Princeton Area Community Foundation awards more than $1.3 million to 40 local nonprofits ⋆ Princeton, NJ local news %

The Princeton Area Community Foundation has awarded more than $1.3 million in Community Impact Grants to 40 nonprofits working to strengthen communities, fight hunger and homelessness, and expand access to mental health care, education, and job training in the region.

The $1,309,614 in grants is funded by individuals, families, companies, and foundations, including Johnson & Johnson and the Burke Foundation.

“Our Community Impact Grants program allows us to support a wide range of nonprofits doing incredible work in our region,” said Mathieu Nelessen, president and CEO of the foundation. foundation. “Providing books to toddlers in daycare, tutoring for students, nutritious meals and emergency rental assistance to families, job training for young people, and case management support for seniors are just some of the ways these nonprofits are making a difference for our neighbors, and we are thrilled to help support these programs.”

Three of the grants were made in memory of longtime Community Foundation trustees: Dr. William Burks, Allen Porter, and John “Jack” Wallace, who all died earlier this year.

“Bill, Allen, and Jack dedicated years of their lives to volunteer service with our organization, as well as other nonprofits in the community,” Nelessen said. “We are thankful that we are able to honor their memories with these grants, supporting causes that were important to each of them.”

Grants by focus area

Community and capacity building

• BookSmiles — $5,000 for delivering books to local daycares.
• Center for Modern Aging – Princeton — $45,500 for free social services and benefits help for older adults.
• Hamilton Area YMCA — $60,000 for the Community Sports for All youth sports access program.
• Hearts and Homes Ministries Inc. — $10,000 for distributing essential household items to households in poverty.
• People & Stories / Gente y Cuentos — $8,100 for literacy programs in underserved communities.

Food security

• America’s Grow-a-Row — $10,000 for the Fresh Produce Initiative serving hunger relief partners.
• Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton — $12,500 for a greenhouse partnership with Snipes Farm to supply fresh produce.
• Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County — $50,000 for brick-and-mortar and mobile food pantries. (Grant in memory of former trustee and board treasurer Allen Porter.)
• Meals on Wheels of Mercer County — $25,000 for home-delivered, medically tailored meals for seniors.
• Mount Carmel Guild — $33,500 for the Community Support Program providing food and emergency financial aid.
• Send Hunger Packing Princeton — $25,000 for weekly produce distribution to families of schoolchildren.
• Share My Meals — $12,500 for expanding the Meal Recovery Program in Trenton.
• Snipes Farm and Education Center — $25,264 for Healthy Food Access for Trenton Families produce shares.
• Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) — $50,000 for expanding meal sites and food truck stops in Trenton’s food desert communities. (Grant in memory of founding board member and trustee emeritus John D. “Jack” Wallace.)

Homelessness and housing stability

• Anchor House — $50,000 for services for youth and young adults facing homelessness and housing insecurity.
• Arm In Arm — $50,000 for the One Family at a Time eviction prevention and housing stability program. (Grant in memory of trustee emeritus Dr. William P. Burks.)
• CASA for Children of Mercer & Burlington — $20,000 for advocacy for children in foster care.
• HomeFront — $50,000 for expanding shelter and support for families in crisis.
• Rescue Mission of Trenton — $30,000 for 24/7 emergency shelter services.

Mental health and youth support

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mercer County — $30,000 for one-to-one mentoring programs.
• PEI Kids — $26,000 for counseling for child and youth victims of sexual abuse and community violence.

Education and workforce development

• Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County — $6,250 for VR Teen Workforce Training.
• Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) — $12,500 for replacing a bus used for after-school and summer programs.
• The Children’s Home Society of NJ — $100,000 for school-based social-emotional learning programs.
• Dress For Success Central New Jersey — $25,000 for the Business Academy at Trenton Central High School.
• Every Child Valued — $47,000 for breakfast and after-school programs for students from low-income households.
• The Father Center of New Jersey — $50,000 for the Bridges2Success workforce and life skills initiative.
• HISPA — $60,000 for role model and college programs for low-income students in Mercer County.
• Isles — $32,500 for the Youth Institute education and workforce development program.
• James R Halsey Foundation of the Arts — $12,500 for the Let’s Film trauma-informed, arts-based program.
• Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund (LALDEF) — $50,000 for adult education, advocacy and youth mentoring programs.
• Millhill Child & Family Development — $40,000 for the Creating Access to Limitless Possibilities youth programs.
• Princeton Ballet Society — $12,000 for the DANCE POWER in-school residency in Trenton.
• Princeton-Blairstown Center — $15,000 for Venture Out, a free STEM experiential program for Trenton middle school students.
• Princeton YMCA — $50,000 for after-school and ACE programs supporting K-12 students.
• Stretto Youth Chamber Orchestra — $30,000 for scholarships, teacher training and instrument support for Trinity Strings.
• UrbanPromise Trenton — $100,000 for tutoring, leadership development and college support, including the StreetLeaders program.
• We Make: Autism At Work — $7,500 for the Campus Community vocational training program for people with autism and other disabilities.
• The WorkWell Partnership — $7,500 for financial empowerment and job-readiness services for returning citizens.
• YWCA of Princeton — $23,500 for expanding the Art Start early childhood arts program.