Our non-traditional family moved to Maplewood several years ago to provide a safe environment for our children. We live in what we consider to be the quintessential Maplewood neighborhood — we have African American families, Latino families, single parent families, gay families, gay couples without children, single people, mixed race families, and even a token heterosexual Irish Catholic family on the block. The diversity of families around us reinforced our decision to move here; we never needed to have “the conversation” with our new neighbors about why two men are raising children. 

And we soon discovered the great Maplewood equalizer – property taxes! 

Despite our divergent backgrounds and family compositions we have one thing in common in our neighborhood: we are all hard-working families trying our best to be good members of the community. Neighbors speak frequently together about various issues in town, root for teams our kids play on, and discuss other communal concerns. 

We also have many individuals in the neighborhood who are active volunteers for various non-profit organizations; this shared commitment to helping the less fortunate is yet another means for us to come together as a community. Door-to-door canvassing is a common occurrence on our block – our neighbors have raised funds for flood victims, hurricane relief, support for Haiti, voter registration drives, various church groups, environmental groups…you name it, they’ve knocked for it!

Our family supports what we can while trying not to be overwhelmed by the various needs throughout the world that are so sensitively represented by our compassionate neighbors. 

My partner and I have also strived to convey to our children the importance of community spirit and participation.  In an effort to lead by example I became involved with a local organization called the Columbia High School Scholarship Fund (also known as CHSSF), which has distributed scholarship funds for students in need since 1923.

Last year, CHSSF raised and awarded more than $75,000 to Columbia High School seniors and graduates. My service on the Board of CHSSF has been very rewarding and also quite eye-opening. Often the solicitations, conversations, and community efforts I’d seen and been a part of have been directed to national or international groups, and I hadn’t stopped to realize the extent of need within our own community. 

In neighborhoods such as ours, full of people with careers as lawyers, doctors, engineers, and educators, there are also children in true financial need. These children – our neighbors - may have trouble attaining the crucial benefit of a college education without outside support and help.

Participating in CHSSF has given me a completely new perspective on our community. I am reminded of that environmental slogan, “think globally, act locally.” And I have discovered the “act locally” part may literally be right on my own street.  

If you would like to help support the educational opportunities of our own local students, please contact us. The CHSSF is a 501(C)(3) charitable organization.  Donations are welcome and can be sent to CHSSF, PO Box 315, Maplewood, NJ 07040. You can also donate online by visiting www.chsssf.org. The fund is run completely by community volunteers and 100% of all donations go directly to the scholarships.