NEW MILFORD — When the coronavirus hit America, at first, no one knew what to do, how to react, and what to expect. As more news and information came to light regarding COVID-19, people knew to take precautions. Those immunocompromised and the elderly were especially at risk, causing much anxiety for them and their loved ones. This problem inspired New Milford resident Danielle LoPorto, 42, to spearhead the Facebook page “New Milford NJ Covid-19 Volunteer Group.”
Immediately upon meeting with LoPorto, she emitted an aura of warmth, exuberance, and enthusiasm. Sitting near a lily pond in her backyard, LoPorto leaned back comfortably in a chair by a fire pit.
“Giving back just comes naturally,” LoPorto said. “I just feel like that’s what people should do for one another.”
Growing Up
Although born and raised in Hudson County, LoPorto’s family emigrated to America in the 1950s from Southern Italy post WWII because of a lack of opportunity.
LoPorto’s mother was a teen mom and her father passed away when her mother was pregnant, so they lived with LoPorto’s grandparents who had a big influence on how she grew up.
“My grandmother was a very giving person,” LoPorto said with a smile. “I don’t know if it had to do with the fact that she lived through a war or just the way her parents raised her to be, but when I was little, she always opened her door to anybody in need.”
Growing up, her whole family worked in midtown Manhattan as “garmentos” – clothing manufacturers – and that was just a job LoPorto had briefly after college. During the summer, she would go to work with them to help out.
LoPorto went to the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU and studied international relations and child and adolescent development there. Today, she works at The Container Store and runs her own small business making all natural, essential oil based, non toxic body products like soap and deodorant. She decided to be a stay at home mom to her 4 kids and not pursue a career. Before the pandemic, she is usually a substitute teacher, a kickboxing instructor, and a vendor representative for various high end fragrance companies even though that is “the polar opposite” of her personal line.
LoPorto recounts how her grandmother always packed extra food in her purse since they’d always encounter the homeless. So, instead of giving the homeless money, she would give them food such as bananas, apples, and sandwiches.
English was not her grandmother’s first language so she remembers helping her with the bills as a young child recalling how her grandmother would always donate money to places such as Save the Children, and volunteer her time in nursing homes to go visit people who didn’t have anybody coming to visit them.
Giving back surrounded LoPorto constantly and this value was passed down to each generation of LoPorto’s family. Her mother was the same way, and while in school, LoPorto, tried to foster a feeling of community and community responsibility. So, when she was in sixth grade, LoPorto had to do 20 hours of community service every year whether it be at the Hoboken homeless shelter or reading stories to underprivileged children in daycare centers.
These experiences opened her eyes to situations that she might not have otherwise been aware of. This natural sense of leadership and compassion led her to create the “New Milford NJ Covid-19 Volunteer Group.” There are approximately 650 volunteers who discuss and provide assistance on the Facebook page for New Milford residents who are immunocompromised, elderly, and/or concerned about contracting the coronavirus.
Purpose Behind the Facebook Group
With approximately 16,000 residents living in New Milford, New Jersey, the idea behind the group was to help others, elderly and/or immunocompromised who felt too anxious to go out and was primarily for shopping and running errands. Not only did it keep them safe, it also helped to mitigate the spread of the virus by potentially limiting the exposure that people had.
“I’ve always known that Danielle has always been a compassionate person and has always gone out of her way to help others,” Mahala Kim, fellow New Milford resident said. “Seeing that when she made the Facebook group, it was no surprise…that’s the type of person she is.”
Of the approximately 16,000 people living there, 69.5 percent of them are White, 3.4% are Black or African American, 0.3% are American and Alaskan residents, 19.4% are Asian, 18.2% are Hispanic or Latino, and 2.6% residents are two or more races.
As a middle-class town with a median income of $91,000 and a substantial elderly population, this group would help people in town.
“I think we sort of encourage one another,” LoPorto said. “You see somebody doing something and you think “Hey, I want to be a part of that. How can I help that grow?” and then in exchange it kind of goes back and forth and more and more opportunities arise and it just becomes a thing.”
Challenges
LoPorto knew that as with everything in life, she would face challenges. For the 15 years she lived in New Milford, she had been involved many capacities, made friends and connections, and thought social media was the most effective way to reach the younger New Milford population.
However, making a Facebook page had its limitations because the population LoPorto really wanted to reach and protect was the elderly who made up a 15.8 percent of the town’s population.
LoPorto knew that technology was always a challenge for the elderly, so the Facebook page would be hard to reach them.
Reaching out to the initial younger group of volunteers, LoPorto asked volunteers to distribute flyers in a radius around their houses, put flyers in people’s mailboxes, and inform the residents to contact the email or phone number listed just so the elderly were aware that people were there for them.
According to LoPorto, it was a lot of word of mouth and door to door outreach. She was shocked with how many people in their 80’s and 90’s didn’t have a support network at all.
“They were so gracious, and they could not say thank you enough and wanted to tip us or pay us,” LoPorto said. “We were like no no no we just want to help and keep you safe and make sure that you have everything you need.”
Moving Forward
LoPorto spoke passionately about her town and has taken on another project. She has now created a Facebook freecycle page for the town. The freecycle page has approximately 1,000 members and is a place for New Milford residents to “give away items for free in an effort to give things new life and keep stuff out of the trash.”
Her philosophy is that everybody needs a hand in life and that is a part of being human.
“I think it’s important to recognize that every single person if they just put a little bit of themselves out there it would make such a big difference like I’m not doing anything special,” said LoPorto. “I do think the secret to saving the world is remembering that we are all interconnected, we are all human, no one makes it through life alone,”she added, “and at the end of the day being kind and compassionate and empathetic makes all the difference.”
