August 2011 

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey Announces 21 Grants Totaling $511,500 

Grants Support Charitable Organizations Across New Jersey

(Newark, NJ, August 08, 2011) - The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey today announced the Foundation’s second round of grants for 2011, awarding $511,500 to 21 organizations. The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey supports charitable organizations that promote health and the arts throughout New Jersey.

“I congratulate and commend the grantees selected by the Foundation for the second round of awards this year. Through their activities and initiatives, these organizations are improving and enriching the lives of New Jersey citizens in communities all across our state,” said Robert A. Marino, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation.

 The Foundation awarded the following 21 grants:

• Algonquin Arts in Manasquan, received a grant of $10,000 to support its Page & Stage Program, a literacy and cultural enrichment project for Head Start programs in Abbott school districts.

• Appel Farm Arts and Music Center in Elmer, received a general operating support grant of $10,000 to support its community arts outreach programs.

• Arthritis Foundation Northeast Region in Iselin, received a grant of $46,500 to support its Monmouth and Ocean Counties Community Arthritis Initiative that helps seniors prevent and manage arthritis through weight control and exercise. The non-pharmacological  public health education initiative has three components:  sixteen one-hour education programs, a full-day Health Summit featuring physicians and other health professionals, and an exercise and aquatic training workshop to train 12 individuals to conduct six-week exercise programs. The initiative will reach 12,000 people.

• Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, received a general operating support grant of $20,000 to fund the Center’s upcoming professional season and the expansion of its “beyondEDUCATION” program that features a series of classes, seminars, live performances and student productions in acting, dance, voice and recording for children ages 3 to 18.

• Cape Assist in Wildwood, received a grant of $25,000 to support its Wellness Initiative for Senior Education (WISE) Program, a healthy-aging program for older adults. The grant funds expand the program to include such topics as self-care for chronic disease management, basic health information and services, and how to navigate and use the health care system.

• Dental Lifeline Network New Jersey in Newark, received a grant of $50,000 to support its New Jersey Donated Dental Services Program. The program enables volunteer dentists and lab professionals to provide comprehensive care to aged, disabled or ill patients.

• GlassRoots in Newark, received a grant of $10,000 to support its Community Youth After-School Art Education Program. The enrichment program engages teens in creating molten glass art.  Students discuss the science and mathematics involved in glass working, spend time in the flame-working, kiln form and glass blowing studios and produce glass beads, coasters and paper weights. 

• Greater Newark Conservancy in Newark, received a grant of $20,000 to expand its school-based Nutrition Education Program. 

• Hunterdon Art Museum (HAM) in Clinton, received a grant of $21,000 to support the HAM in the Schools Program. The program connects local middle school students with exhibit artists from the Museum’s current show via a Skype/online chat facilitated by a HAM faculty member. From their classroom, students talk with exhibit artists about their process and technique and watch a live view of where the artists work. Students are then guided through a classroom project by the HAM faculty member to integrate learning from the exhibiting artist into their own techniques.

• Jewish Renaissance Medical Center in Perth Amboy, received a grant of $100,000 to create and support the Horizon Center for Mobile Health, a 38-foot Winnebago mobile medical command unit. The mobile unit will be equipped with two medical exam rooms and two dental operatories and provide services weekly at three elementary and middle schools that are Newark School Based Health Center sites. The Horizon Center for Mobile Health will be completed by June 2012 and provide services to approximately 8,000 people through 16,000 visits during the first year of operation.

• La Casa de Don Pedro in Newark, received a grant of $15,000 to support its Healthy Living Initiative. The grant will support staff who will provide comprehensive health services for adults and children -- including health education seminars and testing for cancer, diabetes, heart disease and obesity -- and case management and advocacy services for families, including translation services and health literacy education.    

• McCarter Theatre in Princeton, received a grant of $10,000 to support its 2011-2012 Arts Education and Outreach Program that enables children in grades K-12 to experience theatre through after-school classes, student matinees, touring shows, summer camps and in-school residencies.    

• Monmouth Museum and Cultural Center located on the Brookdale Community College campus in Lincroft, received a grant of $10,000 to support its Green Arts Studio Arts Education Program. In this program, local “green” artists use discarded, recyclable materials collected from local companies and individuals to teach families and children how to transform these items into pieces of art.

•  Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, received a grant of $15,000 to support its Free Family Days at the Museum Program. The program provides free admission for families two times a year and features guided tours of exhibitions, gallery activities, live musical, theater and dance performances and workshops.

• New Jersey Ballet Company (NJBC) in Livingston, received a general operating grant of $10,000 to fund NJBC statewide artistic, minority outreach and educational programs.

• New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation in Trenton, received a grant of $50,000 to support the New Jersey Action Coalition for the Future of Nursing. The grant supports Coalition activities to improve both the state’s nursing education system and the data collection and information infrastructure and funds meetings, forums, research and evaluation, the production of a white paper, and communication.

• Park Theatre Performing Arts in Union City, received a grant of $10,000 to support and expand its Arts Education for Low-income Urban Children Program. The program predominantly serves Hispanic students and features general arts instruction and classes tailored to them. The grant provides resources for arts courses, a five-week summer intensive program, and for the launch of a pilot for after-school classes.

• Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey in Millburn, received a grant of $15,000 to support its 2011 Fifth Grade Parent Alert Initiative. The initiative educates parents of approximately 34,000 fifth graders about the dangers of substance abuse and how to discuss these dangers with their children.

• Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, received a grant of $10,000 to support its Urban Young Writer’s Project. The project hosts creative writing residencies for public school students in Newark and Camden.  

• Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts in Millville, received a general operating grant of $10,000 to fund staff salaries, art supplies, marketing and other purposes.

• Rutgers University Foundation in New Brunswick, received a grant of $44,000 to support the Focus Community Health Center Planning Grant. The grant helps pay for a business plan for a nurse-managed primary health care clinic through the hiring of a consultant expert in Federally Qualified Health Center funding to develop the business plan that will bring the clinic to an income producing federally funded status. Rutgers College of Nursing and Focus Hispanic Community Center will establish the clinic in existing space in a central location in Newark.

The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey promotes health, well-being, and quality of life across our state by supporting charitable organizations.  For more information about the Foundation visit www.horizonblue.com/foundation.