By: Gary Simeone

Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) founder and CEO, Jeff Friedman, is now in his eleventh season helping to distribute necessary goods to the homeless, profoundly poor and disenfranchised population in northern New Jersey. 

“We initially started with a small coat drive eleven years ago and then we had a bigger coat drive, which included items like toiletries and family clothing and shoes,” said Friedman. “When the pandemic came last year, we had to reinvent ourselves. We started purchasing items in bulk through a wholesale operation, like food and produce, baby formula and diapers and other essential things. We distributed the products to poorer communities and the homeless population through our many drop-off centers.”

Friedman works out of his garage space in his home in Livingston, which he refers to as LPI’s ‘world headquarters.’ He sets up shop with his computer monitors and work desk to contact his many distribution partners in the city of Newark.

“The way it works is that I have the items, which are delivered in bulk, shipped to my garage and I deliver them to our core centers in Newark. The items are also shipped to the different distribution partners throughout the city.”

He said that many of the items that get delivered are everyday things that people take for granted, like shoes and sneakers, men’s and women’s underwear and various toiletries like soap, shampoos and toothpaste.

Throughout the years, people’s donations to LPI have helped them to fund their mission on a much grander scale. 

Some examples include 130 dining room chairs that were donated from Nero’s Grille in Livingston, that helped to furnish a soup kitchen in Newark and a multi-purpose room at a church in East Orange. LPI also entered into a partnership with Bimbo Bakeries USA in Wayne, to help deliver 27,000 name brand packages of baked goods to their distribution partners in Newark. In turn, all of the food items, including breads, muffins and cakes, were distributed to unfortunate citizens who were forced to endure long lines in inclement weather, as a result of pandemic related job loss and chronic food insecurity.

LPI recently participated in the second annual World Homeless Day event in Newark on October 8th, which was produced by one of their distribution partners, NESF (Newark Emergency Service for Families.)

Friedman said that the raised funding allowed for the nonprofit to purchase a brand-new compact Ford van, with the Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. logo emblazoned on the side.

“All of our deliveries were accomplished with volunteer vehicles prior to this acquisition. This new ford van, which is our first ever conveyance, has helped make distributions so much easier and smoother.”

Friedman, a retired TV producer after 38 years, said that after LPI started in 2011, the nonprofit corporation has, “grown exponentially.”

“We went from a small coat drive with just 300 coats to donating more than a thousand coats per year and counting. When COVID hit, it stopped us from delivering directly to our centers, but it could not stop our mission of distributing goods to the homeless, profoundly poor and disenfranchised and endeavoring to make a difference in people’s lives.”

To find out more about LPI and the services they offer, visit njhomeless.org.