NCJW increases community grants

NCJW increases community grants

The Bergen County section of the National Council of Jewish Women, a nonprofit organization that has been at the forefront of social change in Bergen County, is celebrating its 95th anniversary. It will award more than $70,000 in grants to Bergen County organizations that support women, children, and families. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.

The grants represent a major increase in funding over last year. The organization attributes this increase to the generosity of the section’s members and donors, and to increased revenue from the Council Thrift Shop in Bergenfield.

NCJW provides recipient agencies with both funding and volunteers. The grants support a wide range of vital programs and services to the local community.

At Bergen Family Center, two grants will support a social day care program for visually impaired adults and other seniors and programming for the 100 children enrolled in HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters), whose parents are trained to be their children’s first teachers. The Center for Food Action provides emergency food, rent, and utility assistance to people in need, and the Center for Hope and Safety provides counseling, support services, safe shelter, transitional housing, and community outreach to women and children who are victims of domestic violence. NCJW supports programs at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh, provides volunteers to run the gift shop, and hosts parties for residents throughout the year.  At Project Sarah (Stop Abusive Relationships at Home), funding from NCJW supports the organization’s program of domestic violence and sexual abuse counseling, treatment, and community education, with unique emphasis on the Orthodox community. A grant to the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative helps the facility provide free medical care for working, low-income Bergen County residents who have no health insurance. Financing and volunteers for the Swim-In program, co-sponsored with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, support a therapeutic water exercise program for people with multiple sclerosis. Funding will also help the Women’s Rights Information Center provide a warm environment for women facing economic and social barriers in their lives. Shared housing, career service, and computer training are among the many programs it offers. Two grants to the Youth Consultation Service support YCS Holley Child Care and Development Center, a residential treatment facility for emotionally and/or physically abused children in crisis, and YCS Kilbarchan, a residential treatment home for adolescents. Summer Campership, which also received support from NCJW, provides funds for scholarships for low-income children in Bergen County.

NCJW receives no government funding. For more information, go to www.ncjwbcs.org.

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