Donations Still Needed to Fund July 4th Fireworks Show

Lawrence Township’s annual Independence Day celebration is set to be held on Wednesday, July 4.

The only question now is how spectacular the fireworks display will be.

The entire event – including the fireworks, the concert that precedes the pyrotechnics, and the police officers on overtime who are needed for traffic and crowd control – will be paid for using donations and, thus far, only a little more than half of the targeted amount of $20,000 has been raised.

Lawrence Township Recreation Department Superintendent Steve Groeger on Tuesday said that he has until about a week before the event to inform D&M Fireworks, the Pennsylvania company that has put on the last few pyrotechnic displays for the township, how much money is available to be spent on firework shells.

“So we’ve got two or three more weeks that we can still generate revenue,” he said, explaining that $10,800 has so far been raised.

Independence Day fireworks have been a Lawrence Township tradition for the past 30 years or so. In 2010, the fireworks show was cancelled when funding was cut to help balance the municipal budget. Realizing that municipal funding was not going to be available for the fireworks again in 2011 either, .

That campaign was a success, raising nearly $18,000 last year. to enjoy a concert by the band Kindred Spirits that was followed by a .

This year’s event will again take place on the Rider University campus, with Kindred Spirits again performing from about 7 until 9:30 p.m., with the fireworks to follow, Groeger said.

“Right now, I’m still confident that we have the possibility of making the show a little bit bigger than last year, even if it’s only by a $1,000 or so,” Groeger said.

“I’d love to be able to put more money into the show. It would be nice if somebody walked in the door and said, ‘Here’s $50,000. Have a blast,’” he said. “But the key thing, I think, is if everybody just did a little bit… One dollar from every resident of Lawrence Township would be in excess of $30,000. We’d have one heck of a show for that and still be able to put some aside for [2013’s fireworks].”

The money that has so far been raised has come from a variety of sources, Groeger said.

Glow sticks were sold as a fundraiser at last year’s event and many attendees that night made donations. Several thousand dollars were raised by the second annual "” that was held on Labor Day last year.

“Our seniors have been very involved,” Groeger said, explaining that since last July $770 has been donated by members of the Lawrence Senior Center through a 50/50 raffle they conduct during their regular Friday Bingo games.

Just as Mayor Greg Puliti did last year, Mayor Jim Kownacki this year has been donating to the fireworks fund the $100 fee he receives for performing weddings. Since last July, a total of $2,100 in wedding fees has been donated, Groeger said.

Additional donations have come in by checks donated by residents and through spare change dropped in special canisters that are on display at delicatessens and restaurants around town.

In a letter posted on the township’s website, Groeger asks residents to consider making a donation to the fireworks fund.

Donations can be delivered in person to the recreation department in the municipal building or mailed to the recreation department at 2207 Lawrence Rd., Lawrence Township, N.J. 08648.

Checks should be made payable to Lawrence Township, with “Fireworks” noted in the check memo field.

Anyone with questions is urged to call the recreation department at (609) 844-7067.