Amidst all you are enduring right now, we are thankful that you have chosen to take a moment to explore our third issue of Princeton Perspectives. Our goal is to always take a closer look at what matters to Princeton, and today we believe it is the connections that are guiding us through each day.

When we were discussing topic ideas for this May issue about six weeks ago, I was very optimistic. We were just weeks into isolation and I thought for sure that by mid-May we’d be in a different place. While Princeton, NJ now allows golfing and use of state parks, we unfortunately haven’t yet come out the other side and we’re not sure when we will. Though it remains a difficult time for many, we’re hoping this issue of Princeton Perspectives can provide some morsels of hope.

One of the most enlightening videos I’ve seen over the past two months was of a former Soviet Union citizen who was imprisoned in isolation for over 400 days. He shares his tips for quarantine, which he utilized to endure his own ordeal. He reminds us that right now we individually have little control about what the future holds. So instead of waiting for those plans to unfurl, we should fill each day with a plan that we can control. Read a book, clean a closet and enjoy our hobbies. He urges us to find reasons to laugh, as often as possible. Look for humor in the little things or find jokes online. And overall, he encourages everyone to feel your connection – remember you are not alone! In order for us each to endure today’s pandemic, mentally or physically, we must join with a bigger community to help us through. It’s this last bit of advice we’re exploring in this issue, Connections – What’s Gotten us Through and What Keeps us Going! There are different connections one can experience and a lot they can offer us. Princeton Perspectives is always here to try and keep you connected to our community!

Connecting the Best Parts of Princeton shows how with each other’s support, we will endure. Amazingly, our community has so many groups working together to help each other that we can’t mention them all. But it’s the connectedness of their goals that make it all possible and are making Princeton a better place right now.

Some are propelled to a better place through religious or spiritual practice. In Perspectives from the Pulpit we share the guidance and insights of local leaders as they navigate these unchartered times with their communities and congregations.

For most of us, our daily community these days is our immediate family. Family Connections: Weathering the Pandemic (for Parents, Older Teens and Young Adults) helps those whose household dynamic has shifted recently. If you have older children who had been off at college or living elsewhere and you have suddenly been propelled together again it can be exciting yet complex. Our expert’s column can shed some light.

And while we love our immediate family, there are often others our in our lives that help us feel whole. Those social meetings were suddenly cut off when we were told to stay home. But if you’re reading this magazine online, that means you have access to the internet via a phone, tablet or a computer. Take advantage of what those have to offer. I’ll admit, I’d never heard of Google Hangouts or Zoom before COVID-19, but they have become great everyday tools to help keep up with various networks of people. In The Power of Connecting in a Technological Time we share with you a glimpse of different local communities and how technology platforms are keeping them in touch.

Lastly, we bring you this month’s Pulse of Princeton. It’s a challenge to get a sense of how everyone is feeling when we can’t get close. But we appreciate those we could reach who shared their selfies with us. Check out this video to see how some in our area are staying connected during Spring 2020.

We know these times are tough, but we hope this issue reminds you to take hold of the little things and embrace your connections. Please stay safe, stay healthy and get excited for spring to turn to summer and the great outdoors to become even more accessible. We look forward to sharing ways to experience our beautiful Princeton community’s Natural Wonders in our June issue.

Lisa Jacknow

Lisa Jacknow spent years working in national and local news in and around New York City before moving to Princeton. Working as both a TV producer and news reporter, Lisa came to this area to focus on the local news of Mercer County at WZBN-TV. In recent years, she got immersed in the Princeton community by serving leadership roles at local schools in addition to volunteering for other local non-profits. In her free time, Lisa loves to spend time with her family, play tennis, sing and play the piano. A graduate of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Lisa was raised just north of Boston, Massachusetts but has lived in the tri-state area since college. She is excited to be Editor and head writer for Princeton Perspectives!

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell once crooned, “go round and round and round in the circle game.” Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s the interconnectedness of people, groups and businesses that’s keeping things going round and round in Princeton.

In a strong market economy, a typical circular flow model demonstrates the movement of money between the household sector and the business sector. It is fueled as money and goods are exchanged when locals enjoy a meal at neighborhood restaurants or customers shop at their favorite stores. Instead of focusing on a flourishing economy, however, today’s circular flow model demonstrates individuals financially supporting businesses to cover the cost of a meal or goods for others, not for themselves. The business sector, instead of focusing on making a profit, is focusing on making ends meet and trying to keep its staff employed. And the workers are doing all they can to keep our society going by saving lives in hospitals, stocking shelves in supermarkets and providing services, food and products people need. It’s a stripped-down circular model and demonstrating the best society has to offer.

Some models are simply paying it forward (purely donations and volunteerism) while others are buy-one, give-one (paying it forward and getting something for yourself as well). Some support small businesses and others communities-at-large. But all are sustaining each other, connecting together.

Penn Medicine Princeton Health doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, medical technicians and other employees have been working tirelessly to help patients afflicted with COVID-19. Earlier this month our local citizens, the hospital and nearby restaurants came full circle to help the hospital workers, through the Healthcare Heroes Fund. Recognizing the need to sustain their staff and assist them once they leave the medical sites, Princeton Health connected with restaurants to create meals for two, to go, enabling every employee to go home with dinner at the end of their shift. Launched in mid-April, the fund sought donations with a goal of raising $150,000. Through the generosity of our community, that goal was recently surpassed. The circle goes round and round…donations come in, restaurant workers get to keep their jobs and create meals and the dinners sustain the healthcare workers (and give them a break) so they can come back to the hospital and save more lives. Since Healthcare for Heroes began handing out meals on May 2^nd, more than 2,900 have been taken home.

Lunch bags have also been going to frontline workers at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the Police, Fire and Rescue in Princeton and S. Brunswick,  Princeton Care Center and to help Homefront. The food and delivery from downtown’s Princeton Soup and Sandwich is supported by a GoFundMe campaign set up by owner Lisa Ruddy and her daughter, Alex. It started with their landlord, Palmer Square Management, wanting to send food to the hospital. But Ruddy sensed the community might want to continue the meals.

“We said, let’s just put it out there and see. We posted it and the generosity of people was just overwhelming. Within the first week there were $10,000 in donations,” shared Ruddy. To date, the campaign has raised over $15,000, though it needs more to continue.

“We would like to keep it going. People want a quick easy way they can help and for us it’s keeping the lights on and keeping us going, so it’s a win-win.”

In addition to the more than 1500 lunches Ruddy and her staff have bagged, they’re now also one of several Princeton establishments to join the Mr. Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project, a movement launched by Blair Miller amid COVID-19.

Through donations and a “buy one for you, buy one for your neighbor” model, the circle keeps going round as shoppers at McCaffreys and 14 other Princeton establishments can purchase their groceries, restaurant meal or goods and pay for more to be donated to the Mr. Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project. The meals and goods are collected and made available to local residents at Studio Hillier on Witherspoon Street three times a week.

Restaurants connecting to their community to help those less fortunate has also become possible through Share My Meals. The not-for-profit organization launched in January as a means to fight food insecurity in our area and prevent food waste. It brought excess food from Princeton University Eating Clubs and local companies to those in need. Just as they were getting off the ground, their partner sites closed, and they quickly shifted gears. Princeton establishments La Mezzaluna and The Meeting House approached Share My Meals looking for a way to keep some staff working, use up their perishable food inventory and help the nearby community in need.

Together they started preparing and delivering trays to their food insecure neighbors. And thanks to early financial support from generous donors, Share My Meals has continued the circular flow, covering the food and basic staff costs. The organization has quickly grown to 25 volunteers who hand-deliver 75 food trays daily to the doorsteps of families. Stanislas Berteloot, a member of the Share My Meals Board of Trustees, says he and many of the volunteers never knew they had so many neighbors struggling to put food on the table.

“Share my Meals, by bringing more privileged people together with less privileged, starts to build a bridge between those communities,” explains Berteloot. “It’s exceptional to have the opportunity to bring about change, to help people communicate with each other.”

Many who once were financially secure are now finding themselves struggling. To meet the demand for meals, Share My Meals is seeking additional funding and had to partner with another restaurant. Trattoria Procaccini is now on board, and each restaurant is preparing 100 meals a day.

The benefits of partnering with the organization came full circle because Get Forky, the restaurant group that owns Trattoria Procaccini, was able to rehire some of its serving staff to help with deliveries and phone orders and maintain most of the kitchen staff on a rotating basis.

“This program can feed my guys,” states co-owner John Procaccini. “Not only are we feeding the needy but by keeping them on staff, I’m feeding my employees who I hope to retain on the other side of this thing.”

The circles around Princeton are also inter-connected beyond food. jaZams book and toy store has had many customers helping it fund and support causes around town.

“It’s always been part of our mission at jaZams to think about not only our business and employees but the community that provides us with support,” says jaZams Co-owner Dean Smith.

In the past two weeks, its customers have taken advantage of the buy-one-give-one opportunity to get books for their home and purchase another for the Mr. Rogers’ Neighbors Kindness Project. More than 50 books have been donated so far. The store itself, thanks to kick-off funding from a donor, has also provided all children on the Free & Reduced Lunch Program at Johnson Park Elementary and some at Community Park Elementary (CP) with books hand-picked by their school librarians. More than 100 children have benefitted so far, and this week jaZams is making plans to deliver books to the remaining population at CP. It’s also partnered with Labyrinth Books. Together, and with continued donations, they plan to provide a book to all qualifying students at John Witherspoon Middle School. At a time when library books are not easily accessible, their goal is to complete the other Princeton Public School elementary schools and the high school as well.

“There are people really suffering from the disease, but also suffering profoundly economically, psychologically, and socially. We’re just trying to figure out ways of connecting with those people in a way that we can’t without our doors open,” shares Smith.

The store and its customers are additionally circling round to benefit neighbors through the “5for5” program. A spin on the “buy one for you and another for a neighbor” approach, this option at checkout allows a customer to get some relief with a 5% discount off their order which jaZams then matches with a 5% donation to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK). As of May 5^th, over $600 has been raised for TASK.

The amazing thing about this circular flow model, is that in times like these we’re also seeing people entrenched in struggling communities circling around to help their own. Princeton High School graduate and Witherspoon/Jackson resident, known as K.P., is grateful for the numerous organizations working to help provide food and tend to the basic needs of many of her neighbors. She wanted to do what she could to also ensure their safety and has been sewing morning until night creating masks. She’s sewn 100s so far! Her masks, as well as those created through drives like The Arts Council of Princeton’s Sew Many Masks are helping. To assist in distributing them, she turns to Lilliana Morenilla, a tireless advocate as a leader with Share My Meals and the Princeton Mobile Food Pantry who works as Princeton Public Schools Community Outreach K-12. She checks in virtually every day to ensure her students have practiced trumpet, gone to their art class and completed their daily remote schooling. Then she ensures what many take for granted, that they and their families are protected from COVID-19.

“After I know they have food and schooling, I make sure they are safe. I touch base and ensure they have a mask or have gloves,” shares Morenilla.

When everyone has a desire to give and help, it’s easy for the circle to keep rotating. If you want to offer support, click on one of the links above or go to Princetoncovid.org for a more complete list of ways to help. It takes a lot of effort – mental, financial and physical – but in a community like Princeton, there is a natural flow that keeps us going round and round.

Lisa Jacknow

Lisa Jacknow spent years working in national and local news in and around New York City before moving to Princeton. Working as both a TV producer and news reporter, Lisa came to this area to focus on the local news of Mercer County at WZBN-TV. In recent years, she got immersed in the Princeton community by serving leadership roles at local schools in addition to volunteering for other local non-profits. In her free time, Lisa loves to spend time with her family, play tennis, sing and play the piano. A graduate of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Lisa was raised just north of Boston, Massachusetts but has lived in the tri-state area since college. She is excited to be Editor and head writer for Princeton Perspectives!

My son goes to sleepaway camp. This summer would be his sixth. For months we have been unsure whether camp would occur, whether it would be safe to send him or if we would even want to. With all the unknowns, his camp community has been there for us over the past two months. The camp staff knew everyone was at home and in need of human connectivity. Through weekly Friday night Instagram Live get-togethers, bi-weekly Zoom workouts or the Xbox NBA2k tournament for his age group, my son has been staying connected to Camp Bauercrest and his friends. And he’ll need it, as they just canceled the summer session.

The technological opportunities at our disposal have made this unique situation somewhat bearable. Like my son, other children are using it to be a part of their school, sports or religious groups and for adults, perhaps it’s allowed for local neighborhood camaraderie, keeping up with your morning workout group or enabling family reunions. The methods have changed from in-person to virtual, but over the past couple of months many have found these communal connections are what’s kept them going.

Staying connected is so important that in mid-April the state issued an Executive Order prohibiting all internet and phone carriers from terminating services for non-payment until the public health emergency has cleared. Whether one is going online and reading the most updated news sites, texting with friends and family on a phone or tablet or going “old school” by making a telephone call, these utilities have become the be-all, end-all of communicating during isolation. Those at home during the pandemic have also witnessed an amazing virtual journey connecting through video conferencing and meet-up platforms.

One never would have imagined Saturday nights, when most looked forward to a night out with others, could be fulfilled in cyberspace. Since isolation began, the opportunity to play cards online has become something Jessica Rubinstein and her husband look forward to. Hearts is a card game they have enjoyed playing with friends for years. They’d get together with their friends periodically, but the Trickster Cards app has changed all that.

“We actually play more often now that we’re in this quarantine than we do normally because it’s easier than finding time to get together,” shares Rubinstein. “We’re just not having dinner together like we used to.”

The app offers an opportunity to video conference while playing and also allows you to create your own private playing room. While the in-person interactions are missed, Rubinstein says it’s created a very genuine, fun experience and allows them to still have a fun night “out.”

For the school-age child, apps like House Party allow them to chat with friends or play virtual versions of traditional board games like Pictionary and Apples to Apples. Their schools are also working hard to create social contact. Dr. Patty Fagin, Head of School at Stuart Country Day, has been working with her staff to keep their school community connected while they teach and learn from home. Luckily, she says, they have always been a 1 to 1 Ipad and laptop school, so the children were already set up not just for academic learning but also to sustain social interactions.

“Today, if you look into any class and see the faces of 10 to 15 kids on Google Meet, seeing each other and talking to a faculty member, it makes a huge difference,” says Fagin.

In fact, today’s media platforms are allowing the show to go on, even if the curtain can’t go up. Google Meet recently provided an opportunity for Stuart students to host an evening instrumentalist performance and some Upper School students competed in a lip sync battle through a live Instagram takeover. For other interaction, some children have been working to rebuild the school on Minecraft so they can virtually hang out there. It’s a balancing act, doing so much via screens, but Fagin recognizes it is the main way for them to communicate with each other.

“The problem with this generation is if they’re not in a structured activity they’ll be on screens anyways doing something else that may not be as positive or safe,” she notes.

Across town, Littlebrook Elementary School is also trying to utilize technological advantages in a positive way for its students. Principal Luis Ramirez misses the days when he could see everyone around the building and physically going into classrooms to say hello. Instead, he pops into their classes on Zoom.

“The looks on their faces are priceless, I really miss them,” sighs Ramirez.

Traditions are a big part of his school community, so Littlebrook is working hard to maintain some. Though students can’t bring their parents to school to show off their artwork this spring, Ramirez insisted on a proper Art Show. The students have each created artistic replicas, interpretations with rainbows and other pieces throughout remote schooling with guidance from their art teacher, Mrs. Dell. This week, they were tasked with curating an art show from home. Students were asked to handmake an invitation, design a floor plan of their work and to display it throughout the house. The Art Show is now being shared for all Littlebrook families to enjoy via the Parent Teacher Organization’s Konstella App.

Later in the school year, Ramirez is hoping to virtually create another favorite elementary custom, field day.  It’s not the same as watching the children compete on fields together, but if they can coordinate a plan, he is thankful telecommunications advances like Zoom will allow them to stay connected through this experience.

If there’s one new word that will be coined from the technology that saved the day during the pandemic it will be “Zoom.” It’s become an acceptable verb, as people say “Let’s Zoom later!” the way “Google it” was coined as a research term years ago. And it’s no wonder, as the video-conferencing platform is said to have seen usage increase from 10 million to more than 300 million in the past three months. Though it was a reality for those that lived during the Spanish Flu, it’s nearly impossible for most of us to imagine getting through these times without having a smartphone, tablet or computer to connect us. Weekly friend Happy Hours, large birthday “gatherings” and more intimate catch-ups have all been made possible thanks to Zoom, Facetime and other applications like Microsoft Teams.

Rachel Lesser has a great reputation amongst friends for baking delicious homemade treats. She always shared her creations but had never thought to use video conferencing to teach others how to bake themselves. Home isolation changed that.

“A friend’s daughter wanted to learn how to make my chocolate chip cookies in quarantine. I taught her one day on Zoom and then it grew from there,” explains Lesser. “It’s fun to share my favorite sweet recipes with friends and their kids from all over.”

A week in advance she emails the necessary ingredients for all to add to their shopping lists but saves the step-by-step directions for the Saturday afternoon Zoom. One friend may overbake her cookies, another will learn her bundt pan isn’t actually non-stick, nonetheless friends from Princeton to Newtown, Westchester to Puerto Rico are baking together.

“It’s also nice to see everyone even if it is virtually. We talk, they ask questions and we all have sweet treats to share with our families,” Lesser adds.

Beyond the intimate moments, technology is allowing our hometown community to benefit via the internet, email and video opportunities keeping locals connected to others with similar interests, to what’s open around town, and to the latest news and information regarding COVID-19. One neighbor recently mentioned (from a social distance) that she had discovered a Drop-in and Knit group on Princetoncovid.org. So instead of knitting a scarf home alone, she joined a virtual social hour of knitting and sharing through the library.

Princetoncovid.org, a collaboration of Princeton Public Library, the Municipality of Princeton and Princeton Public Schools was conceptualized in just two days and launched on March 17, 2020 to keep everyone abreast. It’s been updated nearly every day since. Putting all of the resources and needed links in one place makes it easy for the public to learn about the myriad of local virtual activities and offerings, to reach out for help and stay on top of the most current rules and recommendations.

“We wanted to be as open and transparent as possible about sharing the data we are tracking about the number of positive cases and tests within Princeton and to explain why the restrictions that have been put in place are necessary,” shares Mayor Lempert. “Part of the challenge is keeping up with all the new information each day, and we wanted to make that easier for residents.”

Our local government has also been increasing its use of social media. Its accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pre-date the COVID-19 outbreak, but they have been important resources lately to update with COVID-related information, safety-tips and restrictions. The most current state and local information can also arrive each day to your inbox through Princeton’s Daily COVID-19 Update email created with Lempert and other municipal staff.

So much of our society has been physically shut down, but if you look for it, a lot remains virtually accessible. Whomever it is you seek to connect with, there’s probably a way to do it. So I challenge you to go online (when you’re done reading this issue!) and Google your favorite gym, you might be able to Zoom a class later today! Text your aunt and ask if she’s around to Facetime so you can see her smile. Create a Google Hangout with your college friends to share favorite Netflix shows and plan to watch that night, together (yes, you can do that, too!). We may be separated by space, but thankfully we have a means to stay connected.

Lisa Jacknow

Lisa Jacknow spent years working in national and local news in and around New York City before moving to Princeton. Working as both a TV producer and news reporter, Lisa came to this area to focus on the local news of Mercer County at WZBN-TV. In recent years, she got immersed in the Princeton community by serving leadership roles at local schools in addition to volunteering for other local non-profits. In her free time, Lisa loves to spend time with her family, play tennis, sing and play the piano. A graduate of the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Lisa was raised just north of Boston, Massachusetts but has lived in the tri-state area since college. She is excited to be Editor and head writer for Princeton Perspectives!