181 children receive free admittance to the NJ State Fair

Sussex County Farm and Horse Show Association Executive Board member Lois Pellow has spearheaded an initiative to provide free admittance to the New Jersey State Fair to 181 local, low-income children. Pellow teamed up with Project Self-Sufficiency to identify children in need who would enjoy a trip to the annual event hosted by the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta. In addition to the fair gate ticket, kids received a gift bag containing a meal voucher from the Agriculture Food Booth, an ice cream voucher from the 4-H Dairy Barn, and a ticket for a free ride from the carnival provided by Reithoffer Shows.

Pellow, who conceived of the idea as a way to honor her late sister Nancy Baginski, originally hoped to raise funds to allow 50 children to attend the fair, but the overwhelming support allowed that goal to more than triple.

“I wanted to do this in honor of my sister who passed away from COVID last year,” explained Pellow. “Part of the mission of the fairgrounds is to enhance educational experiences for children, but so many kids cannot attend the fair because of financial hardship. I immediately thought of Project Self-Sufficiency, and it has been a great partnership.”

“The fair is a quintessential Sussex County event, and we were delighted to be able to facilitate such a wonderful experience for these children who otherwise may not have been able to participate in this annual tradition,” commented Project Self-Sufficiency Executive Director Deborah Berry-Toon.

Project Self-Sufficiency is celebrating its 35th year of helping local families to become economically self-sufficient. To find out more about the programs and services available at Project Self-Sufficiency, call 973-940-3500, or visit projectselfsufficiency.org.