Community Foundation Awards $20,000 in Grants

Grants totaling $20,000 were presented by the Lawrence Township Community Foundation to 11 local philanthropic organizations during a reception held on Dec. 8 at the gallery.

"We are very lucky in Lawrence to have generous corporate angels – Bristol-Myers Squibb and Educational Testing Service – who support LTCF and enable us to provide funding to our nonprofit partners serving the needs of Lawrence residents,” said Jori Fahrenfeld, president of the community foundation.

The award recipients and the amounts they received are:

• Big Red Race $1,000
• The English School at Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church $2,000
• Project Freedom / Heart to Hearts $2,000
• Lawrenceville Main Street $1,000
• Lawrenceville Main Street Artists Network $1,000
• Lawrence Meals on Wheels $5,000
• NAMI Mercer $2,000
• People and Stories / Gente y Cuentos $1,000
• Prevention Education / PEI Kids $2,500
• Sustainable Lawrence $2,000
• Volunteer Connect $500.

Jeff Russo-Finley of Big Red Race said the grant will be a great help to that organization. "The Big Red Race is a community event on the campus," he said.  "There are a series of races for kids. Kids get to participate for free – they bring a canned food donation instead of an entry fee – and they all get a T-shirt and a medal. We're trying to promote physical fitness in kids."

The food donations generated by the race are forwarded to the Lawrence Community Center, which distributes the food to those in need in the township. The Big Red Race also includes a 5K event. "Monies raised from the 5K go to Camp for Kids, at the Delaware Water Gap," Russo-Finley said.

Next year’s Big Red Race will be held May 6.

Penny Ettinger of said that organization's grant award will be used in PEI's station house adjustment program.

"It's a diversion program for first-time offender kids who have committed relatively minor crimes, like shoplifting," she said.  "Sometimes good kids make poor choices. The station house program lasts six weeks for them, and it's built around improving skills in decision-making and communication."

PEI Kids’ many programs include counseling and other services to children who have been sexually abused, bullied or are at-risk. Those services are offered to the families of those children as well.

Thanking the LTCF for the grant to her organization, Sally Osner of the Mercer County chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) said the money will be used for NAMI's Just Kids program.

"It's a monthly activity for about 25 children we work with," she said.  "They come to Just Kids with their parents. There are outings, plays, sports, workshops and visits by artists. At NAMI, we want everyone affected by it to know that they're not alone in mental illness."

Liz Wilk of Heart to Hearts / Project Freedom said its grant award will be used to help programs devoted to helping people with disabilities create healthy lifestyles. "Nutrition talks, yoga and guest speakers on topics such as diabetes and cholesterol are part of what we do in that program," she said.

The Artists Network will use its grant over the next year to reach out to the Lawrence community in a series of fun-filled do-it-yourself art projects called Artists Trading Card (ATC) workshops.

“ATCs are miniature works of art the size of bubble-gum sports cards, 2½ by 3½ inches. They are created by drawing (pencils, pens, markers), painting (watercolor, acrylic paints), pasting (collage, found objects, metals, cloth) on a base.  The card artists then trade and exchange their creations introducing themselves and growing their relationships with other artists, art lovers, and friends,” said Bill Felder of the Artists Network.

“Because ATCs are so small, creating them is not intimidating. Everyone from expert to beginner can make them and can express their creativity,” he said. “Network Artists Linda Pickering and Denise Schwartz will guide the workshops to be held at the Lawrence Jubilee, the Senior Center, Eldridge Park Community Center, and at the Network Gallery.”

Prior to the grants being presented, participants and guests had the opportunity to mingle with one another and admire the Artists Network gallery and gift shop.

Pam Mount, a LTCF trustee, current township councilwoman and past township mayor, was enthusiastic about the Artists Network and its gallery, saying that they are "bringing new vitality to Lawrence" and that it was "fantastic to be able to support a local arts group."