The Mercer County Fund at the Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ) today announced its latest round of local grants in keeping with its 2013 focus on improving educational and job-training opportunities for middle school and high school age youth in the Trenton area.
The Fund was created in 1984 to distribute dollars bequeathed to CFNJ by donors to fight poverty and improve education in Mercer County. To date, the Fund has distributed more than $1.3 million in grant monies to Mercer County nonprofit organizations in line with the donors’ wishes.
This year’s grant recipients include:
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· Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer County – to fund the Joyce Kilmer School after-school mentoring program that provides academic support and socio-emotional development opportunities to vulnerable middle school children in Trenton.
· Kidsbridge, Inc. – to provide leadership seminars at the Trenton Teen Leadership Corps’ Summer Program that focus on teaching youth, their teachers, parents and guardians the value of working together to reduce bullying and victimization and increase respect for all persons.
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· Millhill Child & Family Development – to support Trenton PEERS (Performing, Education, and Entertaining about Responsible Strategies) in providing Trenton’s vulnerable youth with the information, skills, and support they need for a bright, self-directed future.
· NAMI Mercer – to support the Parents and Teachers as Allies program whose goals are to provide accurate information about mental illness, reduce stigma, and empower education professionals, parents and caregivers, making it more likely for early intervention.
· National Junior Tennis League of Trenton, Inc. – to provide opportunities and instruction to low-income youth in nutrition, education, and tennis as part of the Academic Creative Engagement (ACE) program.
· Passage Theatre – to support the State Street Project, an arts mentoring program for kids ages 8-18 in Trenton.
The Fund is led by an Advisory Board including Chairman James Caulfield and members Herbert K. Ames, Rev. Wayne Griffith, Sally Lane, the Honorable Phyllis Marchand, the Honorable Marvin Reed, Dr. Jane Rohlf, and Allen M. Silk, Esq.
About the Community Foundation of New Jersey
Established in 1979, the Community Foundation of New Jersey is an alliance of families, businesses and foundations that work together to create lasting differences in people's lives and communities. Our mission is to support charitable giving that is inspired by our donors, targeted at making our communities stronger, driven by creative solutions, and effective in achieving lasting change. Through a combination of Legacy Funds and Donor Advised Funds, the foundation has granted an average of more than $25 million each year to charitable organizations and currently stewards over $250 million in charitable assets for current needs and future challenges.
