Two Lawrence-Based Charities Receive Grants

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey.

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey announced the foundation’s first round of grants for 2012, awarding $2,171,000 to 19 organizations. The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey supports charitable organizations that promote health and the arts throughout New Jersey.

“The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey is proud to support organizations that share our mission to promote good health and improve the quality of life of residents throughout our state,” said Robert A. Marino, chairman of the board of directors of the foundation.

The foundation awarded the following 19 grants:

• ChoiceOne Pregnancy & Sexual Health Resource Centers in Lawrence Township received a grant of $25,000 to support its Optimal Health Program, a health literacy program for women of childbearing age.

• PEI Kids in Lawrence Township received a grant of $15,000 to support the depression component of the Crisis Intervention Program. The program provides depression screening and treatment for children ages 3 through 18 who are victims of sexual abuse, and provides education and support for family members and caregivers.

• CancerCare of New Jersey in Ridgewood received a grant of $35,000 to support its Education and Early Detection Program for Seniors in Ocean County. The program provides ten free workshops for residents over the age of 55 on breast, colon, skin and prostate cancer risks and detection. Participants diagnosed with cancer receive support services at no cost including help navigating the healthcare system, counseling, health information, referrals, education, and practical and financial assistance.

• Children’s Futures in Trenton received a grant of $50,000 to support its Health Education Literacy Project (HELP). The project examines health literacy gaps that affect a person’s health status, through communications, education and an outreach campaign that features a coalition of physicians, health care consumers, literacy groups, hospitals, social service agencies, educational institutions and pharmacies.

• Family & Community Services of Somerset County in Bound Brook received a grant of $16,000 to support its Clinical and Psychiatric Services for Depression Program. The program provides psychiatric services for economically-disadvantaged clients with depression.

• Garden State Philharmonic Symphony Society in Toms River received a general operating support grant of $20,000 to fund the costs associated with the 2012 season’s programming including artist fees, lecture events, free and reduced cost transportation for individuals from active adult and long-term care facilities, Fourth of July concert, and discounted or no cost ticket packages for local charities. The grant also provides help with capacity building, including establishing a technology plan, enhancements to the web site and ticketing system, and additions to ADA accessibility services.

• George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick received a grant of $100,000 to support its Obesity and Wellness Touring Theatre for “Austin the Unstoppable.” The grant funds a statewide school tour of the musical, reaching approximately 70 schools and 26,600 students, primarily in grades 4 through 8. The musical addresses obesity and wellness through a plotline where eleven-year-old Austin and his family face lifestyle challenges after Austin’s mother is diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

• Literacy Volunteers Association of Cape-Atlantic in Pleasantville received a grant of $25,000 to support its Health Literacy Outreach Program. The grant provides health literacy information to volunteer tutors who integrate the information into their tutoring lesson plans. It also provides health literacy workshops to health care professionals and residents of health care facilities.

• Main Street Counseling Services in West Orange received a grant of $25,000 to fund the continuation and expansion of its Defeating Childhood Depression Program. The grant provides depression screening, treatment and referral for economically disadvantaged, at-risk children at the Mount Vernon Elementary School and North Star Academy in Newark, Valley Settlement House in Orange, The Franklin Napier Academy in Paterson and the Center in West Orange. The Program is also being expanded to include an obesity prevention, intervention and referral component.

• New Jersey Hall of Fame in Newark created to honor citizens of New Jersey who have made invaluable contributions to society, received a grant of $25,000 to support the creation of a Mobile Museum to transport educational exhibitions to schools around the state. The Museum will provide 1,000 square feet of exhibition space to honor inductees and tell their life stories.

• New Jersey YMCA State Alliance in Trenton received a second grant for $1,700,000 to support Healthy U Phase 2. Healthy U is a childhood obesity prevention program created by The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey in collaboration with the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance. It serves 18,000 children, ages 5-12, at 380 YMCA-operated after school sites. This grant funds the expansion of the program to serve 4,328 pre-school children, ages 3-5, at 79 licensed YMCA early childhood programs and 14,450 children, ages 6-12, at 50 elementary schools.

• Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, one of New Jersey’s oldest and most active arts and cultural institutions, received a grant of $15,000 to support the participation of Hudson County’s Bayonne High School in The Adopt-A-School Project. The Project provides high school students underserved by the arts with a four-year, school curriculum-related arts education program.

• The Princeton Festival in Princeton received a general operating support grant of $10,000 to fund the 2012 Princeton Festival Season and the Festival’s educational programming.

• Puerto Rican Family Institute in Jersey City received a grant of $35,000 to support The Diabetes, Mental Health and Weight Management Outreach Program. The program provides interactive health wellness and educational workshops for Latinos in Hudson County.

• Symphony in C in Camden received a general operating support grant of $20,000 to fund programs serving the state of New Jersey including its signature Musician Internship Program and its Music Matters Program comprised of Classroom Symphony, Concerts for Young People and Symphony Summer Camp.

• Two River Theater Company in Red Bank received a grant of $10,000 to support its Theater Access for Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program. The grant supports Theater Access programs for Monmouth and Ocean County residents. The programs offer large print playbills, sign interpretation, open captioning, audio description, assistive listening, wheelchair accessibility, and bus transportation for selected group fieldtrips to attend performances.

• Urban Healthcare Initiative Program in East Orange received a grant of $25,000 to support its Faith-Wellness Program. The grant supports a comprehensive, church-based, nurse practitioner-led interdisciplinary team approach to health education and health care based on increasing self-management of health. The Program serves African American and Hispanic residents, ages 18 and older, living in East Orange, Irvington, Orange and Newark through health lectures, health assessments, on-site primary care, medication assistance, case management and other services.

• Visual Arts Center of New Jersey in Summit dedicated exclusively to viewing, making, and learning about contemporary art, received a general operating support grant of $10,000 to fund its arts education program and exhibits that serve individuals of all ages.

• Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center in Millville received a grant of $10,000 to support the Glasstown Collective Education Program. The program includes: The GrowCreative Preschool Program, which gives free year-round museum access to teachers, students and their families from the Millville Child Family Center, a citywide preschool; The Glasstown Partnership, which provides glassmaking programs for City of Millville fourth graders; The Juvenile Justice Partnership Program, which provides an intensive arts and mentoring program to teen offenders; and Glasstown Field Trips for select Cumberland County schools.

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey promotes health, well-being, and quality of life across our state by supporting charitable organizations. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.horizonblue.com/foundation.