2025 Fund Drive Ends; Fire Victims Helped
The Leonia Community Chest is concluding its 2024-2025 fund drive. If you haven’t made a donation or would like to make another -- please visit our Donate Page. You may pay by credit card or send a check to P.O. Box 68, Leonia, 07605. THANK YOU!
On the morning of Friday, February 14th, a devastating three alarm fire destroyed two residential buildings at the corner of Grand and Schor Avenues, in Leonia, displacing 35 adults and children from their homes. In response, the Leonia Community Chest set up a donation page to receive funds from residents, businesses, and local non-profits. An outpouring of neighborly support and generosity resulted in over $45,000 bring collected. The Community Chest gave $1,000 from its Ilene Fleming Emergency Relief Fund.
Working cooperatively with the Leonia Mayor and Council, the Community Chest was pleased to be able to deliver emergency relief checks to the 10 families. We would like to express our gratitude to our friends and neighbors for their generousity and rapid response. We could not have done it without YOU!
Since 1944, the Leonia Community Chest has been proud to support neighbors helping neighbors. Come visit our table at Leonia Day, on May 3. You will see a display of creative expressions about being a good neighbor and the value of community created by Leonians. You can learn about the organizations we support.
Please visit our webpage to see where your dollars go.
A donation to the Leonia Community Chest is also a meaningful way to honor someone, recognize an achievement, celebrate an occasion, or memorialize someone who has passed away. Please indicate this on the donation you mail to us and we will acknowledge your donation to the person in whose honor or memory it is given.
The Board is grateful and pleased to continue to receive legacy donations.
The Community Chest is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Contributions are tax deductible, as permitted by law.
Dohwan kim & Maceo Irizarry Receive Community Service AwardS
The Leonia Community Chest was pleased to award its 2025 Community Service Scholarship to two Leonia High School seniors: DoHwan Kim and Maceo Irizarry. This is the 8th year the Community Chest has presented this award to a Leonia High School graduate for activities that help our community.
DoHwan came to the US from Korea six years ago, speaking very little English and searching for where he belonged. When he reached LHS, he got involved in a broad range of activities and sought to assume as many leadership roles as possible, be it in sports, honor societies, or clubs. He co-founded a non-profit organization called the Student Study Association, which matches students from grades K-5 with LHS students for tutoring, while raising money for UNICEF. Dohwan himself tutors via the Rotary Interact Club and at a Korean school, and volunteers at a Taekwondo school. He was also elected head of the LHS Executive Council and serves as a student representative to the Leonia Board of Education.
DoHwan explained that he is driven to help others because he understands from his own experience what it is like to need help. As he puts it, volunteering “helped me find a place and a purpose. It gave me confidence, and it made me realize that I could make a difference, even in small ways.” And, he added, “these experiences taught me that community service isn’t just about giving your time. It’s about caring. It’s about using what you’ve been through to help someone else.”
Maceo has also been very active at LHS, where he has played multiple sports, been involved in various business-related clubs and activities, and served as a volunteer tutor for the National Honor Society. Outside school, Maceo has also demonstrated a strong commitment to community service. He volunteers at a pet rescue center, and, through the Edgewater Recreation Center, he gives back by volunteering as a youth baseball assistant coach. His work on the town’s annual Turkey and Toy Drives has taught him the importance of addressing the real needs of families in the community. An accomplished pianist, Maceo took the initiative to organize other pianists to volunteer with him to play a holiday recital at a local nursing home “to bring joy and holiday spirit to those who may need a little extra.”
Maceo said in his essay that he deeply appreciates having “been raised in such a diverse and welcoming community in Leonia and Edgewater, which…has given me the chance to develop my interests and passions.” As he stated, “I feel that it is only right to give back as much as I can to the community, to improve the lives of those around me and to improve myself as a person.”
DoHwan and Maceo, the LCC is proud to recognize and support your achievements and aspirations. Congratulations and best wishes for the future!