On April 26, 2002, Southern New Jersey Chapter organized an AT&T Cares event. It was to help the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield at the Monmouth Battlefield State Park.

The Friends of Monmouth Battlefiled is an all-volunteer organization involved in preserving and protecting the historic Monmouth Battlefield State Park. Volunteers from AT&T -- 26 active employees and 1 retiree -- helped to clean the Owl Haven, a building on the grounds of Monmouth Battlefield State Park. The team also painted park picnic tables, benches and Sign Posts, as well as prepared the Children's Play Area.

As Prasad Atluri, event organizor and 4A SJ Chapter Executive Board member, put it, "The park supervisor and the park employees are amazed with the amount and the quality of the work that was accomplished by our team on that day. Chuck Sary, the supervisor of the park, and the park employees are very appreciative of our work that day. As a team, we accomplished a great amount of work. As a team, we contributed 212 hours to the volunteer activity."

Paul Bette, point of contact for Friends of Monmouth Battlefield, provides the following information about Monmouth Battlefield State Park:

On June 28th, 1778, the Battle of Monmouth was fought here on these grounds. This battle proved to be a turning point in the American Revolution for after this battle, the Americans were able to stand toe to toe with the British on the field of battle, and eventually would defeat them at Yorktown, Virginia a few years later. The Battle of Monmouth was the largest cannon battle of the American Revolution and was the host to such notables as Molly Pitcher (heroine of the American Revolution), General George Washington, Lafayette, Von Steuben and others. Today the battlefield grounds are preserved as a state park with rolling hills, nature trails and picnic grounds. Due to the heat (over 100 degrees) more soldiers died of heat stroke than of actual wounds suffered in battle.

Located in the park is a visitor's center which houses a small museum along with restrooms, a snack bar and a gift shop. Each year, the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield coordinates the annual reenactment of the Battle of Monmouth during the last weekend in June. The Friends also run the gift shop, mans the Craig House and is involved in many activities which strive to preserve, protect, and accurately interpret what happened at the Battle of Monmouth. This is a volunteer organization and spends many hours making sure that the park gets its recognition and the public is educated as to the historical significance of what happened here.

Due to a lack of state funding, the park never has received the recognition it deserves and is in desperate need of help. There are a minimal amount of workers that actually staff the park and can always use our help!

— Winnie Wu