The Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy (RSCP), New Jersey’s first and only charitable pharmacy, celebrated National Pharmacy Week on October 22, 2026, with an Appreciation Breakfast and Awards Ceremony in Freehold. The event brought together 150 guests, honored six leaders in pharmacy and public service, and raised more than $45,000 to support the organization’s mission of providing free prescription medication to uninsured and underserved patients.
“One prescription filled is one life saved,” said Ritesh Shah, founder of the Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy.
Shah, a pharmacist and author of Pills to Purpose, founded RSCP with Asha Shah, who also volunteers as a pharmacist at the organization. Their mission is to ensure that people in New Jersey do not have to go without essential medication because they cannot afford it.
Since opening, RSCP has dispensed more than $3 million in free prescription medication to over 680 uninsured and underserved patients. The organization has established 10 community partnerships, while its volunteers have contributed more than 500 hours of service.
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, generating savings of more than $700,000. Nearly half a million dollars of those savings came from insulin and diabetes medication. In October, the Union County Commissioners awarded RSCP a grant to continue the partnership for another year.
During the celebration, Ritesh Shah and RSCP President Kunal Patel presented awards to six individuals recognized for their contributions to pharmacy, healthcare and public service. The honorees included Senator Raj Mukherji, a Marine Corps veteran and recipient of the New Jersey Pharmacists Association’s Mortar and Pestle Award; Senator Declan O’Scanlon, who worked with Senator Vin Gopal to secure $100,000 in state budget funding for RSCP; and Dr. Joseph Howe, deputy commissioner at the New Jersey Department of Education and RSCP president from 2023 to 2025.
The other honorees were Mahesh Shah, a pharmacist with more than four decades of experience and a former member of the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy; Steve Hendrickson, CEO of Aspire Health Pharmacy Services and a new RSCP board member; and 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 New Jersey’s 11th Legislative District. Keynote speaker Mark Ey, chief operating officer of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), also addressed the gathering. Both speakers highlighted the importance of RSCP’s work for patients who face financial barriers to obtaining medication.
During the event, RSCP presented a $5,000 donation to the NCPA. Mark Ey accepted the contribution alongside Sonja Pagniano, executive director of the NCPA Foundation.
The celebration concluded with a community-focused gesture. Each guest received a bag containing a blood pressure monitor and a handwritten note from an RSCP patient, written on a red paper heart. Guests were encouraged to use the monitors themselves or give them to someone in need, helping promote early detection of high blood pressure in the community.
The more than $45,000 raised during the event will support RSCP’s efforts to provide free medication to additional patients as the organization approaches its fifth anniversary in 2027.
Based in Red Bank, the Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy provides free prescription medication to uninsured and underserved patients. It also offers community health classes covering heart health, diabetes, cholesterol and nutrition. Through its medication assistance, community partnerships and educational programs, RSCP continues to work toward improving access to healthcare for people across New Jersey.
