NewJersey held their second SYLN in 2010

The Junior Womens group of New Jersey held their Second Annual SYLNight event. Good job, all. Here is their write up:

Share Your Light Night is Saturday in Verona

Monday, December 6, 2010

BY ANTHONY G. ATTRINO

Verona-Cedar Grove Times

Editor

Members of two local groups are reaching out for the public to help with a fundraiser designed to light up Verona this holiday season while bringing thousands of dollars to local organizations.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE JUNIOR WOMAN'S CLUB OF VERONA

Luminary candles light up residential homes in Verona during Share Your Light Night last year. The candlelit event is a fundraiser for local causes.

Luminary candle kits will be given away this Wednesday and will help fund scholarships and social service organizations, according to Rita Mughetto, a member of The Junior Woman's Club of Verona.

On Saturday, Dec. 11, members of The Junior Woman's Club of Verona and Verona-Essex Juniorettes will sponsor the second-annual Share Your Light Night - an event where residents throughout Verona line their streets with luminaries.

Luminaries are white bags filled with sand to hold a candle that burns for six to eight hours.

The candles will be lit at 5 p.m., creating a ribbon of light symbolizing neighborhood unity, Mughetto said.

"Last year we raised a nice amount of money for Verona students," Mughetto said. "This year we thought more people would pick them up at the Verona Fair in the Square, but they did not."

Mughetto said a table had been set up at the Verona Fair in the Square festival on Saturday. Despite a festival turnout of hundreds, very few candles were picked up.

The Junior Woman's Club is now urging residents to pick up their luminaries at the Verona Community Center playground snack bar on Wednesday, Dec. 8 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Mughetto said there are as many as 400 candles left.

Each luminary kit costs $13. In addition to scholarships for Verona students, the money will be donated to the Verona Rescue Squad and the Verona Fire Department, Mughetto said.

For further information, or to pick up a candle after Wednesday, call Judy Henning at 973-857-4552.

E-mail: attrino@northjersey.com

Members of two local groups are reaching out for the public to help with a fundraiser designed to light up Verona this holiday season while bringing thousands of dollars to local organizations.

Luminary candle kits will be given away this Wednesday and will help fund scholarships and social service organizations, according to Rita Mughetto, a member of The Junior Woman's Club of Verona.

On Saturday, Dec. 11, members of The Junior Woman's Club of Verona and Verona-Essex Juniorettes will sponsor the second-annual Share Your Light Night - an event where residents throughout Verona line their streets with luminaries.

Luminaries are white bags filled with sand to hold a candle that burns for six to eight hours.

The candles will be lit at 5 p.m., creating a ribbon of light symbolizing neighborhood unity, Mughetto said.

"Last year we raised a nice amount of money for Verona students," Mughetto said. "This year we thought more people would pick them up at the Verona Fair in the Square, but they did not."

Mughetto said a table had been set up at the Verona Fair in the Square festival on Saturday. Despite a festival turnout of hundreds, very few candles were picked up.

The Junior Woman's Club is now urging residents to pick up their luminaries at the Verona Community Center playground snack bar on Wednesday, Dec. 8 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Mughetto said there are as many as 400 candles left.

Each luminary kit costs $13. In addition to scholarships for Verona students, the money will be donated to the Verona Rescue Squad and the Verona Fire Department, Mughetto said.

For further information, or to pick up a candle after Wednesday, call Judy Henning at 973-857-4552.

E-mail: attrino@northjersey.com

Click here for more news from: Verona-Cedar Grove

Click the link below to share this event invitation on Facebook:

CLICK HERE to go to the Facebook Invitation Page

If that does not work, copy and paste the link below into your browser:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=49738192865

Do you value Unity within Communities?

It is October and many are planning their Share Your Light Night event for later this year. Are you? It is really easy.

For the individual, take this opportunity to talk to your neighbors about Share Your Light Night. Consider "gifting" your neighbors enough bags to line their property frontage. You can get lunch bags at bulk retailers. Divide them so that each of your neighbors can set one out bag every few feet until they outline their full property frontage. Then, with no gaps in the series, count what the other neighbor would need. If you "gift" the bags and print a slip with instructions as to what they would need to participate in Share Your Light Night (typically the 2nd Saturday of December).

Instructions should include your neighbors obtaining sand or bird feed so the bags are filled with about 2 inches of filler. Then advise them to decide on a light source for each bag. This could be a tea light candle, hurricane candle, but most recommend are the safer battery operated candles or glow sticks.

Make a visit the day before to remind them to come out at about the same time and together, you all will illuminate your unity at the same. Celebration Stations are a great suggestion so that there is a place for all to gather. In colder climates, neighbors drag out their chimneas and fire pits to their front driveways, set out chairs, and others offer warm cocoa and cookies. Some neighbors have even cooked chili or some warm food to share at these stations. If you review the photographs on this website, you'll see many pictures depicting what others do throughout their communities.

If you would like to talk personally with an organizer, you can call Brenda Armitage at 757-714-2772.

SYLNights are around the corner; just three months away. Are you participating?

Neighbors near and far,

SYLNight is around the corner; just three months away. What part of the country are you from and what events are being planned in your area?

We invite you to email (sylnights@yahoo.com) or post on Facebook what you are doing in your part of town. Share with us if you know of other neighbors that are participating in other areas the country.

It started in Virginia Beach, Virginia but has spread throughout the county. Neighbors in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and California are also participating with us. So, unite with us as we try to unite our nation this December!

If you want to participate and seed the event on your street with neighbors, email sylnights@yahoo.com or call 757-714-2772.

Find us on Facebook: Share Your Light Night (SYLNight)

Are you a part of something special?

Are you participating in Share Your Light Night luminary event this weekend (Dec. 12th, Sat., 6PM) to brighten the streets while uniting neighbors here in VB?

SYLNight goes a step further than a simple luminary display as neighbors come outside their home and create relationships between one another. The event is built upon the quintessential spirit shared by all people during the holidays: unity and peace. To participate, all you need are lunch bags, sand or birdseed, and a safe light source within each bag and a willingness to talk to your neighbors. Consider offering your visiting neighbors warm cocoa, cider, and cookies to add to the festivities. Music is also a welcoming touch. Be sure to extinguish your luminaries before returning inside your home

If you are going to be away from the house, ask your neighbor if they can set them out for you when they set out theirs. If you did not already talk to them about this event, there is no time like the "present.” Perhaps offer luminaries to them as a neighborly gift. Although inexpensive, the beauty it creates is priceless!

While you are taking in the beauty your street's ribbon of light creates, please take pictures to preserve the memory for not only yourself, but for current and future neighbors. If possible, use the fireworks mode and tripod or other stable surface when photographing at night. Please share the photos and stories about your event by emailing them to SYLNights@yahoo.com or posting them to Share Your Light Night Facebook group. They will be graciously offered online for other neighbors to appreciate and perhaps, used in future advertisements. Your photos may inspire others to join you in uniting other distant neighbors.

If your neighborhood civic league or homeowner association did not advertise this event this year, ask them if they will next year. What other groups do is light the entryway to the neighborhood, encourage neighbors to come outside at the same date and time (2nd Sat. in Dec.) to light their luminaries, and walk the neighborhoods taking in the beauty of endless ribbons of light created by the luminaries. This event builds camaraderie while neighbors share music, sing, and talk with others at celebration stations. SYLNight can also be used to raise funds for charities or community group projects. If adopted by your neighborhood organization and advertised as a neighborhood-wide event, the dates may be personalized to meet the needs of their activity calendar during the holiday season.

Remember, if it rains, the event will be rescheduled for Sunday -reference the SYLNight website at www.shareyourlightnight.blogspot.com and an updated message will be posted on phone 714-2772.