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Project Help gearing up for second year

| 12 Feb 2016 | 03:12
    From left, PFC Casey Lyness, USMC, Sandy Mitchell, SSGT Jeremy Curcio,USMC, LCPL Kyle Mitchell, USMC, Matina Ypsilantis, Mt. Olive HS intern Lena Li, Mt. Olive HS intern on the Green in Newton.
    From left, PFC Casey Lyness, USMC, Sandy Mitchell, SSGT Jeremy Curcio,USMC, LCPL Kyle Mitchell, USMC, Matina Ypsilantis, Mt. Olive HS intern Lena Li, Mt. Olive HS intern on the Green in Newton.

SUSSEX BOROUGH — Project Help is launching a new year of activities for homeless vets.

Project Help, an initiative to support Homeless Veterans and their families, is gearing up for year two. After a highly successful first year in 2015, the project is expanding in 2016.

The mission of Project Help is to collect new and gently used clothing for homeless vets and their families as well as financial donations to the “Unmet Needs fund” all of which is administered by Catholic Charities.

A new marketing team has formed and is working on several events that will support the mission of Project Help. They are fashioning events by which to collect clothes, backpacks and money for the Vets Closets and Unmet Needs Fund administrated by Catholic Charities.

Branding and innovation are the key factors being address by the new team that are loving called KLM marketing. The members are Kyle Mitchell, USMC and president of Decorus film and photography. Kyle will be making two videos for the project and working on other design pieces.

The first video, which was recently filmed in Newton, will be used as a crowdfunding tool that tells the story of Project Help and the mission. All of the marketing team were in the production as well as SSgt. Curcio and PFC Lyness, both United States Marines. A short bio of a few homeless vets will be presented by the homeless vets themselves so as to put faces to the problem

The second video is more of a documentary about the project and the interaction with Catholic Charities and the Vets Closets and Unmet Needs Fund. It is geared more for the media and informational in content.

Matina Ypsilantis, a marketing student at Mt. Olive High School, is working on design and content as well as bringing a fresh, innovative approach to the table. Last, but certainly not least, is Lena Li, also a student at Mt. Olive High School has more of the artistic responsibility and did the design for the logo for Project Help. Lena is also a marketing student with a passion for the field and the cause.

All of the team members will be working on the website and Facebook page. The website is www.ProjectHelp.US and www.Facebook.com/ProjectHelpUS are both up and running but work continues to go on.

Some of the ideas generated by the team, under the guidance of Sandy Mitchell of SOTA Productions, are a fall concert/festival with a major military and veteran influence in the theme.

“It’s going to be a really cool event and we hope the community will come out to support it”, Mitchell said.

They also plan to do store front solicitation for funds for the project; a Zombie fun run, Project Help Days at veteran and other facilities where clothing and funds can be collected on a designated day.

The Marines will be helping too. The USMC volunteers will be the face of Project Help. They are actively seeking other branches of the military to do the same thing.

Reservists, active military and vets that still fit into their uniform, are all invite to contact Sandy at 973-875-2068 or email sandy@mitchellclan.com.