Hoboken's Women Are Making A Change

The idea to form Hoboken Women for Change originated when Bindya Bhalla and Stacy Mello went to a food drive for Haiti at the Housing Authority. They discovered that there was this community of women on the west side of town that was working for change, that neither Mello nor Bhalla had ever heard of. 

The same was true the other way around. When Bhalla and Mello mentioned the online Yahoo group "Hoboken Moms," which has a lot of members, members of the organization "West Side Women" didn't know what it was.

In an effort to work together and form a strong women's network, Bhalla and Mello (who are the wives of councilmen-at-large Ravinder Bhalla and David Mello) decided to found a new organization, that would take action, and work together with other women's groups.

"The purpose of our group is to bridge together the gap between women of different demographics," Bhalla said. 

Hoboken Women for Change is currently gearing up for its very first charity event, which will take place on Saturday, between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., at the Jubilee Center.

The event doesn't cost anything, Mello, 36, said—everything is volunteer-based. Food has been donated from local grocery stores. Pancake House Stacks is donating a pancake brunch. 

Tickets are $10 per family, and all the proceeds go toward relief efforts in Haiti. And although the cause is global, Bhalla emphasized the local aspect of the event. The reason why it's being held at the Jubilee Center is to alert people to a good cause right here in Hoboken. 

"We want to draw as many people as possible to the Jubilee Center," said Bhalla, 35. 

Saturday's event (which the colorful flyer describes as "A Day of Family Fun & Community Spirit for All") should be entertaining for children as well as adults, Mello said. 

Another goal is to acquaint children with the concept of donating, Bhalla said. All parents are encouraged to bring one of their children's books to donate to the Jubilee Center's library. "It makes kids feel good about themselves," Bhalla said, who had her daughter pick out two books to donate to the library.

Bhalla and Mello, who are friends as well as co-founders, said that currently the group has about 45 members, and an organizing committee of eight people. 

Mello said Hoboken Women for Change still needs more volunteers. It's unclear still when the group will meet, but it will be either monthly or twice a month, Bhalla said. 

The end goal of this initiative is to create a strong network of women who are active in the community. 

"That really hasn't been done here," Mello said. 

For more information, you can e-mail hobokenwomenforchange@gmail.com. The organization does not have a Web site yet, but you can join the Yahoo group Mello and Bhalla have created.