.  John noted that, "this is just the beginning.  We have a lot of work to do.  And we need to bring in ALL members of the community involved in the dialogue going forward. Please join this effort to save our kids."