Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association

National Night Out 2024 – A Huge Success!

The 2024 National Night Out (NNO)proved to be quite a challenge this year. As the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Corp, the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (MSPCA – A NJ Non-profit), the Maple Shade Police Department and PBA Local #267 prepared to roll out the event, the weather forecast took a terrible turn for both our selected day of Tuesday August 6th and our rain date of Wednesday August 7th. Never has this happened to us before. Determined to press ahead with the event, we reached out to our wonderful Superintendent of Schools Beth Norcia and she offered up the Maple Shade High School gyms as a location to host the event. In addition, Superintendent Norcia also offered up her maintenance staff to assist as well. With less than 24 hours before we started our on site prep, we conducted a major shift by hosting the 2024 NNO Event at the Maple Shade High School and almost completely indoors. It was 100% the right decision to make (especially as thunderstorms rolled through later in the evening)!

With a new location and completely new set up, our team scrambled to assemble the event indoors. With lots of help from the school staff and our terrific volunteers, we were able to pull it off. A big thank you to our wonderful sponsors as we once again were able to keep this as a FREE FAMILY FUN EVENT! Our main food vendors included Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Dominic’s Food Truck, the Sub Shoppe, Crust and Fire, the Custard Stand and many more. There were lots of activities for both young and old to include a specialized kid’s zone with bounce houses, balloon artists and face painters. Overall, thousands of people passed through the event and we are so thankful for the ability to pivot indoors. It has given us a new way to view this event moving forward and to account for unpredictable weather patterns especially during the month of August. Thank you to everyone who made this event a success and for all those who joined us on this special night! We look forward to seeing you all again in 2025!

Maple Shade National Night Out Event 2024

2023 Chaplain Activity Summary

The Maple Shade Police Chaplain Corp continued into their 8th year of service to the Township of Maple Shade. Even though the group has grown smaller over the years since their formation, their dedication has only increased!  

The Chaplain Corp handled 6 activations for 2023 to include responding out to death investigations, providing counseling and caring to those struggling with family or personal issues and supporting our residents when family or friends pass away. Their calming presence and support are much appreciated by all during the grieving process.

As far as community engagement goes, the 2023 National Night Out was held on Tuesday August 1 at the new location known as “Aces Field” or John F. Kennedy Memorial Field located on Broadway Avenue. It also saw a new person at the helm with the appointment of Community Affairs Officer Corporal Misty Weiss. Misty was the organizer for the event with assistance from Chief Christopher Fletcher. The event itself is sponsored by the Chaplain Corp, our non-profit the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (MSPCA), MSPD, PBA Local #267, the Township of Maple Shade, the Maple Shade Business Association, the Advisory Board of Commerce, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, McDowell Law and our professional service providers. Thanks to their collective generous support, we were once again able to provide the community with a FREE FAMILY FUN EVENT which included free food, an activity zone for the kids, an entertainment zone for our performers, static displays by our first responders and military members, as well as music provided by DJ Tony Egner (our official NNO DJ). It was a wonderful night for all and a great chance to return to a sense of community!    

The Chaplain Corp also partnered with Corporal Misty Weiss, PBA Local #267 and our MSPD family, along with our non-profit the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (MSPCA) and the Maple Shade School District to host the 2nd annual Shaders Feeding Shaders school wide food drive. Yocum School took 1st place and was the winner of a pizza party sponsored by PBA Local #267 and the MSPCA. All food collected was donated to the Maple Shade Food Bank and transported there from the various schools thanks to the assistance of the Maple Shade Public Works Department.   

Further, the Chaplain Corp partnered with MSPD, the Township of Maple Shade, PBA Local #267, the Maple Shade Business Association and Advisory Board of Commerce, Bentley Trucking and the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (our non-profit) to host a massive town wide food drive called the “Fill the Truck Event” during October into early November 2023. It was the largest event we have ever held in the history of the food drive and proved to be a huge success with the addition of new business partners in Eastern Lift and Stonhard.

Alongside of this food drive was a separate food drive competition for all sports and youth groups in town to compete against one another for prize money based upon the total donations that they made to the Maple Shade Food Bank. It was a win-win for all involved and we appreciate the efforts of our children and their parents for working with us in caring for our community by helping to stamp out hunger.

As we transition into 2024, the Chaplain Corp will remain on the front lines ready, willing and able to care for our community, our first responders and their families. The Chaplain Corp remains resilient and grounded, knowing full well that the power of the human spirit will emerge victorious and there will be a better collective future ahead for us all and the town that we care so much about.         

Thank You for a Successful 2023 National Night Out!

The Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association, the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Corp, the Maple Shade Police Department, PBA Local #267 and our Community Partners, along with our event host Community Affairs Officers Corporal Misty Weiss, wish to thank the Maple Shade community for their overwhelming support of our 2023 National Night Out. The event saw thousands of residents, family and friends join together in our effort to celebrate community and fellowship at our new location. We are extremely grateful for all the positive messages, the kind words, the financial and physical support that we received especially from our local business community. Our goal it to always keep this gathering a FREE FAMILY FUN EVENT! We look forward to pressing ahead with the next National Night Out Event on Thursday August 1, 2024. We will see you all then!

2023 National Night Out – Tuesday August 1st

A FREE FAMILY FUN EVENT!

PLEASE BE SURE TO BRING A DONATION FOR THE MAPLE SHADE FOOD BANK.

2022 Chaplain Activation Summary

The Maple Shade Police Chaplain Corp continued into their 7th year of service to the Township of Maple Shade. Even though the group has grown smaller over the years since their formation, their dedication has only increased!  

The Chaplain Corp handled 9 activations for 2022 to include responding out to death investigations, providing counseling and caring to those struggling with family or personal issues and supporting our residents when family or friends pass away. Their calming presence and support is much appreciated by the families during the grieving process.

2022 also saw the return of one of the most popular township events, the National Night Out on Tuesday August 2. This event is sponsored by the Chaplain Corp, our non-profit the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (MSPCA), MSPD, PBA Local #267, the Township of Maple Shade, the Maple Shade Business Association, the Advisory Board of Commerce, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and our professional service providers. Thanks to their collective generous support, we were once again able to provide the community with a FREE FAMILY FUN EVENT which included free food, an activity zone for the kids, an entertainment zone for our performers, static displays by our first responders and military members as well as music provided by DJ Tony Egner (our official NNO DJ). It was a wonderful night for all and a great chance to return to a sense of community.     

The Chaplain Corp also partnered with our new Community Affairs Officer Corporal Misty Weiss, PBA Local #267 and our MSPD family, along with our non-profit the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (MSPCA) and the Maple Shade School District to host the 1st ever Shaders Feeding Shaders school wide food drive. Maude Wilkins took 1st and 2nd place and was the winner of a pizza party sponsored by PBA Local #267 and the MSPCA. All food collected was donated to the Maple Shade Food Bank and transported there from the various schools thanks to the assistance of the Maple Shade Public Works Department.   

Further, the Chaplain Corp partnered with MSPD, the Township of Maple Shade, PBA Local #267, the Maple Shade Business Association and Advisory Board of Commerce, Bentley Trucking and the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (our non-profit) to host a massive town wide food drive called the “Fill the Truck Event” during October into early November 2022. It was the largest event we have ever held in the history of the food drive.

Alongside of this food drive, was a separate food drive competition for all sports and youth groups in town to compete against one another for prize money based upon the total donations that they made to the Maple Shade Food Bank. It was a win-win for all involved and we appreciate the efforts of our children and their parents for working with us in caring for our community by helping to stamp out hunger.

As we transition into 2023, the Chaplain Corp will remain on the front lines ready, willing and able to care for our community, our first responders and their families. The Chaplain Corp remains resilient and grounded, knowing full well that the power of the human spirit will emerge victorious and there will be a better collective future ahead for us all and the town that we care so much about.         

Save the Date – 2022 National Night Out

Please save the date and join our team as we celebrate the 2022 National Night Out. This is a FREE FAMILY FUN EVENT! Our only ask is simple, please bring non-perishable food items to donate to the Maple Shade Food Bank. We hope to see you there!

2021 Chaplain Summary Report

The very dedicated Maple Shade Police Chaplain Corp stayed on the front lines with our first responders during a challenging 2021. Whether it was Covid-19, devastating fire scenes, death investigations or community insecurities with respect to food or mental health issues, our Chaplain Corp was there to meet the challenges.

The Chaplain Corp handled 11 activations for 2021 to include responding out to a major fires to support victims, providing counseling and caring to those struggling with family or personal issues and supporting our residents when family or friends pass away. Covid-19 did not take the Chaplain Corp off-line, they stayed in the fight, cared for our community and continue to do so to this day. We thank them for their selfless service!

The Chaplain Corp also partnered with the Police Department, the Township of Maple Shade, PBA Local #267, the Maple Shade Food Bank, the Maple Shade Business Association and Advisory Board of Commerce, Bentley Trucking, U-Haul of Maple Shade, Maple Shade Youth Groups and Sports Organizations, the Maple Shade School District and the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (our non-profit) to host a massive town wide food drive called the “Fill the Truck Event” in September 2021. Unable to host our National Night Out Event due to Covid-19 which is typically held in August, our team mobilized throughout the community to address food insecurity issues and to support our township food bank.

Thanks to the generosity of the Tilghman Funeral Home, McDowell Law, the Maple Shade Business Association, Mohawk Computers, the Maple Shade Moose Lodge and Investor’s Bank, prize money was awarded to our participating youth and sports groups who donated requested items in exchange for an opportunity to win prize money during a time when many groups were unable to do any fundraising. It was a win-win for all involved and we appreciate the efforts of our children and their parents for working with us in caring for our community.

As we transition into 2022, the Chaplain Corp will remain on the front lines ready, willing and able to care for our community, our first responders and their families as we continue to battle through a pandemic unlike anything most of us have seen in our lifetimes. The Chaplain Corp remains resilient and grounded knowing full well that the power of the human spirit will emerge victorious and there will be a better collective future ahead for us all and the town that we care so much about.         

Fire Department Open House

Chaplain’s Annemarie Cook and Mike Stinsman, along with Chief of Police Chris Fletcher and Traffic Officer Matt Shaw, attended the Maple Shade Fire Department Open House on Friday October 8, 2021. The event was well attended and allowed our team to support the members of the fire company as we collectively engage with the community. Our team handed out plenty of give away items and the children present enjoyed them thoroughly. It was a great night and we appreciated the invitation to join in the fun. Thank you MSFD for putting on a great event!

Grab N Go Food Box is Live!

In a partnership between Rest Wood Crafts, the Maple Shade Food Bank, the MSPCA, the Police Chaplain Corp, the Police Department, PBA Local #267, the Township of Maple Shade, Maple Shade Public Works, Teamsters Local 676, the Maple Shade Business Association and Rotary International, we are proud to announce that the Grab N Go Food Box is live and operational. The food box is located inside the lobby of the Police Department adjacent to the Municipal Building located at 200 Stiles Avenue in Maple Shade. The box contains bags of free groceries for those who are experiencing hunger or food insecurity issues. We ask that the public please take only one bag of free groceries to fill their immediate need as we care for not only you, but others as well.

If an additional need exists beyond this, here are several options you can explore. First, you can contact the Volunteers of America – IMPACT Program at #856-298-7741 who are based out of the Maple Shade Police Department. They can help you navigate through issues such as this as well as other challenges you may be experiencing. Second, you can visit the Maple Shade Food Bank on the first and third Wednesday of the month or you can visit NJ Snap at https://www.nj.gov/humanservices/njsnap/ for further assistance.

We are hopeful that this initiative will help to stamp out hunger and is another example of Shaders helping Shaders in need!