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The night features a four-course dinner and appetizer, with a performance by a world-renowned Latin orchestra and a deejay.
In addition to tricky-tray prizes valued up to $300, there will be a grand prize of a 55-inch TV.
Rosemarie D’Alessandro established the foundation in memory of her daughter, Joan, a 7-year-old Brownie Scout who was murdered by a neighbor.
The group frequently gives to worthy organizations that help youngsters, including the Passaic Teen Center and, more recently, the Father English Community Center in Paterson – an organization committed to the education and protection of underprivileged children.
“Her life and death inspired a movement to keep her killer in prison and spurred four law changes,” Rosemarie said recently. “Joan’s legacy is more alive today than it ever was. It is a force for good in today’s society.”
WHEN: 6:30 – 10:30 p.m. TONIGHT
WHERE: Seasons Restaurant, 644 Pascack Rd., Washington Township
DONATION: $70/person IF YOU CAN’T COME BUT WANT TO CONTRIBUTE, MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO:
The Joan Angela D’Alessandro Memorial Foundation, Inc. 45 Florence St., Hillsdale, NJ 07642
Joseph McGowan, a former high school science teacher, was convicted of raping and murdering Joan D’Alessandro on April 19th, 1973 (Holy Thursday), before dumping her body in Harriman State Park, where it was found on Easter.
McGowan lived three houses down in their Hillsdale neighborhood, and the youngster had come to his door looking to sell her last two boxes of cookies.
Her murder prompted the passage of Joan’s Law, signed by Gov. Christie Whitman in 1997 and by President Clinton in 1998. It mandates life in prison for the killing of children under 14 during a sex crime.
Because it was adopted after McGowan was sentenced, the law doesn’t apply to him. But he remains in prison for his crimes, having repeatedly been denied parole.
Meanwhile, Rosemarie D’Alessandro has made helping other parents and abused children her life’s mission.
“Inside I knew great things were going to come out of Joan’s life because of the special energy she had, and has, and the fact that she was found on Easter Sunday,” D’Alessandro told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.
Helping others, she said, “is why I was put on this earth.”
For more information, contact Rosemarie directly at 201.664.9140, email rosebd@email.com or go to Joansjoy.org.
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