Tag: charity

Top 3 Ways You Can Help Your Community

On July 13, 2018

Reflect on the word, “community”. What does that word mean to you? For some community means the 5-mile radius surrounding their home. For others, it can be a group at church, to the neighborhood to the entire city. However you define community, you can play an active role in how it grows.

To make an impact in your own community you don’t have to be rich or powerful or even a certain age. Just wanting an willing to make a difference is enough. To make a difference in your own community here are few ways you can get started.

Support Local Businesses

One way to make sure you community thrives is to support local businesses. Too often do mom and pop stores close due to lack of business. Before you buy your produce from a chain store, check out your local farmers market or grocery store. Chances are, the product will be fresher and of a higher quality.

Volunteer

Sometimes saying that you will volunteer is easier than actually doing it. Although we all have busy lives, setting aside to help out the community can create a big impact. There are always plenty of opportunities available if you are looking hard enough for them. Some volunteer opportunities will require an ongoing commitment, and others times it may be a one-off project or event. Regardless of time commitment here are a few examples of how you can volunteer in your community:

Join a Big Brothers Big Sisters Program
Serve a meal at your local homeless shelter
Spend the day reading to residents of a retirement home
Clean up a local park
Build a house with Habitat for Humanity

These are only a few options on how you can volunteer! If you ever find yourself in the New Jersey area, you can check out these 5 great organizations to volunteer at.

Start Your Own Project

If you find that your community is has a need that isn’t being met, take the initiative and start your own project. If you find yourself passionate about a cause within your community, but no one is taking action, become the ambassador of the cause! Some projects you may orchestrate can include:

A bake sale, concert, or auction where all proceeds go to a charitable cause like an animal shelter.
Organize a back-to-school drive where members of the community can donate school supplies for the upcoming year
Adopt a Highway and clean up litter

Being proactive in your community is one of the most impactful things you can do. With that being said, take on the opportunity to make a difference in your community today!

How to Build a Mindset of Inclusion

By Jerry Swon

On June 8, 2018

In Community

Funding a cause can stretch across the global landscape, from arts to science to humanities and everything in between. Philanthropic work touches a variety of lives in a myriad of ways; it’s one of the unique blessings of grant funding in the first place.

One of those groups that are most often touched, but sometimes forgotten, are people with disabilities. Nearly 20% of people in the United States have at least some disability, whether a physical handicap that is evidenced by things such as a wheelchair, or a hidden disability like anxiety or depression. What’s more is that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is a whopping 64%.

The statistics are in, and people with a disability feel more ostracized and stigmatized than ever. Part of the job of being a funder is not only to provide the means by which the world can grow but that people who may feel disenchanted by others can be included as well.

Here are a few ways they can do precisely that:

Encourage Organizations to Adapt. Although funders are not explicitly in charge of the organizations that they support, they still hold a considerable amount of influence on the operations that the entity partakes in. By encouraging – or, to take it a step further and mandating it as a condition of the grant – organizations to make themselves more accessible by providing ramps or socially-safe activities, they can influence a group to become more inclusive.

Communicate Accessibility. One of the struggles that many people with disabilities face is who to contact in case they need to make special accommodations. Provide a number or contact information on all event or program materials that will get people in contact with the proper people. Furthermore, communicate on your material loudly that this organization is striving to be inclusive: anticipate activities or accommodations that people might suggest and describe them in detail.

Prioritize Inclusion. Alongside the central goal of an organization – whether that goal is to spread education, combat poverty, or something else – the funder and the group need to prioritize inclusion among their own ranks. Actively recruit people with disabilities and value them for their vital contribution to their time. Once a group begins to break down the walls that divide us as humans, everything else falls into place.

5 New Jersey Organizations you Should be Volunteering at

By Jerry Swon

On March 14, 2018

In Community, Volunteer

Volunteering at organizations gives us a chance to give back to our community. By volunteering it allows one to connect with others as well as develop new skills and experiences. Whatever reason your reason for volunteering, it is an excellent opportunity to get yourself involved in the community. If you are ever in the New Jersey area and have some extra time on your hands, try volunteering at any of these organizations.

Community FoodBank of New Jersey

Location(s): 31 Evans Terminal Hillside, NJ 07205

40 years ago, Community FoodBank of New Jersey started in the back of a station wagon. Now over 200 employees dedicate their time to fighting hunger and poverty. Through its employees, community volunteers, and donors Community FoodBank of New Jersey aims to educate, feed, and empower those who need help.

How to Sign Up: You can fill out this form.

Market Street Mission

Location(s): 9 Market Street Morristown, NJ 07960

Since 1989, the Market Street Mission has served over 90,000 meals. The Market Street Mission makes it their mission to the meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs through ministering to the homeless.By assisting individuals through Christ, the Market Street Mission aims to guide individuals out of poverty, addiction, and lead productive lives.

How to Sign Up: Contact Market Street Mission Volunteer Coordinator, Mary Kate Kelly, at

(973) 538-6337 or mkelly@marketstreet.org.

Friends of Linden Animal Shelter (FOLAS)

Location(s): Range Road Linden, NJ 07036

FOLAS is run entirely by volunteers and has saved over one thousand animals. Formed in 2000, its volunteers aim at finding permanent homes for animals. Volunteers help with fundraising as well as socializing and taking care of the cats and dogs.

How to Sign Up: Fill out a volunteer application.

Good Grief

Location(s): 38 Elm St, Morristown, NJ 07960

5 Mapleton Rd, Princeton, NJ 08540

Good Grief aims to provide support to children, teens, adults, and families after the passing of parents or siblings. Good Grief utilizes education, advocacy, and interactive peer support programs. View an extensive list on all of the volunteer opportunities you can participate in.

How to Sign Up: To get involved fill out a form.

St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center

Location(s): Madison Adoption Center: 575 Woodland Ave. Madison, NJ 07940

Training and Behavior Center: 575 Woodland Ave. Madison, NJ 07940

North Beach Adoption Center: 3201 Route 22 East North Branch, NJ 08876

Noah’s Ark Adoption Center: 1915 US Route 46 Ledgewood, New Jersey, 07852

Open for almost 80 years, St. Hubert’s is dedicated to the humane treatment of all animals. The organization offers many community services which include but is not limited to, a pet helpline, a pet food pantry, and spay/neuter options. As a volunteer, you can also foster an animal, walk dogs, socialize with cats, and lend a helping hand at any of the facilities.

How to Sign Up: First read these steps and then fill out an application.