Four local nonprofits selected as finalists for Impact100 Essex grant – essexnewsdaily.com
The 2020 Steering Committee, above, selected four local nonprofit organizations as finalists for the Impact100 Essex grant award.
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Impact100 Essex announced Dec. 11 the four finalists for this year’s Impact100 Essex grant award. One of these finalists will be voted the recipient of a $100,000 grant during the organization’s virtual annual meeting on Jan. 26.
“The proposed projects of this year’s finalists address the COVID-19 crisis, social justice training and mental health initiatives, all critically important areas as we close out 2020,” said Kate Shoemaker, co-chairperson of the Impact100 Essex grant committee.
The 2020 finalists are:
- Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris Inc., to open the “The Cloud Club for Kids: Every Cloud has a Silver Lining,” a hands-on art therapy-based program for children and teens ages 4 to 18 who are impacted by the mental illness of a family member. The program will develop curriculum and implement workshops and webinars — consisting of psycho-education, support, skill building and stigma-free dialogue — that will impact some 80 children in the initial phase, and will allow MHAEM to advocate for funding for this underserved group.
- Montclair State University, to launch the “Newark Social Justice in Teaching Initiative,” which will create a diverse, highly prepared cadre of teachers trained in social justice, anti-racist training and healing-centered pedagogy, and commit to place 80 percent of trained teachers into the Newark school system. The NSJTI supports new teachers in understanding the full system of racism and dismantling it in their teaching practices, clearing the path for Newark K-12 students to reach their highest potential, and will build a replicable model.
- North Jersey AIDS Alliance Inc.’s North Jersey Community Research Initiative, to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable, poverty-stricken and homeless populations by providing free essential personal protective equipment and education on safe practices, including CDC-approved COVID-19 social-distancing, safety and hygiene precautions to more than 1,000 clients through their drop-in centers and mobile units. This addresses the ongoing need for PPE and educational outreach in an area where COVID-19 is rampant.
- Prevent Child Abuse NJ, to implement a research-based, trauma-informed Children’s Wellness Initiative in five Essex County schools or childcare centers, with the goal of reaching 1,500 students and their families. The multifaceted approach builds on a successful methodology to equip schools, children and families with tools to build resilience, adapt to stressors in a healthy way, promote social-emotional awareness and experience support from a more nurturing school environment.
“These four finalists are proposing particularly transformational projects that will substantially impact the lives of our neighbors in Essex County,” grants committee Co-chairperson Mayuri Chandri said.
Impact100 Essex is a collective philanthropic group founded and funded by women in Essex County. For more information, visit www.Impact100Essex.org.