MARCH 2025
Festive Time at STRIVE
Members of the STRIVE Day Program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, had a busy fall, celebrating the holidays while continuing to learn social and independence skills. From a Halloween Parade to a holiday dance, the festivities were fun, enriching and community-building. “The year ended with our members celebrating, engaging and continuing every day to learn important life skills,” says Abby Sampson, STRIVE’s Program Director.
Empowering Foster Youth:
Peer2Peer Program
Last year, Children’s Aid and Family Services’ Peer2Peer program graduated 14 participants and continues its mission of pairing foster youth in the care of the state’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency with trained mentors who themselves have been in the child welfare system.
Peer2Peer was developed as a pilot program in 2020 to provide additional support to children and teens. Peer Navigators are valued mentors because of their lived experience in foster care. “They share similar situations and struggles with the youth they work with, use their own experiences to offer advice, and help them advocate for themselves,” says Javier Argueta, Program Coordinator for Peer2Peer.
Community Residence Looking Good
Thanks to a generous grant from the John A. and Margaret Post Foundation, we have replaced the deteriorating siding on our community residence for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in West Milford, providing a safer and more secure environment. Boasting a beautiful shade of colonial blue, the residents have renewed pride in their home and increased quality of life.
Extending Prevention to All Educational Levels
For 45 years, The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources has been dedicated to providing drug and alcohol prevention programming for students at every grade level. Thanks to a recent grant from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), The Center is expanding its reach to Bergen County’s Colleges and Universities. This expansion established the Bergen County Higher Education Prevention Consortium (BC HEAP), essentially providing services to students attending any primary, secondary, and post-secondary educational institution in Bergen County. The Center was one of only 44 organizations that received a Partnership for Success Grant from SAMHSA out of 350 applications.
Lace up those sneakers and join us for a fun and inclusive virtual 5K, where you can walk, run or roll to Make an Impact! Gather your friends and family to form a team or go solo to help us raise much-needed funds for our programs and enable us to continue to make a meaningful difference in the lives of so many of our neighbors.
Location: Anywhere you can walk, run or roll!
Organization and Foundation Support
Children’s Aid and Family Services gratefully acknowledges the many generous organizations and foundations that provided grants to support its programs for vulnerable children, adults and families.
- Alfiero and Lucia Palestroni Foundation
- Allendale Women’s Club
- Columbia Bank Foundation
- Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
- Farm Team, Inc.
- Frank X & Mary E Weny Charitable Trust
- Gertrude L. Hirsch Charitable Trust
- Gift of Life America
- Greater Bergen REALTORS® CARE Foundation
- Horizon Foundation for New Jersey
- Johnson & Johnson
- Novartis
- Orange Orphan Society
- PSEG Foundation
- Sisters of St. Francis Peace
- St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church
- TD Charitable Foundation
- The Bank of America Charitable Foundation
- The Buster Spike Lucky Elkin Marri Love & Luck Fund
- The Greater Newark Holiday Fund
- The John and Margaret Post Foundation
- The Kaplen Foundation
- The Lillian P. Schenck Foundation
- The M&T Charitable Foundation
- The Provident Bank Foundation
- The Valley Hospital Foundation
- The WaWa Foundation
- The Woman’s Club of Ridgewood
- TJX Foundation
- Turrell Fund
- Valley Bank Charitable Fund
- Visions Federal Credit Union
- Whole Foods Market Foundation