Jennifer Casson Tripucka spoke last week of Hoboken Girl and its subsidiary, Hoboken Girl Helps. The origins of Hoboken Girl, Ms. Tripucka said, lay in her writing a blog about life in Hoboken. Speaking at the Jersey City Rotary Club’s meeting on Thursday, Ms. Tripucka said the blog, which she created and initially operated alone five years ago, has evolved into a “media company” with two editors, and 20 contributors. The website, she said, is a “lifestyle website and brand” dedicated, she said, to “showcasing the best” of Hoboken, Jersey City and the surrounding area in Hudson County.
While its readers donate to charitable causes, Ms. Tripucka said, many of them also expressed a desire to engage in volunteer activities.
Thus, she said, among the activities it has engaged in this year were a remodeling of a children’s room at Women Rising in February, the sponsoring of a Boys & Girls Club summer camp the following month; and last month, three activities: a citywide cleanup in Hoboken, a “Take Back the Night” march; and the collection of prom dresses for students of Hoboken High School which also benefited Suits for Success.
The Boys & Girls’ Club summer camp, Ms. Tripucka said, was sponsored by Hudson County and CASA (Court Ap pointed Children’s Advocate).
The local “Take Back the Night” march, held on April 18, was organized by the City of Hoboken, Stevens Institute of Technology and CarePoint Health to combat sexual and domestic violence in all its forms.” Participants walked from the campus of Stevens Institute to Pier A, where they held a candlelight vigil for victims of sexual and domestic abuse.
In a Prom Prep Rally Fundraiser and Dress Drive on April 28, Hoboken Girl provided bridesmaids’ dresses, gowns and other formal wear to girls in need at Hoboken High School, with girls receiving dresses at a cost of $5.00 per dress and formal jewelry at $3.00 per item. With more than 1,000 dresses having been donated, those not needed were donated to Suits for Success, an organization which provides unemployed people with a suit to wear during a job interview and which also teaches them how to sit for an interview with a prospective employer.
Ms. Tripucka also spoke of the Hoboken Wellness Crawl that is planned for Sunday, June 4.
With sixty businesses participating, Ms. Tripucka said, participants will visit approximately 35 “wellness stops” both in Hoboken and Jersey City, where they will receive advice from “health-focused” companies, samples of healthy juices, granola and other “healthy treats” and in which they will visit physical fitness studios. The program, which will begin at 11:00 a.m. and continue until 4:00 p.m. that afternoon, will cost $20.00 per person.