About   Neighbors-helping-Neighbors USA

The NHN mission is simple yet powerful: to help individuals navigate their career journey with confidence and clarity. We believe in leveraging cutting-edge AI tools, personalized guidance, and a supportive community to empower job seekers and professionals to achieve their goals. Our commitment is to provide resources, insights, and opportunities that make career advancement accessible, strategic, and impactful for everyone.
                                                                                                               AskProfessorJohn
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NhNUSA Culture Framework

Mission

NhNUSA is a network of volunteer peer support one-on-one mentoring, virtual meetings, virtual events, and partnerships that follow a community-based approach to help under-employed and unemployed residents get back to work. NhNUSA embraces a ‘pay it forward’ ethos, asking all associates to contribute to other members by sharing job search techniques, related professional career development resources, personal referrals and generally providing a forum where members feel empowered, energized, and focused on the job search.

Goals

• Provide compassionate, nonjudgmental support to members through networking, coaching, leadership experience, and camaraderie.
• Partner with community business leaders and organizations to match members with job openings and volunteer and/or paid consulting opportunities.
• Expand network reach throughout local communities where there is a need and interest in the New York-New Jersey metro, across the United States, and through partnerships internationally.

Core Behaviors

• Be positive in approach and encourage others to remain positive when facing the inherent challenges of the job search.
• Be compassionate and firm, as needed, to maintain a productive meeting atmosphere and consistent results orientation.
• Be active in respective hometowns and communities by developing the group and its role in each community.
• Take the extra step to help members by sharing personal network and job leads.
• Report your success story to help others stay motivated as they helped you to do.

Core Values

• Compassion: Showing genuine concern and care for the suffering and well-being of others.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings and perspectives of others.
• Kindness: Acting with warmth, generosity, and consideration towards others.
• Respect: Valuing others' rights, feelings, and traditions, and treating them with dignity.
• Teamwork: Collaborating effectively with others to achieve common goals.
• Selflessness: Putting the needs and interests of others before your own.
• Paying it forward: Performing acts of kindness for others without expecting anything in return, with the hope that they will continue the cycle of goodwill by helping others in the future.

Organizational Culture Statement

At Neighbors-Helping-Neighbors USA, our culture is rooted in compassion, empathy, and community-driven support. We believe in the power of paying it forward, where every member contributes to the success of others through shared knowledge, encouragement, and accountability.

Our environment fosters positivity, respect, and teamwork, ensuring that members feel empowered, energized, and focused on achieving their career goals. We embrace diversity, inclusion, and selflessness, creating a safe, nonjudgmental space for collaboration and growth.

NhNUSA thrives on volunteerism and active engagement, encouraging members to take the extra step—whether by sharing personal networks, job leads, or success stories—to inspire and motivate others. We value continuous learning, adaptability, and leadership development, partnering with communities and organizations to expand opportunities locally and globally.
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Above all, our culture reflects a simple truth: people helping people—with kindness, respect, and a shared commitment to building stronger communities through mutual support.​

Founders Message

When I started Neighbors-helping-Neighbors in River Edge Library back on January 27, 2011, it was very evident to me that working on a job search alone was not the best way to be able to be successful at it. And I learned from talking and networking with a lot of people I would see around town that there were many people that were in the same situation as me. As I got to know some of them, it was evident that these people all had very strong resumes, great work history, a solid education, and a strong desire and motivation to succeed at their Job search. It was not their fault they were not finding success.

As the economy and job market were in the most difficult position that it has ever been historically, and the number of jobs available were truly far below the people who needed them. The idea of a locally based group led by peers who were not career professionals seemed to make sense. I did talk to professionals for some guidance, and weekly meetings to create accountability was suggested buy several that I had asked for advice from.  In the first few meetings we had a small group of members who were seasoned network meeting attendees, and they helped build the weekly meeting agenda.  Each week this small group of people would  help each other with suggestions, advice, honest feedback, networking ideas, and the support of all the members. This room filled of people all in the same situation needing a job, helping each other just proved to be providing that something extra that they all seemed to need to make a difference to assist with landing a job.

The benefit of this weekly group was the very strong support each member provided to everyone in the group, and that by attending these meetings there was a strong accountability to themselves and each member who would be in attendance. We are a pay-it-forward concept which means we expect members to give of themselves their advice, open their network to all in our group. We offer all our weekly meetings for free no cost and have a few expectations of every member in return for our efforts. We need everyone to be positive not only at meetings but in their own life, as our mission is to coach and help people to land jobs. We know that one must be positive at all times when working on this process. And we ask that all members accept the concepts, format and approach to our meetings of our group and take the steps to act on all information and advice provided by the members.

We have created an amazing success rate of job landings, and this can only be done by the members owning their job search and working very hard and smart at it.  We have no interest in trying to become similar to the many other networking groups that exist as we have found our niche and we have found a niche that was not being provided. Our group is powerful as we have the accumulated knowledge and experience of all our members, and our members are very special people and highly talented and motivated. We do not do it for you, hold hands, or spoon feed our members we ask that they own their job search and this process. We are very proud of what we have accomplished in such a short time, we know that we could not have accomplished any of this were it not for our facilitators, volunteer leaders and each and every member who has accepted our concept and apply it every day. We have aggressive expansion desires as we know what we do and what the strengths of this group are, that we can help anyone who is interested and motivated.

Please read our success stories where our members tell you how we helped.
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​Partner with helping-Brands

NhN Operating model 

The Neighbors-helping-Neighbors (NhN) has changed its operating model from virtual meetings, face to face meeting to a one-on-one mentor/coach model.

​Our leaders and others who volunteer and are vetted by founder will offer one on one sessions with our membership information and a large amounts of resources for NhNUSA may be found at www.nhnusa.org. There is both a registration for members needing help, along with a registration for applying to be a coach/mentor.  Please feel free to use the free career resources on this site and join their Linked-In group.  

Neighbors-helping-Neighbors USA   www.nhnusa.org founded on January 27,2011,
​is supported by an award winning web portal site, LinkedIn group, 
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3892534/ Facebook group and a large network of members and volunteer leaders built over the past 15 years. 

The Story Behind Neighbors-Helping-Neighbors USA
In 2011, I had fallen on hard times financially and was forced to move my wife and three boys back into the house where I grew up in River Edge, New Jersey. That home held deep memories—especially of becoming the head of the household at age 15 after my father passed away suddenly from a heart attack.

Right after Christmas that year, a series of heavy snowstorms hit, leaving everyone stuck indoors. As I looked out the window during one of those storms, I saw my neighbor Nick using his snow blower to clear the driveway of Ruth, a 96-year-old woman, and then helping a young couple expecting their first child. That simple act of kindness struck me deeply.

It brought back vivid memories from my childhood—when I was 12 years old, my father had bought the first Toro snow blower on our block. After every storm, it was my job to clear our driveway and sidewalks, and then plow all the way down the block to help two older couples who were friends of my parents. Helping neighbors was just what we did.

At that time in 2011, I was unemployed and at the lowest point in my life. Yet, I was constantly amazed by the kindness of others—friends, neighbors, and even strangers—who helped my family in ways big and small. One Christmas, someone anonymously left a beautiful gift basket on our doorstep. I still wish I could thank them today.

As I watched Nick clearing snow that day, the idea for a job search support group was already forming in my mind. Seeing him help others made the name obvious: “Neighbors helping Neighbors.” It perfectly captured what I had witnessed that day—and what I had done 43 years earlier on the same block.

My oldest son, Matthew, designed the first logo, and I printed flyers to post at the River Edge Library. From that simple beginning, Neighbors-helping-Neighbors USA grew into a volunteer-driven network dedicated to helping people through tough times—just like neighbors helping neighbors

How NhN was named

​I had fallen on hard times financially, and I was forced to move my family wife and three boys into the house with my mother where I grew up. 
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I grew up on Berkeley Road in River Edge, the house where I became the head of the household at 15 after my father died of a sudden heart attack.

Right after Christmas and into January 2011, we had lots of large snowstorms which forced everyone to be stuck indoors. It brought back vivid memories of when I was 12 years old and my father was the first one on the block to buy a Toro Power handle snow blower.

My parents had two older couples who were friends of theirs on the block - the Wiesemans and the Tewes - neither had any children. One was on the end of our block on the corner of 5th and Berkeley and the other one lived 4 houses down in the other direction both on our side of the street. Every time it snowed, it was my job to clean our driveway and sidewalks and then snowplow all the way down the block in each direction and also plow their driveways.

So during a January 2011 snowstorm, I looked out our living room window to the house across the street and saw Nick using his powerful snow blower to plow the house of Ruth, a 96 year old, and the house of a young couple who were pregnant with their first child.

As a job seeker living in River Edge, what constantly amazed me was how some friends, neighbors, and even total strangers did things to help me and my family, and in some cases did things anonymously. For Christmas, someone left a wonderful gift basket of holiday items on our doorstep without a card attached. I wish that I could call them today to tell them how much that meant.

Despite being at the lowest point and unemployed, I was thinking about starting a job search group. Watching the snow blowing made it obvious what it should be called:  “Neighbors-helping-Neighbors”. This is exactly what Nick was doing and exactly what I did 43 years ago on the same block.

My oldest son Matthew made up the logo and I printed up flyers to put up in River Edge library and St Peter the Apostle church.

Photo from USA Today article

USA Today Article

Matthew Fugazzie 2025

​NhNUSA founding Library
​River Edge Library ​
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​Opened January 27, 2011
to September 18, 2014

NhNUSA's longest Library Partner
Westwood Public Library
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Thanks to all our former meeting locations over the past 14 years

Westwood
Monmouth Co
Middletown
Women's Rights Info
​Fort Lee
Wayne
Cranford
Waldwick Library
Cresskill
Bergenfield
Oakland
Ridgewood
Fair Lawn
​Dumont
Lodi
Garfield
Hawthorne
Closter
Englewood
Maywood
Howell
Ringwood
​Wanaque
Lake Hiawatha
Maplewood
Mahwah
Warren Co Library
Monroe
Colts Neck
Cliffside Park
Emerson
Oradell
​Rockaway Twp.
​Sussex County
Norwestcap Phillipsburg
Boston Public Library
Mt. Pleasant Wash. DC
ProNet-Orlando FL
Microsoft store Boston
Microsoft Store Bridgewater
Microsoft Store Virginia
Microsoft Store San Diego
Montclair State Univ.
Rutgers Business School MBA
Career Connections
​Cresskill Library
​Raritan Valley CC
​Hudson County CC
Community College of Morris
Bergen Community College
​Hudson County One Stop
Berkeley College - Marcal