Taub Foundation Invests in Paterson’s Youth

Last week, the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation made two gifts to NJCDC in the amount of $64,500 for the Great Falls Neighborhood Preschool Initiative and for NJCDC’s strategic business planning efforts. These grants will support two major projects tied to neighborhood revitalization and education in Paterson’s Great Falls Neighborhood.

Great Falls Neighborhood Preschool Initiative

The first grant, Great Falls Neighborhood Preschool Initiative, was given to support the Paterson Family Center (PFC) and to lead a coordinated effort between all early education programs in the Great Falls Neighborhood.

In collaboration with the Paterson Public School District, the PFC provides free high quality preschool education for 105 three and four year olds. Thanks to the generous support of the Taub Foundation, the PFC will expand upon its current program to create a Family Engagement & Empowerment Program to develop, engage and support parents. The PFC will elect four staff members for training to become certified trainers in two programs: the “Nurturing Parenting” program and the “Systematic Training for Effective Parenting” (STEP) Program from the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring.

In addition, NJCDC and the PFC will convene the preschool directors of the three other Great Falls Neighborhood early childhood schools who are receiving grants from the Taub Foundation. They will meet at least four times during the 2011/2012 school year to discuss progress towards quality improvement goals while increasing their communication and coordination.

NJCDC Strategic Business Planning

Despite major successes in the City of Paterson over the last 17 years, NJCDC recognizes the importance of developing a well-defined strategy and action plan to improve the quality of programs and services. Our vision is to develop a strategic business plan in a manner informed by the experience and lessons of the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), which has inspired several high-profile initiatives including the U.S. Department of Education’s “Promise Neighborhoods” program. The organizing principle is college graduation as the end outcome for all families served by NJCDC.

NJCDC will continue a place-based approach in a well-defined, targeted neighborhood and build a continuous pipeline of best practice programs, services and opportunities from birth through college. This award will support the costs of a carefully constructed plan that will support neighborhood revitalization through coordinated service delivery.

NJCDC Founder/CEO Bob Guarasci expressed gratitude for the recent grant awards, “We are fortunate to have supporters like the Taub Foundation. This partnership demonstrates the type of community effort that has the potential to transform lives and entire communities. NJCDC and the Paterson community extend a warm thank you to the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation. Without the support of community partners like Taub, our work would not be possible.”