Four Monmouth County nonprofits get Gannett Community Thrives grants
Four Monmouth County nonprofit organizations — Shore House in Long Branch, Lunch Break in Red Bank, Interfaith Neighbors in Asbury Park and the Emergency Housing and Advocacy Program in Freehold — have received grants from A Community Thrives, a Gannett Foundation program.
A Community Thrives, now in its sixth year, awards grants to local nonprofits across the country, empowering them to continue their missions to better their communities. The Gannett Foundation is the charitable arm of Gannett, the nationwide news business that owns 250 news sites in the Gannett USA TODAY Network, which includes the Asbury Park Press.
Shore House, a psychosocial rehabilitation day program for adults living with a mental illness, received a $2,500 grant.
The program follows the clubhouse model, said Executive Director Rich Ambrosino, which means that the members run the culinary and clerical units.
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The clerical unit handles transportation logistics, pays bills, schedules appointments and does the filing, while the culinary unit makes a menu for the month, does the grocery shopping and prepares lunches and snacks.
Ambrosino said the concept is that through the day, they learn transferable skills that will enable them to go back to work if they want.
Shore House also provides free transportation for members.
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The organization is the only accredited clubhouse in the state, according to Ambrosino, and its average daily attendance has more than doubled in the past year. They are seeing more people being referred to the clubhouse.
"The problem with mental health nationally is when you graduate from a program, you graduate into a void," he said. "There's nothing else for you if you don't have a clubhouse. It's just, 'Stay home, try not to isolate, stay on your meds and good luck.'"
Shore House has been around since 2010 and only takes referrals from Monmouth County, Ambrosino said. One of the group's big goals is to branch out and expand to other counties, as well as do a major renovation to expand its programing space.
"Our development has to keep pace with our growth," he said.
Lunch Break, a nonprofit providing food, clothing, life skills programs and more, received a $5,000 grant.
The Red Bank organization serves adults, families, seniors, veterans and everyone in between, Executive Director Gwendolyn Love said, with the ultimate goal of helping people create a pathway to self-sufficiency.
"No one is turned away," she said. "It's always available as a safety net for those that need it."
Love said that at Lunch Break, they understand that "tomorrow" can be uncertain, whether it's because of a pandemic, hurricane, divorce or other major life event.
"People need a place that they can come to when life happens," she said.
In 2021, Lunch Break distributed over 700 bags of clothes, 89,000 grab-and-go meals and $950,000 through the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, according to Love.
Their grant will be used toward general operating costs.
The Emergency Housing and Advocacy Program, which serves individuals and families who are homeless or at-risk of losing their housing, and runs a winter overnight program for homeless men in Freehold, was awarded $7,500. Asbury Park's Interfaith Neighbors, which addresses the problem of homelessness, was awarded $10,000. Last year, Interfaith was awarded one of the foundation's nationwide $100,000 grants for its Kula Urban Farm, a plot with gardens of fruits, vegetables, flowers and a hydroponic greenhouse in Asbury Park.
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“We are incredibly proud of the positive impact A Community Thrives grants have in communities across the country," Mike Reed, chairman of the Gannett Foundation and Gannett CEO, said. "From providing essential services to enhancing the lives of underserved groups, our grants will enable these incredible organizations to expand their reach and empower their communities even more."
This year, the initiative sponsored by Gannett raised $3.1 million in an effort to support local organizations that alleviate hardships residents face on a daily basis. The organizations cater to issues surrounding homelessness, pre- and perinatal care, immigration reform, addiction services and more.
More than 200 local nonprofit organizations will receive operating and fundraising grants from $2,500 to $25,000. The local grants are chosen by leaders in the local news sites from Gannett’s USA TODAY Network.
Jenna Calderón covers breaking news and cold cases in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Before coming to the Press, she covered The Queen City for Cincinnati Magazine in Ohio. Contact her at 330-590-3903; jcalderon@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Four Monmouth County nonprofits get Gannett Community Thrives grants
