Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association

Posts by Christopher Fletcher

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.

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!

Thank You Maple Shade for supporting the 2021 Fill the Truck Food Drive!

The Maple Shade Police Chaplain Association (MSPCA) and all of our partners would like to thank the community of Maple Shade for their unbelievable support of our 2021 Fill the Truck Food Drive! We took in thousands of items from the general public all to benefit the Maple Shade Food Bank, where Shaders help Shaders. In addition, the Youth Competition took in almost 5,000 donated items themselves with the $1,000 first place prize going to the OLPH-CCD program, the $650 second place prize going to Maple Shade Street Hockey and the $350 third place prize going to All About the Kidz. Since there was no 4th place finisher, the $200 4th place prize was given to the Maple Shade Food Bank to purchase gift cards to help those battling food insecurity. We are blessed and thankful for your tremendous support!

Fill the Truck Food Event 2021

The MSPCA, the Maple Shade Police Chaplain Corp, MSPD and PBA Local #267 teamed up with their community partners to once again host the Fill the Truck Food Event. The event kicked off in August of 2021 and runs until September 15, 2021. The culmination of the event takes place at Gazebo Park during the Downtown Maple Shade festival, where free water ice will be handed out to anyone dropping off a donation in person between 4:30pm and 7:30pm on 9/15. There is also a food drive competition amongst our youth groups in town and cash prizes will be handed out for 1st to 4th place finishers. Everyone participating must check in at the Gazebo park on 9/15 with their donation totals and then transport those donations to the Maple Shade Food Bank who will be the recipient of all donations raised during the entire event. It is a great chance for Shaders to help Shaders!

MSPCA and MSPD Participate at Downtown Maple Shade Kid’s Event

Chaplain Greg Ginion, Chief Chris Fletcher and Officer Matt Shaw teamed up together to attend the Kid’s Event as part of the Downtown Maple Shade series in August of 2021. Chaplain Ginion and Officer Shaw handed out free give away items to the children attending the event. Give away items included wiffle ball sets, foam footballs and draw string bags all courtesy of MSPD. In addition, Chief Fletcher was busy grilling up hot dogs for the community members attending the event and it proved to be a great chance for Shaders to come together and celebrate Maple Shade.