August 26, 2022

Greetings,

We hope you had a great week. This week, Congressman Kim was all around the district meeting with healthcare advocates, small business leaders, veterans, and more. He is always grateful to speak with you all around town and learn more about people in our community. We are proud to turn these conversations into action to uplift great local people and their work. As always, we hope you find the following updates and resources helpful.

Congressman Kim Speaks with the Burlington-Mercer Chamber

On Thursday, Congressman Kim spoke with the Burlington-Mercer Chamber of Commerce on his commitment and delivering SBA assistance directly to New Jersey. As the only member of the state delegation on the House Committee on Small Business, Congressman Kim works diligently on behalf of all our local small businesses.

Congressman Kim Hosts Health Equity Roundtable 

On Friday, Congressman Kim led a roundtable discussion with panelists from Rowan University and Virtua Hospital. Focused around the COVID-19 response efforts in hospitals and on college campuses, the group spoke on how to best support and reach underserved, vulnerable populations and work together responding to ever-changing local health needs.

Congressman Kim is committed to breaking down health inequities in our communities and taking action on gaps in healthcare access exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congressman Kim Talks Alzheimer's Awareness and Care

On Monday, Congressman Kim met with Frances and Brooke from the Greater New Jersey Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. The Congressman was grateful for their informative and inspiring meeting on Alzheimer’s care and the need to spread awareness about how to spot early signs for early diagnosis. Congressman Kim is passionate about listening to the needs of the families and caregivers who manage this disease everyday.

On September 13th at 10 AM, Congressman Kim is co-hosting a webinar to share information on financial resources and support for caregivers of people living with Alzheimer’s disease. You can register for the event here.

Congressman Kim Visits Hamilton Area YMCA

On Tuesday, the Congressman toured the Hamilton YMCA. Congressman Kim’s Summer Meals REACH Act would support nonprofits like the YMCA continue their great work providing free meals to kids and combating local food insecurity long-term. He was proud to help pass the bipartisan Keep Kids Fed Act in June to extend key flexibilities to serve meals to children through the 2022-2023 school year.

Honoring WWII Merchant Mariners with the Congressional Gold Medal

Congressman Kim was honored to present four World War II Merchant Mariners with the highest medal awarded by Congress, the Congressional Gold Medal, for their bravery and service. At a reception in Brick, the Congressman celebrated their courage and contributions during the war.

In 2020, Congress passed the Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act to recognize the merchant mariners.

Meet Marilyn & Al, Congressman Kim’s August Service Spotlight!

This week, we were happy to share Congressman Kim’s August Service Spotlight on Marilyn and Al and their work with Literacy NJ.

Every month our office will share a Service Spotlight, highlighting individuals and their contributions to our communities and nation. This commitment to service inspires us, and we are excited to share these stories with you. You can read our past Service Spotlight’s here and please nominate an incredible person, group, or organization serving our Burlington and Ocean Counties here.

Marilyn and Al’s Story
When Marilyn and Al retired, they both knew they wanted to use their free time to give back to their community and help people in Burlington County. For different reasons, they were both drawn to teaching English with Literacy NJ.

#ServiceSpotlight

Literacy NJ is a nonprofit organization working to ensure all adults can read, write, and easily communicate with their neighbors. For many native English speakers, it’s easy to take this part of everyday life for granted.

https://literacynj.org/about-us

However, these language and literacy skills do not come naturally and, for a variety of reasons, including English as a second language (ESL), about 16% of adults in New Jersey lack basic English literacy skills.

To close this gap, Literacy NJ advocates for increased funding and awareness for literacy issues, they develop instructional materials and train volunteer tutors - like Marilyn and Al - to host classes and work closely with students.

Before the pandemic, Literacy NJ volunteers hosted English classes in 12 counties, including Burlington and Ocean. When COVID-19 struck, many classes had to shut down. However the need for English classes was greater than ever, especially when all communication went virtual.

Al, who retired from the National Weather Service in 2019, was tutoring at the time with Literacy NJ, leaning into his knack for the nuanced rules of the English language. When he could no longer meet with everyone in person, he set out to find another way to continue teaching.

He started sitting in on Literacy NJ’s virtual English classes, learning how to navigate Zoom when he met Marilyn, a recently retired Humanities and ESL Supervisor and educator in Monmouth County, who was also interested in teaching English and serving her community.

With the support of Literacy NJ, Marilyn and Al decided to begin co-tutoring a class: sharing the class load and developing lesson plans together. In July of 2020, Marilyn and Al were given the opportunity to develop and co-teach their own class within the Literacy NJ program. Since then, their reach has grown and they have successfully created a community of students who can rely on them and their peers to further their education.

In their virtual two hour class every Tuesday morning, Marilyn and Al present lessons and activities that they spend close to 10 hours preparing beforehand. They both feel it is “immeasurable” what they get back from the experience of changing their students’ lives.

Al and Marilyn have given so much to so many people over the last few years. Through dedication to their craft and hard work they have fundamentally changed the lives of members of our community. We look forward to seeing their continued success improving their neighbors’ lives.

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Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you every day!

Have a wonderful weekend,

The Office of Congressman Andy Kim

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