Community Corner
Money Rolls in to Stop Kendall Park Man from 92nd Birthday Skydive
The 'Stop Aaron' campaign has raised thousands of dollars in an effort to prevent nonagenarian from his annual birthday leap of 13,000 feet.
The first time Aaron Rosloff told his friends he wanted to skydive for his birthday they thought he was a little crazy.
The Kendall Park resident was about to turn 90-years-old, after all. But there he was two years ago, jumping 8,000-feet from an airplane while raising about $2,000 for the South Brunswick Food Pantry in the process.
"I was a little bit shocked at how this whole thing took on a life of its own," Rosloff said.
Certainly not your typical senior citizen, Rosloff came back for more last year, jumping 13,000-feet while raising $3,600 for the pantry, as he suffered a broken ankle on the landing.
So when Rosloff told his friends he wanted to skydive a third time for his 92nd birthday, they went beyond thinking he was a little crazy to thinking he was downright certifiable. As a result, B'Nai Tikvah began a fundraising drive called "Stop Aaron," to raise enough money for the pantry to prevent Rosloff from skydiving.
When he first conceived of the idea to skydive for his birthday, Rosloff was more looking to fulfill a lifelong dream.
A veteran of World War II, Rosloff served as crew chief for a maintenance crew in the Air Force, but never got a chance to jump out of an airplane. After seeing former President George Bush skydive at the age of 80-years-old, Rosloff was set on the idea.
As a longtime volunteer for local community groups, Rosloff decided to try and turn his birthday into a means to aid the less fortunate by raising money for the township food pantry, and the first "Aaron's Jump" event was born.
As successful as that drive was, even more money has been raised to keep Rosloff from jumping at all. Thus far, nearly 30 people have donated approximately $4,400 to keep Rosloff safely on the ground."I think this whole thing is a little bit kooky," Rosloff said. "But there are a lot of people who took care of me and are concerned about me making the jump again. I'm very honored that there are so many people concerned about me."
In addition to the money that's already been raised, Rosloff also pledged to donate $1,000 of his own money to help out the pantry, which is in desperate need of assistance.
During the recent Feinstein Foundation "Challenge to Fight Hunger," South Brunswick residents and businesses donated a total of $55,187.05 in monetary donations, and 30,875 food items to Social Services over a two-month span.
Unfortunately, the donated food was quickly drained as Social Services saw over 150 families in April and May, with an average of three new families per month. April alone brought the second highest total ever for the pantry at 76 families.
As a result, the fundraising efforts of Rosloff and his friends couldn't come at a more opportune time, as the need in South Brunswick among the less fortunate has never been greater. With time still remaining until Rosloff's birthday on July 3, donations to the pantry for "Stop Aaron" are still being accepted.
Anyone interested in donating to "Stop Aaron" can make checks payable to: "South Brunswick Human Intervention Trust," with "Aaron's Jump" on the memo line, and mail to: South Brunswick Township, PO Box 190, Monmouth Jct., NJ 08852 Att: LouAnne Wolf. Or you can donate online.
"This for me is hopefully a wake up call to everyone that they should be donating whatever they can to the pantry whenever they can," Rosloff said. "Everyone always says I'll do it tomorrow. So I hope this is the impetus for people to get the check out now. I hope it will be more people donating than just my friends."
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