Client Profile

Many of our friends never meet the people they help. This brief profile gives you an example of one type of client.

Diana is 26, a single mom with twin daughters who are now 20 months old. Her daughters were born prematurely at 33 weeks and have had some medical problems. One daughter suffered from developmental delays.

United Way of Central Jersey’s Nurse-Family Partnership program provides a nurse home visitor who meets with Diana about every two weeks. The nurse provides information on health issues and helps to access community services. Research on this program over thirty years across the country indicates that it successfully lowers child abuse and neglect rates as well as improves birth results.

Because of the continuing visits, the nurse noticed delays in development and was able to arrange for early intervention. Special schooling addressed this young girl’s special needs and now her development has reached normal levels. She will be ready for participation in preschool and is enrolled in an early literacy development program.

Diana lives in Middlesex County but does not own a car. She relies on public transportation - though this is difficult with two young children.

Diana and her twins are covered by Medicaid and receive food stamps. She accesses community services for used clothing and supplies for the children.

Diana is a high school graduate and would like to pursue further education to become an early childhood educator specializing in Art. She is currently unemployed and needs a car in order to obtain a job. She needs help to obtain a used car and pay for the insurance and registration.

There are thousands of people like Diana who need help. Thousands of children in New Jersey live in poverty, have no health insurance, lack access to quality preschool, or are abused or neglected. If you would like to help Diana and others like her, please contact Gloria Aftanski, President and Chief Professional Officer, 732 247-3727.

Early Literacy Development

Less than 40% of kids enter school with the skills needed to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Failures in early schooling may discourage later academic success.

United Way of Central Jersey is launching a new program that provides home visitors to low income, at risk families with children 3-4 years old. These visitors arrive with a book or toy and work with the parent or caregiver to build appropriate interaction with their child. At the end of six months, the family has a library and has modeled behavior that can promote literacy development. Research indicates that “…parent-child book reading is the most important determinant of language and emergent literacy.”*

High quality preschool has been shown to improve academic success. While political and budgetary restraints may be barriers to reaching at-risk populations for early learning support, United Way of Central Jersey is taking action now. You can join the effort as a volunteer, as an advocate for universal preschool and as a donor towards this important initiative.

* Jordan, G.E., Snow, C.E., & Porche, M.V. (2000). Project EASE: The effect of a family literacy project on kindergarten students’ early literacy skills. Reading Research Quarterly, 35, 524-546.

Kick off at Fort Dodge Animal Health

At the United Way Campaign kickoff, at Fort Dodge Animal Health in Monmouth Junction, Ms Jennifer Shamy presented the program she is implementing for the United Way of Central Jersey. The program is designed to address the need for low income, at risk children to receive structured, nurturing stimulation that helps promote brain development and school readiness.

Ms Shamy described the training and research findings that support the program’s goals. In one study, program participants graduated from high school at a rate 50% higher than a matched sample of subjects who did not participate.

North American Energy Alliance School Supplies Drive

School supplies for low income children were donated by the North American Energy Alliance to the United Way of Central Jersey’s “Write From the Start” initiative.

“ On behalf of all North American Energy Alliance, LLC (NAEA) employee

participants of the United Way's Write From The Start Program, I wanted to

thank you for allowing us to be part of such a wonderful cause. We hope all

the kids enjoy their backpacks.  Please keep me abreast of your future programs and I look forward to working with you again in the future.” - Paulette Dinnall & Otto Garcia Director of Human Resources

Thank you to North American Energy Alliance for their kindness and generosity.

Write From the Start Results

THANK YOU!

697 Backpacks, 176 Binders, almost 600 boxes of crayons, 500 folders, 1305 notebooks, 173 glue sticks and so much more were donated by the Central Jersey community this year during the 2008 Write From the Start school supplies drive.

This is why:

Joey is 8 years old, he has never met his father, his mom is incarcerated, and he lives with his grandmother and 3 older siblings. It’s Joey’s second year at school, so he knows his way around. He isn’t one of the littlest kids anymore. Over the summer, his brother taught him to be cool. He gets free lunch at school but he doesn’t have a back pack or folder or any cool pens. Maybe he will take what he wants from the little kids.

School Principals identify needy kids and are able to distribute school supplies because of the kind generosity of the donors to Write From the Start. This year, supplies were also given to the victims of fire in North Brunswick who lost everything on August 26 th.

Schools/Agencies that received School Supplies

Abundant Life Family Worship Church
Bartle School
Benjamin Franklin School
Blood of Jesus Christ Community Church
Broken Loaves
Cardinal McCarrick
Catholic Charities (Aftercare Program)
Catholic Charities ( Carteret Youth)
Catholic Charities ( Neighborhood Center)
Catholic Charities (Youth Partial Care)
Coordinated Family Care
Dr. Herbert Richardson School
Franklin Township Community Resource & Services
Knollwood Elementary
Lindeneau School
Linwood Middle School
McKinley School
Minue School
New Brunswick Housing Authority
Piscataway Domestic Violence Crisis
Police Community Partnership Program (Safe Haven)
Project SPAN
South River Middle School
Virgil Grissom School
Wilson Elementary

School Supplies Donors

ADP
Advogent
Banana Republic
Betty & Dorothy Vajo
Cadbury Schweppes
CEVA Logistic
Charlotte Russe
Douglass Psychology Child Study Center
Dr. Paula Sjolund Medical Office
DuPont
Gannett Fleming
IBM
J&J Health Care Systems
Reynolds - KAMA
Middlesex County AFL CIO Labor Council
Moms Club of Edison
Moms Clubs of South Plainfield
New Millennium Bank
North American Energy Alliance
Paychex
Revlon
Stonebridge Women’s Club
Target-East Brunswick
Target-Monmouth Junction
UPS Supply Chain Solutions
Weston Solutions
Zebra Pens

Investment Allocation Committee Volunteer Recruitment

Volunteers are needed to actively participate in the community investment process by reviewing proposals submitted by non-profit agencies seeking grant support from the United Way of Central Jersey. Volunteers, working closely with other team members, will read program proposals and meet with non-profit agency officials in order to assist the United Way in making funding decisions.

A total of about ten meetings, each approximately two hours in duration, are scheduled in Milltown in the early morning or late afternoon (dependent upon the availability and preferences of the volunteers) over a five month period between October 2008 and March 2009. A volunteer orientation is scheduled for Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 4:30 PM.

Volunteers will also conduct site visits to gain a fuller understanding of the programs, increase their knowledge of the needs of the community, observe if services are provided as described in applications, and ensure that clients receive quality services in a safe, handicap accessible, respectful and culturally competent environment.

This volunteer assignment will afford individuals with an interesting opportunity to become more knowledgeable about available programs for infants, children, families, seniors and the disabled. The volunteer will help prioritize the need for services and directly participate in the process of making critical funding recommendations. Importantly, the volunteer will become aware of the most critical needs in our community and be able to advocate for policy and services to meet the education, income and health needs of those who live and work in Central Jersey.

If interested, or if you would like additional information, please contact Jessica Polizzotto at the United Way of Central Jersey at 732-247-3727 X25 or by e-mail at jpolizzotto@uwcj.org

Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness

Central Jersey has one of the highest “Fair Market Rents” in New Jersey ($1,139 for a one bedroom apartment.) An estimated 3,000 adults and children are homeless in Central Jersey in one year, and 38% are estimated to be homeless one year or more.

Homelessness has profound effects on families. Studies have found that child poverty negatively impacts the development of children.  Homelessness compounds the issue by leaving children feeling a decreased sense of support and security as well as an increased sense of isolation.  

“More than one-half of preschool children living in homeless shelters have at least one developmental delay, while 28%–32% of school-aged children have behavior problems and 12%–52% have depressive symptoms.”* These numbers are significantly higher than children in stable homes.  

*Zima, Bussing et al, 1999, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 69(1), pg. 127-133

United Way of Central Jersey is part of a coalition of non-profit and government partners dedicated to ending homelessness in ten years. Elements of the plan include:

• developing affordable housing
• educate the community on the benefits of providing permanent and supportive housing
• provide a single point of entry to coordinate services provided to the needy
• develop a case management system to ensure efficient access to services for those who qualify
• develop a systematic discharge procedure

Homelessness Prevention aims to address the root causes of the problem. United Way’s approach is to go beyond providing services to those in need to create strategies to solve the problem. Part of this approach includes:

• Provide linkages to social services
• Expanding programs that provide rent and utility assistance
• Create landlord/tenant helpline to provide education and support to prevent evictions
• Consistently evaluate and measure which programs and strategies are effective in preventing and reducing homelessness

You can help to end homelessness by getting involved. Join us to learn about the issues, the strategies that work, and help to advocate for changes that will have long-term benefits for the entire community. Please contact Gloria Aftanski, 732 247-3727.

2-1-1 Call Volume

Callers to United Way’s Information Line are calling because they have a need. This analysis is just one indicator of the most pressing issues in Central Jersey.