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24 SEPTEMBER 2022
The organization known as HomeWorks Trenton has helped dozens of teenage girls since
its founding in 2016, with a program that offers academic, social and emotional enrichment in a dormitory- style setting. But finding the space
to provide that housing has been no easy task.
It’s why the nonprofit has turned its focus to a long-vacant, three-story home on Edgewood Avenue in the city, which it hopes to renovate into a permanent dwelling that would nearly quadruple its student population,
while bringing its team of educators and administrators under one roof.
“We’re very grateful for all of these opportunities, but we only want
to continue moving forward,” said Natalie Tung, HomeWorks Trenton’s co-founder and executive director. “And I think a big part of that is being able to have a house that we can call ours, not only so that we can expand and go from 11 scholars to 40, but also so that we can really be more financially sustainable, have our staff fully live in the house ... and be able to have real roots in Trenton.”
The 501(c)(3) group, which serves marginalized high school girls in the city, recently
purchased the
property at
1212 Edgewood
Ave. and is
now seeking
a $2 million
construction
loan for the
Natalie Tung rehabilitation
and expansion. It’s doing so with the help of George Gnad and Helmut Fischer of Lenders Capital Realty Services, who have donated their time
to source the financing from what will likely be at least one New Jersey- based bank.
The plan is more than a year in the making. Designed by Joshua Zinder, a Princeton-based architect and
head of Joshua Zinder Architecture
+ Design, the project would create dorm rooms for students and housing for staff, as well as a study space,
a dining room, a teaching kitchen and office space for administrators. HomeWorks would also look to use a large outdoor space on site for classes and social gatherings, as well as a multipurpose recreational area.
“When I look at the building, I envision being able to have 40 scholars there, I see it being just
an incredibly warm, inviting space and ... a community space where everyone is excited to come back,” Tung said. “It’s a place where all of our kids are living, but also wanting to push each other to grow and
to really thrive in their academic space, to thrive in the community,
to pursue new things, whether it’s in arts, sports, coding or computers — anything they want to do, they have that ability to use this space to really pursue and to grow.”
HomeWorks’ mission is largely rooted in Tung’s own experiences. She recalls being an English- speaking student at a Chinese- speaking school in Hong Kong, where she was born and raised, causing her to lack confidence and struggle in an environment that she described as “very numbers-driven.” But she had the opportunity at age 14 to come to the U.S. and attend The Lawrenceville School, she said, and it was then that “my love for learning just really blossomed.”
“I felt like I was really learning to learn, but living in a dorm with 40 other girls just made me realize the power of women and that, when we all come together, there’s nothing we can’t do,” Tung said. “And I think we
PLANTING ROOTS
Nonprofit eyes rehab, expansion of Trenton home as permanent hub for living and learning
By Joshua Burd
Courtesy: HomeWorks Trenton
HomeWorks Trenton, which serves marginalized high school girls in the city, recently purchased a three-story house at 1212 Edgewood Ave. that it now hopes to renovate into a permanent dwelling for the organization, one that would nearly quadruple its student population, while bringing its team of educators and administrators under one roof. Pictured at the property is Natalie Tung, HomeWorks’ co-founder and executive director.