RAINE annual auction fundraiser tomorrow Hazlet organization seeks to provide meals, toys to those in need BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer “We just want people to come out and enjoy themselves and in the process, they’ll be helping support our organization.” — Patti Dickens HAZLET — With a little ... OK, with a lot of help, Patti Dickens and her nonprofit organization, RAINE (Reaching All In Need Everyday) were able to assist nearly 200 people during the 2005 holiday season by providing meals and gifts to those in the Bayshore area who were less fortunate. With this year’s holiday season upon us, RAINE is looking to surpass last year’s numbers, and Dickens and her crew are looking for help. Tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Lakeside Manor, Route 36, RAINE will hold its only fundraiser for the year, a cocktail party, with tickets available at the door for $40, which includes open bar. There will also be an auction, featuring prizes such as tickets for the New York Rangers and the Stress Factory, a GPS, two flat-screen televisions and a few bicycles. There will also be a 50-50 raffle as part of the evening’s festivities. “I think it’s important for people to know that if they do win the 50-50 raffle, there’s no obligation to give it to RAINE,” Dickens said. “We just want people to come out and enjoy themselves and in the process, they’ll be helping support our organization.” Besides bringing in money, RAINE is also helping to bring in toys in conjunction with each of the township’s schools via toy drives, a staple of the organization since it first started. Another constant was Dickens’ presence on a full-time basis. Since she started working in New York last year, she is not around as much as she would like. Still, she realizes that there is no reason to think that the ship will go off course anytime soon. “It started out with just a few people doing so much of the work,” Dickens explained. “But by now, everybody is in on this. It’s really turned into a township thing. Right from the start, the enthusiasm hasn’t stopped. People feel comfortable by now because they know that we do good work.” Dickens said she was able to take off for the most of the month from her job at McMahon Medical Publishing so that she can help out as much as she can with RAINE’s list of activities, including Thursday night’s fundraiser and wrapping gifts next Monday through Thursday from 5-9 p.m. at Beers Street School so that they can be delivered to area children. For further information on the fundraiser or any other aspect of RAINE, call Dickens at (732) 995-8789.