Latin coalition comes to the rescue
N. Plainfield Rescue Squad gets new roof with thanks to volunteers 
By MARTIN C. BRICKETTO
Staff Writer
NORTH PLAINFIELD -- The North Plainfield Rescue Squad got a new roof Saturday but avoided a $5,000 bill, thanks to an increasingly active organization of Latino and other minority residents.
"It's a good opportunity to give back, and the coalition has done a lot for the community since its inception," said Alejandro Kuga, a co-founder of the North Plainfield Latin Coaltion.
At the rescue squad's headquarters on Somerset Street, roofers replaced shingles above a bay for two ambulances, while a different group of individuals on the ground performed a different kind of community service -- court ordered -- and cleaned up the scraps and hauled them away on a large blue tarp.
The materials were donated by Plainfield Roofing, Kuga said. In chilly weather for April, six coalition members worked to replace the roof from about 8 a.m. to noon, a task Kuga said the squad won't have to worry about now for a few decades.
The roof may not have been leaking, but it was in poor shape, according to Dennis Lopes, a cadet with the squad.
"We're very glad they did this because the shingles were falling off," Lopes said.
Since its start in August 2006, the Latin Coalition has held a Christmas dinner that raised money for high-school scholarships as well as a bilingual community health fair in November that attracted more than 500 attendees.
The coalition also is sponsoring an Easter egg hunt at 3 p.m. today in Green Acres Park at the corner of Rockview Terrace and Greenbrook Road.
Kuga, a detective with the North Plainfield Police Department, noted that more than 30 percent of North Plainfield's 21,000 residents are of Hispanic or Latino origin, adding that 50 percent of the high school's population is Hispanic.
Kuga said his group's activities are especially important given what he said were negative portrayals of Hispanics in the media.
"I think, by doing this, we're saying as a group that we're members of the community," Kuga said.
The coalition has about 24 members now, Kuga said, but is always looking for more.
Those interested in joining the North Plainfield Latin Coalition or additional information can contact the organization at (908) 315-9362 or via e-mail at nplatincoalition@yahoo.com. The organization's mailing address is P.O. Box 7101, Watching, NJ 07069. |