NJ WOMEN Award $200,000 in Grants To Help Poverty-Stricken

Morristown – November 13, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Impact100 Garden State, a Morristown- based women’s philanthropic organization, awarded over $200,000 in grants to the Head Start Community Program of Morris County and the New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC) to support programs that help the elderly poor, disenfranchised young adults, and pre-school children from low-income families. Impact 100’s 204 members voted to award each organization a $102,000 grant at its annual members meeting on November 4 at the Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge. The organizations were selected from over 75 nonprofit applicants.

The Impact 100 grant will fund NJCDC’s FreePair Paterson Program, which will combat poverty in Paterson’s Great Falls neighborhood. “The program will help to bridge the gap between two generations — youth ages 16-24 who have dropped out of high school, and the elderly and disabled living in poverty, “ explains NJCDC Vice President of Development Seth Friedman. These youths will be given the opportunity to obtain their GED and a vocational certificate in construction, receiving on-the-job training repairing the homes of some 500 elderly and disabled homeowners or renters who cannot afford to make the repairs themselves. All repairs will be made under the strict supervision and guidance of a Construction Instructor.

““The young adults who will participate in the new FreePair Paterson program have been unable to finish high school for reasons that were often out of their control. They have been victims of poverty, crime, abuse and homelessness, “ emphasizes Vicky Hernandez, NJCDC’s Chief Program Officer. “The Impact 100 grant will give these young adults a second chance to become employable, self- sufficient adults.”