Senator Vin Gopal and NCPA’s Mark Ey join 150 guests to celebrate more than $3 million in free medications for underserved New Jersey patients
The Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy (RSCP), New Jersey’s first and only charitable pharmacy, celebrated National Pharmacy Week on Oct. 22, 2026. Its Appreciation Breakfast and Awards Ceremony at Aurum Events & Catering in Freehold, NJ, drew 150 guests.
Together, they honored six leaders in pharmacy and public service and raised more than $45,000 for RSCP’s mission: “One prescription filled is one life saved,” as Ritesh Shah, Founder, Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy says.
Shah, a pharmacist and author of Pills to Purpose, founded RSCP with Asha Shah, who also volunteers as a pharmacist there. Together, they built RSCP so that no one in New Jersey goes without medication because they cannot afford it.
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Since opening, RSCP has dispensed more than $3 million in free prescription medication to over 680 uninsured and underserved patients. It has built 10 community partnerships, and its volunteers have given more than 500 hours.
In Union County, RSCP works with the County’s Office of Health Management to deliver prescriptions two to three times a week. Since November 2023, the partnership has filled more than 5,200 prescriptions for over 100 patients, saving them more than $700,000. Nearly half a million dollars of that was insulin and diabetes medication. In October, the Union County Commissioners awarded RSCP a grant to continue the partnership for another year.
Ritesh Shah and RSCP President Kunal Patel presented awards to six honorees:
- Senator Raj Mukherji, Marine Corps veteran and recipient of the New Jersey Pharmacists
Association’s Mortar and Pestle Award
- Senator Declan O’Scanlon, who worked across the aisle with Senator Vin Gopal to secure
$100,000 in the state budget for RSCP
- Dr. Joseph Howe, Deputy Commissioner at the New Jersey Department of Education and RSCP President from 2023 to 2025
- Mahesh Shah, pharmacist for more than four decades and former member of the New Jersey
Board of Pharmacy
- Steve Hendrickson, CEO of Aspire Health Pharmacy Services and new RSCP board member
- Brian Oliveira, pharmacist and Executive Director of Garden State Pharmacy Owners, which represents more than 800 independent pharmacies
Hosted by Rob Relovsky and Rinal Patel, the program featured Senate Majority Whip Vin Gopal, who represents the 11th Legislative District. Keynote speaker Mark Ey, Chief Operating Officer of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), also addressed the room. Both spoke about the importance of RSCP’s work for New Jersey patients who cannot afford their medications.
During the program, RSCP presented a $5,000 check to NCPA. Mark Ey accepted it with Sonja Pagniano, Executive Director of the NCPA Foundation.
The morning closed with a gift for every guest: a bag holding a blood pressure monitor and a handwritten note from an RSCP patient, written on a red paper heart. For many RSCP patients, the medication they receive is lifesaving. Guests were asked to use their monitors or give them to someone in need, putting 150 chances to catch high blood pressure early into the community.
The more than $45,000 raised at the event will help RSCP provide free medication to more patients as it approaches its fifth anniversary in 2027. To donate or get involved, visit rscprx.org.