By Joshua Burd
The Alfred N. Sanzari Family Foundation has awarded $30,000 under a new grant program, supporting five local organizations that are continuing to serve through the pandemic.
The nonprofit, named after the founder of Alfred Sanzari Enterprises, identified the five recipients as Alpine Learning Group Inc., Boys & Girls Club of Paterson and Passaic, CUMAC, Oasis – A Haven for Women and Children and Star of Hope Ministries Inc. Each organization is based in northern New Jersey, the foundation said, noting that the funds will help them in their respective missions and as they respond to the public health and economic crisis.
They are the first five recipients of the foundation’s inaugural grant program.
“Although many would define Alfred Sanzari by the properties he constructed and the company he built, one of the things he was most proud of was the lasting impact he made on his local community,” said Dana Jareck, member of the Alfred N. Sanzari Family Foundation Board of Trustees. “We are proud to carry that legacy forward through the Alfred N. Sanzari Family Foundation and our mission to positively impact the lives of those in our local communities.”
Alpine Learning Group provides diagnostic and clinical services, along with established programs in education, in-home treatment and adult services to area families living with autism, according to a news release. The organization will use the grant to help offset the exorbitant, unbudgeted COVID-19-related expenses for devices and personal protective equipment required to safeguard the individuals it serves and the staff that serves them.
The Boys & Girls Club of Paterson and Passaic will use the funds to expand a program that provides full-day, out-of-school educational support to children in the two cities, the news release said. The program has come in response to the childcare challenges presented by COVID-19 and virtual learning.
Meantime, CUMAC’s grant will help the organization fund programs such as a food pantry that serves more than 40,000 people every year and a food depot that handles nearly 2 million pounds of food for a network of over 50 agencies, the foundation said. It also operates a disaster relief program, a thrift shop that provides high quality, low-cost items to the community and programs that offer job training and permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless, among others.
Oasis – A Haven for Women and Children, is a Paterson-based entity that combats poverty, offering educational and social service programs that help women enter and succeed in the workforce and helps children flourish academically. Oasis will use the funds to administer and expand its GED program that helps impoverished women obtain their high school equivalency diploma, while also offering meals, food bags and other antipoverty services.
The fifth recipient, Star of Hope Ministries, will use its grant to purchase nonperishable and perishable food items for distribution, as well as organize and implement its Boxes of Love program during the Thanksgiving Day season, the news release said. The organization serves the underserved in Greater Paterson, Newark, Willingboro and beyond, most notably through a partnership of churches and organizations committed to serving the poor.
Founded in 2006, the Alfred N. Sanzari Family Foundation was established to carry on the legacy of Alfred N. Sanzari through the promotion and support of a wide range of causes throughout northern New Jersey. The nonprofit supports the promotion and support of health care with a special preference for patient care and Parkinson’s Disease, local education programs and programs that support disadvantaged populations such as shelters and housing, along with services for women and children in need.
Since its founding, the ANS Family Foundation has donated more than $1.5 million to organizations throughout North Jersey.
“Now more than ever, we know that our communities and the organizations that serve the people within them need all the help they can get,” said Lisa Britt, member of the Alfred N. Sanzari Family Foundation board of trustees. “We are honored to support these five inspiring organizations to ensure they can continue to make a difference in their local communities and we look forward to lending support to additional deserving nonprofits through our grant program in the future.”
The ASN Family Foundation has two grant cycles per year with grant amounts ranging from $500 to $10,000. The foundation is currently in the midst of its second grant application period for 2020, for which all applications are due by Feb. 28, 2021.
