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Having Heart… and Coupons
Shopping with a greater purpose
by Sherri Heller
Article is from Matters Magazine
On any given day, at the Cicchelli home in West Orange, Ralph and Debra Cicchelli and their son Matthew assiduously sort food, health, toiletry and beauty aid coupons into piles on their kitchen table. They are not just another run-of-the-mill Baby Boomer family trying to get organized; the coupon-friendly and unpretentious Cicchelli household is command central for the Charity Shopping Ministry at St. Joseph's Church in West Orange.
Under Ralph Cicchelli's passionate leadership and eagle eye, individual volunteers and charitable organizations shop four to six times a year at ShopRite of Essex Green using coupons, donations and the 5% tax-exempt discount St. Joseph's provides to purchase groceries and other items which stock local community food pantries and soup kitchens.
The "Aha!" moment to make the most of coupons came to Cicchelli after Debra, his wife of 29 years, became disabled in the early 1990's. The weekly task of grocery shopping became his responsibility, and it evolved into an educational father-and-son ritual. He recalls that "Matthew and I would figure out how much money we saved using coupons and that was a Math lesson for him and an eye-opener for me."
Cicchelli then took the idea of using coupons to St. Joseph's, where a food pantry and an ongoing commitment to Christine's Soup Kitchen at The Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, in West Orange was already in place. Confident that St. Joseph's would benefit greatly, Cicchelli went one step further, convincing the church to let him operate as an offshoot of its Social Concerns Committee. The Charity Shopping Ministry - "helping those less fortunate by shopping with coupons" - was off and running.
Trading coupons online and having congregants collect them grew by leaps and bounds. "Everybody saves and sends them to me," explains Debbie Cicchelli. "I feel so blessed to be an active player by clipping and organizing. I never watch a TV show without cutting coupons," comments Father Richard G. Francesco, pastor of the 75-year-old church, "It has been Ralph and Debbie's spirit of generosity that has made the Charity Shopping Ministry possible."
A call for volunteers from the parish brought in Allison Baumgartner, who helps out in her off hours from her job as a medical receptionist. For the past six years, she has participated in the shopping outings because, as she stresses, "Giving back is so important and when Ralph calls, I'm there."
Planning and attention to detail are integral to the Ministry's success. Each year, Cicchelli times the shopping excursions to coincide with ShopRite's special promotions, resulting in greater bargains. Since its initial success, the Ministry also offers its services to other groups and organizations. Helping Hands of Orange, Our Lady of The Valley Soup Kitchen in Orange and the Human Needs Food Pantry in Montclair are just a few of the groups that have participated in and benefited from the shopping outings. The Ministry provides all the funding and coupons, and on each trip every group gets a shopping cart manned by its own volunteers and others from the community.
The generous people at ShopRite of Essex Green have been on board from day one, and recognize the exceptional work of the Charity Shopping Ministry. According to Lucille Meierhofer, the store's front-end department manager, "This organization helps so many shelters and the volunteers buy healthy foods like granola bars and canned vegetables with a long shelf life. We are happy to provide the service and quality they need."
In addition to donations, volunteers and coupons, Cicchelli's business wizardry - he holds a degree in economics as well as an MBA - has propelled the organization to new heights: Its first "Tricky Tray" fundraising event is set for Thursday, October 18th, at the Hanover Manor in East Hanover. Raising money will help the group continue on its path. "We hope to become the paradigm for an extensive community outreach by attracting multi-religious and secular organizations," explains Cicchelli. "We all have the same goal - to feed and help those of our neighbors who need the most."
In addition to the coupon shopping process, in 2003 the Community Food Bank of New Jersey began designating St. Joseph's as a Thanksgiving dinner drop-off depot. Each Saturday before Thanksgiving, donations are taken, and last year alone more than 100 turkeys and two tons of other food were collected and distributed to the needy.
"With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, people have a great desire to act in a spiritual way," says Father Francesco. "Ralph and Debbie, through their faith, have given us all a path to follow - and for that we are grateful."
Groups and individuals interested in volunteering should contact Debra Cicchelli at (973) 736-3942, or call St. Joseph's Church at (973) 669-3221 or visit the parish website, www.stjosephwestorange.com. For more information on the tricky tray, go to www.trickytray.com.
Sherri Heller is a freelance writer, produced playwright and former CBS executive. She lives in West Orange.
