Middlesex County Surrogate Among Russ Berrie Foundation Award Winners

Middlesex County Surrogate Kevin Hoagland was among 11 winners of the Russ Berrie Foundation Award For Making a Difference for his nonprofit dedicated to assisting people living with spinal cord injuries.

A collective $150,000 was awarded to the winners at a ceremony Wednesday afternoon to help fund the “good” they do in the community.

Winners from across the state were chosen from a pool of New Jersey residents nominated by their peers for being “unsung heroes” in the community.

“There is a very wonderful, dedicated committee that reviews all of the nominations we get, and the people who are finalists for the award each year come from all walks of life,” Angelica Berrie, who is President of the Russ Berrie Foundation on behalf of her late husband, said. “Russ had this idea to recognize people who are doing amazing things, but who aren’t getting the attention they deserve.”

According to a release from the Russ Berrie Foundation, Hoagland, who holds the office of the Middlesex County Surrogate, founded the Central Jersey Spinal Cord Association in 1987.

Hoagland was injured in an accident when he was 18-years-old, which put him in a wheelchair.

Hoagland said the Association is entirely volunteer-run, consisting of family, friends and people who the group has assisted in the past.

The Association's three main purposes are to raise money for spinal cord injury research, to financially assist people living with spinal cord injuries in ways such as making modifications to their houses or vehicles to assist their mobility, and to advocate for people with spinal cord injuries, Hoagland said.

The Association has two major fundraisers a year to fund their work - a golf outing in the summer and a banquet in the fall- but the $5,000 prize will likely be used in direct assistance to clients who need help, Hoagland said.

Since its formation, the Association has donated $1.5 million to various organizations assisting with spinal cord injury research.

At the sixteenth annual ceremony Wednesday afternoon at in Mahwah, eight finalists were awarded $5,000.

The top three winners were awarded cash prizes of $25, $35 and $50,000, all to be used to grow charities and organizations they founded.

For more information on the Central Jersey Spinal Cord Association, visit www.cjsca.net.