East Brunswick Youth Council focuses on improving teen mental wellness within the community. This project will create a safe space for teens to focus on their mental wellbeing. A backyard patio, fence and garden will be constructed outside for them to enjoy. A fresh coat of paint and a renovation of the kitchenette available to staff and youth are in the plan as well.
Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries tends to the physical, emotional and relational needs of children whose families are in crisis by providing housing, food, and clothing within a safe community of group homes and through a network of foster parents. The Lowe’s Hometowns grant is enabling renovations to a guest house that will provide the opportunity for families to come visit their children for a weekend, including updated bathrooms, lighting, gutters, appliances, and paint, flooring and furniture for all 13 bedrooms.
The Sprague-Martell Community Center serves as a hub for community gatherings and events, including baseball games, gatherings to celebrate special events, and a voting location. The Lowe’s Hometowns grant will bring a new kitchen to the space, replacing the current kitchen which was installed in the 1970’s, and allow the non-profit to better serve the community as well as rent the location going forward.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Mountain Empire is a place built to inspire and enable all youth. The Club needs new flooring and a full-service kitchen with a large refrigerator, oven, microwave, dishwasher, and an area for kids to sit. All of this would ensure more children receive a meal so that they don’t go home hungry. Upgrades to this facility will ensure the community’s youth have a great place to grow, learn, and feel safe.
Aid the Silent will make major improvements to better serve deaf and hard-of-hearing children. New sidewalks will ensure students with additional disabilities can access the building. In the wake of plumbing issues, a new patio and playground are needed for teens working with mentors and parents in between their children’s audiology appointments. A stage will allow for family movie nights and community events that currently host over 100 families with hearing loss every single month.
A Pocket Full of Hope Community Center gives youth the opportunity to empower themselves in a non-threatening, participatory and inclusive atmosphere using music, theatre, dance videography and photography. The center has several building improvement needs, including flooring for multiple rooms (i.e., restrooms, kitchen, administrative offices and historical reflection and conference rooms), and a need for baseboards, sinks and vanities.
Anthesis focuses on job readiness, work training and skills development. They would like to add a mural to commemorate the participants, volunteers and donors who help keep the organization functioning and changing lives. The project would also include new ceiling tiles, shelving for donations, resurfacing its parking lot, updating lighting and repainting the exterior building.
American Legion Post 151-John Custy Post has an empty lot except for a sign designating it as the “Veterans Corner” and a few trees that have been planted in honor of Post 151 veterans. The corner needs to be developed to become a true memorial to veterans and first responders.
Aunti Na's Village is a community development organization that purchases abandoned homes and vacant lots, then transforms them into vibrant community centers, complete with outreach programs. The organizations seeks to gut and renovate its Nutrition House, which supports the organizations food-related programming.
Backfield in Motion focuses on education through mastery of literacy and numeracy skills for at-risk youth that leads to a high school diploma, a foundation for higher education, and the on-job skills needed to enter the world of work. The organization uses athletics as an incentive for academic improvement and is in dire need of a renovation to the building they've worked out of since the 1950s. Project plans include painting the gym, classrooms, bathrooms and the gym floor, as well as replacing worn stage curtains.