School Supplies Donated

UWCJ Write From the Start raises school supplies for low-income, at-risk kids.
             

Thank you to the following organizations for helping to supply school materials to the kids in Central Jersey. Twenty four schools received backpacks, note books, pens and colored pencils, all kinds of folders and pads and much more. Kids receiving free lunch qualified to receive. Teachers and administrators distributed to needy kids as necessary.

Nurses Go To Washington

Two Nurse Home Visitors employed by United Way of Central Jersey traveled to Washington, D.C. to share their stories with New Jersey Legislators and their staff. Madeline Cruz and Denise Andino visited the offices of Congressmen Payne and Pallone as well as Senators Lautenberg and Menendez. They were invited by the Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office in order to thank these NJ Congressmen for their continuing support of Home Visitation Programs.
The nurses provided first-hand accounts of the need for home visitation programs. One client, a fourteen-year-old mother, had a baby weighing 4 pounds 15 ounces. If nursed correctly, that baby should be fed every two hours – something the mother didn’t know. The nurse home visitors, with their extensive medical backgrounds, can assess whether the client is in need of information that helps the baby grow up healthy.

United Way of Central Jersey has official replication site status, awarded by the Nurse Family Partnership National Service Office in Denver, Colorado.  UWCJ’s first nurse came on board early in 2005. Since the start, over 695 referrals have been made by community agencies, with 271 clients enrolled in the program.  Since 2005, the program has expanded from three sites to 9 sites, as part of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families Home Visitation Initiative. 

During the current economic crisis, it is critical that all sources of support be assembled to continue funding of existing programs as well as expand to additional sites. The Nurse-Family Partnership Program has many years of research evidence supporting the home visitation model. Some results include, healthier pregnancy outcomes, lower child abuse and neglect and less use of welfare benefits. Call Gloria Aftanski for more information: 732 247-3727

United Way of Central Jersey Moves Upstream

Once upon a time, there was a small village on the edge of a river. The people there were good and life in the village was good. One day a villager noticed a baby floating down the river. The villager quickly swam out to save the baby from drowning. The next day this same villager noticed two babies in the river. He called for help, and both babes were rescued from the swift waters. And the following day, four babies were seen caught in the turbulent current. And then eight, then more, and still more!

The villagers organized themselves swiftly, setting up watchtowers and training teams of swimmers who could resist the swift waters and rescue the babies. Rescue squads were soon working 24 hours a day. And each day the number of helpless babies floating down the river increased.  The rescue squads were snatching many children from the river each day. While not all babies, now very numerous, could be saved, the villagers felt they were doing well to save as many as they could each day.

One day, however, someone raised the question, “But where are all these babies coming from?”

If we find out who is throwing them into the river, we can stop the problem and no babies will drown! By going upstream, we can eliminate the cause of the problem!

United Way of Central Jersey’s Board of Trustees has determined that investing resources to improve the lives of children is to be the investment priority in 2010-2011. Extensive research review documents the long term savings to society for every dollar invested in a birth to five policy.

Evidence based studies show the early years of life present a unique opportunity to lay the foundation for healthy development during a time of great growth and vulnerability. Research underscores the impact of the first five years of a child’s life on his or her mental health and cognitive, behavioral and social-emotional development.

Buffalo Wild Wings Cares About the Community

There’s a new restaurant in town at 2241 Route One South in North Brunswick. The smiles you see when you first walk in are genuine. The smile that spreads on your face is genuine, too. And, so is the care for supporting the community.

Buffalo Wild Wings is a new Sports Bar with a fantastic range of menu choices including 14 different wing sauces. (Try the parmesan and garlic wings. YUM!) On their VIP night, before opening to the public, $1 per drink ordered was donated to the United Way of Central Jersey. Thank you!

The staff are collecting canned food for the food pantries, volunteer programs are being planned, and the good spirit and caring for others will make this new enterprise a success. Why?
Because you get what you give. You reap what you sew. And the food is delicious!

Community Investment Volunteer Needed

This volunteer assignment will afford individuals with an interesting opportunity to become more knowledgeable about available programs for infants, children, and families. Please consider joining the investment allocation effort. Contact Jessica Polizzotto, 732 247-3727, to volunteer or visit www.uwcj.org

Opportunity to Help With Taxes

Thousands of low income tax payers qualify for the Federal Government’s tax credit of up to $5,000. Many of these do not claim the credit or go to paid preparers who can charge hundreds of dollars.

Volunteers are needed to help these vulnerable, low wage earners to claim the money they are due to receive from the Federal Government.

Millions of dollars generated by the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) flow into the local economy as a result of claims. As a volunteer, you can play an important part in stimulating the economy. As a caring person, you can help somebody pay some bills. Please call Imthiaz Azeez at 732 247-3727 to discuss volunteering. Training sessions are in December. Volunteering occurs in February to April 2010.

Food Donations Still Urgently Needed – Call 732 247-3727 to Help

Some people don’t know what it’s like to be hungry”
As we loaded the van with bags of food: cans of soup, rice, cartons of pasta, etc., the guy next to me tried to explain why some people don’t give.
“I’ve been there,” he said, “and once you’ve been through it, you don’t forget.”

Some people say, “What about me? I need help, too”

So, they plead relative poverty. “Relative to how much I want, I claim to need more.” So they justify giving nothing.

But they aren’t hungry. They just want more. More to pay their mortgage, the school fees, the car lease, the property taxes, etc. etc. etc. It’s not discretionary; it’s just excessive.

If you are living beyond your means, does that justify refusing to help people who are hungry? No.

UWCJ would like to acknowledge all those who gave to help thousands of families thrown into chaos and desperation because of the worst recession since the 30’s.

They include the good people at ATT, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eaton, ecVision, JC Penney Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Systems, Keefe Supply, Linwood Middles School, L’Oreal, LT Apparel, New Millennium Bank, North American Energy Alliance, LLC, Paychex, Plumrose USA, PTA James Monroe School Edison, Reynolds Kama, Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Target, University Health Plan Centene, UPS, Wachovia and Wells Fargo.

A special thanks to Mrs. Lee, who is Buddhist and from Burma now living in East Brunswick. Hearing about the need for food, she contacted her friends and family to provide many bags of food to help the poor living here in Middlesex County. She is an example for us all of the service we can perform to help our neighbors.

Home Foreclosures Up

Elaine Flynn, County Clerk, did some research before the last meeting of “Coming Home,” the group that’s concerned about homelessness in Middlesex County, and learned that there were 369 home foreclosures in the month of October. Worse, there were 67 filed on November 9th and 97 on November 10th alone.

“I know there are some banks that are working hard to let people stay in the house even though they are foreclosed,” she said, “but we have to think about how we are going to handle that many more families?”

“I think people are afraid.” It is harder to ask people to extend a hand to help others in need, when the future is unclear. Today, fewer and fewer people seem ready to give to help strangers in need. Non-profits in the tri-state area had revenue declines of 25% last year.

“I just believe we should do unto others…” As the effects of the economic crisis are felt by more of our neighbors, maybe more of us who have jobs and have places to live will stand up and take responsibility for the welfare of others. It won’t be too soon.