MULLICA HILL — The law firm of Hoffman DiMuzio has allocated close to half a million dollars to its Gift of the Heart Community Scholarship Foundation. Each of the 21 high schools in Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem County has selected two students to receive a $1,000 scholarship for embodying the service ideals of the program. The scholarship recipients from Kingsway Regional High School are Julia Nocentino and Dalton Britner.
Most of Julia’s volunteer activities have revolved around her membership in her school’s student council. The council members have made fleece blankets for children in foster care, assisted in the Head Start program, set up an annual blood drive and encouraged fellow students to donate blood. As an executive board member of Students United for Respect and Equality, she has held collection drives for personal care products donated to women living in shelters.
Her community volunteer work has included the annual Harvest Gala, where students serve Thanksgiving dinner to senior citizens and spend the evening interacting with them. Julia finds this event brings joy and special memories to both the seniors and the students. She loves volunteering and is grateful for the opportunity to serve her community.
Since he was a child, Dalton has always been interested in helping others. During the summer of 2017, he was a volunteer counselor for the Gloucester County YMCA summer camp. He immediately took to this activity because of his desire to positively impact on the lives of young children. During the four-week program, he served as both a role model and friend to the campers and will never forget the bonds that he formed with many of the children.
He has also volunteered at the Kings Things Thrift Store in Swedesboro, where he helped to guide the customers through the store, carried food from the pantry to their cars and helped the owner to transition the store from summer to winter. Dalton found working in the food pantry to be especially inspiring and plans to continue to volunteer as means to bring smiles and comfort to others.
