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Staying in Contact Nonprofit Contact of Mercer to host virtual ‘Unsung Heroes’ gala on November 17 BY JOE EMANSKI
Gabe Abel averaging more than 10 yards per carry in the first three games of the Ewing High School football season. (Photo by Rich Fisher.)
Off-season workouts pay off for Abel, rest of Ewing High football Colleges showing interest in Blue Devils’ powerful running back BY RICH FISHER
Gabe Abel has to be credited for his honesty. The Ewing High senior doesn’t try to paint a well-sculptured, physical picture of himself as a youngster. “When I played for the Lawrence Cardinals (in the West Jersey Youth Football
League), they had me playing both ways on the line,” Abel said. “I was like fat, and like two feet tall. I didn’t start growing ’til my freshman year.” That spurt was fortuitous for the Blue Devils, as Abel has grown into a standout running back this season. Through a 2-1 start, Gabe was among the Colonial Valley Conference’s leading rushers with 434 yards and 5 touchdowns on just 43 attempts — which comes out to just over 10 yards per carry. His efforts helped Ewing double its win total from last year, when the Devils went
just 1-9. In his first year as varsity full-timer, Abel was the team’s leading rusher with 483 yards in a season cut short by a concussion he suffered early in a game against Cinnaminson, which forced him to miss the final two contests. “That was so frustrating,” Abel said. “I was so angry. That’s what drove me in the off season. It was tough (due to Covid-19). I had to get out on my own every day. I lifted on my own, lifted with my teammates, went to personal gyms, went out and ran, stayed in the crib and did body See ABEL, Page 14
Anyone who is having thoughts of suicide can call the Contact of Mercer County Crisis Hotline, (609) 8962120 or (609) 585-2244, or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, (800) 273-8255 (TALK). On New Year’s Eve 1975, Rev. George Morris of Trinity United Methodist Church Ewing and Rev. William R. McElwee of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Hamilton incorporated a new organization committed to helping people in crisis. Contact of Mercer County was one of a number of Contact centers that opened across the United States in the 1970’s. By May 1976, the pastors and a core group of volunteers had set up and staffed its confidential phone room with peopel who were trained to listen to callers and to help them get help when necessary. The hotline went live that month, and has been in operation ever since. Eleanor Letcher was among those who volunteered to help with the hotline after its launch. The Ewing resident took to the work immediately — and so much so that she became the organization’s executive director in 1980. Forty years later, that is still her title, and Contact of Mer-
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cer County is still providing those same services, as well as a number of others, to the people of Central New Jersey. For the past 10 years, the organization has been based at Pennington United Methodist Church. Like many nonprofit organizations in 2020, Contact of Mercer has had to change up the plans for its annual fundraising gala. On Friday, Nov. 13, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Contact will hold a virtual “Unsung Heroes Gala” online, honoring local people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to assist others during the Covid-19 pandemic. Actor Jill Whelan (Love Boat) will be mistress of ceremonies. “For more than 44 years, Contact of Mercer has been there for those who are in emotional turmoil, thinking about suicide, experiencing loneliness, or facing the challenges of mental illness,” said Pasquale Colavita, Jr., president of Contact’s board of directors, in a media release. “Our organization is vital to those in need of support and reassurance, and the gala is vitally important to us because the money we raise enables us the opportunity to assist even more individuals who are in crisis.” For more information about the gala, visit contactofmercer.org. *** Eleanor Letcher has lived in Ewing since 1968. She married her husband, David, about a week after she earned her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University’s DougSee CONTACT, Page 12
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