Families and the Deptford and Mantua communities are welcome to go to the Mantua VFW Post 7679 for the inaugural Joseph Azzinaro scholarship fundraiser on April 28 at 2 p.m.
The fundraiser was created by Azzinaro’s loved ones, Karen and Scott Morrow, wife Charisse and sister Kathy Azzinaro-Dewitt, to name a few, to raise money for the scholarship through admission, raffles and Chinese silent auctions.
Admission to the event is $20, all proceeds go to the Joseph Azzinaro Memorial Scholarship Foundation. The Mantua VFW is located at 8 New York Ave, in Mantua.
“[My husband Scott] coached Joey in midget football and he had an idea to start the scholarship in his name,” said Karen. “We contacted the family to get permission to do that and they thought it would be a great idea. We started it last year, and it will be the first annual fundraising event to continue the scholarship.”
The scholarship, she added, benefits a Deptford Township High School student who exemplifies the qualities Azzinaro had, and interacts well in the school and the community.
“There will be a few names proposed by the faculty at the high school, and the students who embody the values that Joey lived by, hard work, dedication, ethical qualities that we admire most in Joey,” said Karen.
The students’ names are then given to Azzinaro family members and they decide who receives the scholarship. She added while Azzinaro was heavily involved in DTHS’s football program, the scholarship isn’t based on one’s participation in a sport.
“He was kind, generous, and forgiving and knew that if you worked hard, you could obtain any goal, and so those qualities will be considered for the scholarship,” she added.
She went on to say he is remembered as being a hard worker and a family man loved by many who always found time for others, and who would “have friendly debates with his nephew.”
“Joey was an all-around wonderful man,” said Karen. “He had two beautiful daughters and he passed through a work-related accident. He was on scaffolding and it gave away and he fell from it. It was about four-stories fall.”
Karen added a former teammate of his who coaches at Seneca High School created an award in memory of Azzinaro and gives it out to “the teammate that shows the most hard-working effort.”
Karen said they will be selling “Joey Azz” hats for $20 and auctioning off items.
“Every single dime raise is going towards the scholarship and whatever minimal costs of putting on the event,” she added.
Funds are also raised through word-of-mouth, the Facebook page of Azzinaro, named after him, and through a bank account.
“In addition to honoring Joey’s memory, we will be making special note of the accomplishments of other people in our communities of Oak Valley, Pine Acres, Deptford and Woodbury Heights neighborhoods,” said Karen.
She added they’re ultimately promoting the tight-knit community that “gets together once a year to celebrate life and our accomplishments and those of our children.”
Donations can be sent via a check, made payable to “Joseph Azzinaro Memorial Scholarship Fund” The First National Bank of Elmer, P.O. Box 980, Main Street, Elmer, NJ 08318, ATTN: Elk Branch.
For more information about the event, visit Facebook.com and search “Joseph Azzinaro Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser.”
