An April fire at the Voorhees Town Center not only damaged the former Echelon Mall, but has also brought attention to deterioration that has impacted businesses and nonprofits based there.
Among them is the Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation (ARVF), which has provided comfort and support to hospitalized teens for more than two decades. The foundation’s president and co-founder, Gisele DiNatale – whose daughter Alicia’s death from cancer in 2002 inspired the nonprofit – said the situation has severely interrupted its work.
The nonprofit had to briefly evacuate, and like other tenants, has not been able to return. Its Teen Kit program has been paused indefinitely, which means some sick adolescents will go without the comfort those kits provide.
“The fire caused smoke and soot damage, and we lost some of our inventory,” DiNatale said. ” … We’ve had to halt the Teen Kit program, which means over 500, maybe even 1,000 teens, won’t receive a backpack when they’re admitted to the hospital.
“It’s been heartbreaking.”
The foundation has operated out of the Town Center for over a decade, distributing more than 2,000 of the its kits each year to hospitalized teens battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. They are filled by voluneers with pillows, shirts, and arts-and-crafts supplies.
The fire, explained DiNatale, magnified the decline of about five years in the center’s condition, a situation she believes contributed to the blaze.
“ … We’ve seen a dramatic drop in the maintenance and safety of the building,” she said. . “Escalators and elevators stopped working, which made it impossible for handicapped visitors to access certain parts of the mall, and security was reduced, making it unsafe to walk through the mall at night.
“It wasn’t a surprise when the fire happened.”
The township fire department deemed the building’s interior unsafe after the fire, and according to DiNatale, the building’s sprinkler system remains faulty. She and her team have been forced to work from her home, where four computers now crowd the dining room table and calls have to go to DiNatale’s personal cell phone.
“It’s been a logistical and financial nightmare,” she acknowledged. “Running an entire foundation out of a home office is not sustainable in the long term. We can’t receive UPS mailings, and we’re operating without the proper office tools like printers.
“It’s really taken a toll on our operations.”
One of the most disheartening aspects of the situation, DiNatale maintains, has been the lack of support from the building’s owner and local officials to help displaced tenants return to their offices.
“ … The entire building looks like it’s condemned,” she pointed out, “with vandalized windows and doors. It’s an eyesore, and it’s right across from an elementary school where parents come to pick up their children.
“The mall used to be vibrant, with people walking through the halls, but now it’s a shadow of its former self.”
DiNatale and her husband Mario are now exploring other office options, even as leaving the center will come with its own set of challenges.
“Our lease was grandfathered in when the new owners took over, but now we’ll have to compete with much higher rental prices in the area,” she pointed out. “Finding a new home for the foundation is going to be a major financial hurdle for us.”
Despite the issues, DiNatale remains optimistic about the foundation’s future.
“We started 22 years ago in very humble beginnings,” she recounted. “We worked out of our basement and housed our Teen Kit program in a storage unit. While this has been a difficult time, our loyal supporters and volunteers have been amazing, and I know we’ll find a way to rebuild.
“This experience has been a setback, but it’s also shown us how strong our community of supporters is. We’re committed to continuing our mission to bring comfort and support to teens facing serious illnesses, no matter what.”
