DCA Awards Grants to Community Organizations for

Back-To-School Supplies

$12,500 in Federal Funding Will Help Disadvantaged Students in Camden and Trenton


 

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Lori Grifa today announced that $12,500 in federal funding was awarded to community development organizations in Camden and East Trenton to provide backpacks and other back-to-school supplies for disadvantaged students.

"The Department is happy to partner with community groups to serve children in need and help them prepare for the upcoming school year," said Commissioner Grifa. "Making small investments in backpacks and school supplies at the beginning of the school year can help students flourish and build a foundation for future educational success."

The funding is made available through the DCA Division of Housing and Community Resources' administration of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), a federal, anti-poverty block grant that awards funds to agencies for health, education, employment, housing and other services for low-income families. Five percent of the state's allocation is reserved for state priorities and special initiatives determined by the DCA Commissioner.

The DCA awarded $10,000 to Woodland Community Development Corporation in Camden, which will use the grant to supply approximately 422 low-income Camden elementary school students with new backpacks and school supplies for the 2011 school year. Each student will receive mechanical pencils, two one-subject notebooks, a pencil case, a 24-pack of Crayola crayons, Crayola color pencils, erasers, glue sticks, school glue, and composition books.

Another $2,500 grant went to Cityworks in Trenton, which will provide approximately 125 backpacks to school-aged children in East Trenton.

The DCA Division of Housing and Community Resources is committed to building neighborhoods and to providing financial and technical assistance to municipalities, community action agencies and other nonprofit organizations for community and economic development projects that improve the quality of life for low-income, disabled and disadvantaged residents.

For more information on the Department's administration of the CSBG grant program, log on to www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/comact.html.

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