NJ business owner becomes holiday 'Giant of Generosity,' so can you

Business owner Jaime Raskulinecz has met the challenge, and CLIFFVIEW PILOT is matching her $250 donation supporting Giants of Generosity, a non-profit community-service organization that is holding a special “Gifts For Children” tea & dessert party fundraiser on Dec. 12 at The Clinton Inn.

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For her donation, Jaime (above, right) receives a free one-month advertisement on every page of CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

She already is a name in New Jersey business circles through Next Generation Trust Services, which specializes in comprehensive account administration and transaction support services for self-directed retirement accounts.

Jaime has been recognized by Real Estate New Jersey as one of their “50 Women of Influence” and by the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO) as one of the “30 Most Successful New Jersey Women Business Owners.”

She recently was among the finalists of NJ’s 2011 Leading Women Entrepreneurs & Business Owners by Own It Ventures and New Jersey Monthly Magazine.

Written up in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and various other publications, Jaime has been a positive influence and inspiration to many young female entrepreneurs facing the challenges of starting their own businesses.

"My partner and I try to give back when we can, especially around the holidays," Jaime told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning.

You, too, can experience “the joy of giving on a very intimate and personal level,” as Giants of Generosity founder D. Jane Chagaris Albanese puts it, while watching needy youngsters open the gifts you made possible.

"This is amazing," Albanese said this morning, after receiving the donation.

It's also a great way of spreading the word about the special Dec. 12 event, which will include holiday gifts to needy children from throughout Bergen County, music, entertainment by the bergenPAC dance ensemble and a silent auction.

The Clinton Inn is providing hot beverages. Several local bakers, bakeries and Giants of Generosity volunteers are donating baked goods.

HOWEVER: The organization still needs more toys, games, and electronic devices for the children (ages 3 to 15) who will be attending. There’s a list available if you want to get a present yourself (see below). Or be the first to donate the minimum $250 to win a free one-month CLIFFVIEW PILOT ad.

As part of the event, the children’s parents will receive holiday bags filled with gift cards, toiletries and other items supplied by generous companies, including Unilever in Englewood Cliffs, or purchased with donated funds.

Although tickets are only $10, Giants of Generosity is accepting donations of all sizes from anyone willing to support its local missions of mercy.

WHAT: “Gifts for Children” tea & dessert party fundraiser
WHEN : 7-9 p.m. Dec. 12
WHERE : The Clinton Inn, 145 Dean Drive, Tenafly (201) 871-3200

Founded by Albanese in 2007, Giants of Generosity is a registered 501(C)3 organization that aims to pay forward by easing the burdens that many in crisis carry.

In just four years, GoG has come to the rescue of more than three dozen local people and families who had nowhere else to turn. It gives recipients financial help and moral support – but, most importantly, hope for the future.

D. Jane Chagaris Albanese

Take Eamonn Radburn.

Eamonn was clearing downed trees from a storm while working for the Haworth DPW when he was electrocuted and seriously injured by a live wire. He spent three months at a Kessler rehabilitation clinic, unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair.

Along came Albanese. “She reassured me that everything would be okay,” Eamonn said.

She kept her promise.

Albanese contacted the North Jersey Chapter of The National Association of the Remodeling Association, which generously helped retrofit Eamonn’s home. The community donated more than $33,000 toward the cost, while the NARA covered all of the labor and remaining materials to make the house wheelchair-accessible.

There are many other Giants of Generosity success stories – some of them intensely personal and deeply touching.

Giants of Generosity Advisors: D. Jane Chagaris Albanese, Tom Volpe, Sheila/Bob Kutik, John Johl, Terri DeToli, Susanne Breckwoldt
(See more on them, below)

That’s the beauty of paying it forward. A donation of any kind – be it cash, materials or your own labor – can change an impossible situation into a promising life for someone in need.

Making it even sweeter are those who have repaid Giants of Generosity’s kindness by helping others themselves.

Albanese is still accepting donations of high-end goods and services for the silent auction. The deadline to donate is Dec. 8.

Contact her today: (201) 567-2622

Or go to: GiantsofGenerosity.org

“We are fortunate that several local businesses have come forward to support this fundraiser and our core mission to help others in need,” Albanese said of the “Gifts for Children” event. “I encourage the public to include these businesses in their holiday gift shopping or dining in the coming weeks.”

These include:

• Palmer’s Crossing Restaurant at the Clinton Inn in Tenafly – 10% of all restaurant sales now through December 12 will be donated to Giants of Generosity;

• Womrath’s Bookstore in Tenafly;

• Cooktique in Tenafly;

• Metropolitan Plant & Flowers in Fort Lee, Paramus, and West Orange: For every $50 a customer spends, Metropolitan Plant will donate $10 the organization.

Hearts have no bottom. The more you help, the bigger yours gets.

Giants of Generosity Advisors

Thomas J. Volpe: A former Senior Vice-President of Financial Operations for The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc., and senior advisor at the global financial services firm Babcock & Brown, Tom is now with Rockdale Investment Management and serves as Chairman Emeritus of the St. Francis College Board of Trustees and as a board member of both the NYC Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis and the Englewood Hospital Foundation.

John Johl: You might remember John as the mayor of Haworth for 10 years. But he is also a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, a member or chairman of various boards at Pascack Valley Hospital, a charter member and president of the Northern Valley Educational Foundation, a member of the Bergen County Community College Foundation, a longtime Tenafly Kiwanis officer and American Legion member – and president and founder of the now-48-years-young Johl & Co. Insurance Agency.

Bob Kutik: A past Haworth Board of Education president, Bob owns Womrath's Bookstore in Tenafly, is in his fifth term as President of the Tenafly Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rockland County Jewish Home for the Aged in Suffern. Through a Giants of Generosity giving circle, Bob has founded The Sgt. Harry Fund in honor of his late father, a wounded WWII veteran.

Terri DeToli: She owns and operates Parties with Panache, a boutique party and event planning organization. Terri is a volunteer with Sail Habitation, a Jersey Shore organization that hosts community sail days for handicapped children and adults. She is also a volunteer with the Community Resource Council in Hackensack.

Susanne Breckwoldt: A clinical psychologist practicing in Cresskill, Susanne has assisted both adoptees and adoptive families in working through their unique challenges. She is past president of the Bergen County Psychological Association, has on the Board of Trustees of Heightened Independence and Progress, an organization providing referral, outreach, and community support to the disabled community, and has founded and led support groups for caretakers and the visually impaired.

Susan described Giants of Generosity beautifully when she said: “My belief is that the better you make other people’s lives, the better your own will be.”

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Jaime Raskulinecz CEO, Next Generation Trust Services

Next Generation focuses on educating people about the ability to invest in nontraditional assets within an IRA and a 401k and the tax advantages associated with them. The company also provides administrative support and account maintenance to clients interested in self-directing their retirement portfolios with investments that are not typically found in an IRA, such as real estate or gold.