DCA Awards $330,000 for Athletic Programs for People with Disabilities

• Posted on: 02/10/2023

Four Nonprofit Groups Receive Grants to Advance Sports Training and Athletic Competition

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) announced that it recently awarded a total of $330,000 in grants to four New Jersey nonprofit organizations through the Athletics for Individuals with Disabilities program administered by the Office of Recreation within DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources. The grants are designed to increase the availability of sports training and athletic competition for New Jersey residents with disabilities.

“We encourage the expansion and development of athletic programs that integrate individuals with disabilities,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, who also serves as DCA Commissioner. “This funding will help individuals with disabilities pursue quality training and experience the thrill of athletic competition, which can be so valuable to people’s physical and mental health and sense of well-being.”

Special Olympics New Jersey, Inc. (SONJ) will receive $250,000 for athletic training and competition in 24 sports for up to 25,000 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout New Jersey. SONJ provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults.

Three additional awards will go to Blind Athletes, Inc., the Association of Blind Athletes of New Jersey, and New Jersey Titans Team, Inc.

Blind Athletes. Inc. is a sports club based in central New Jersey focused on creating transformative opportunities and enabling the pursuit of excellence for vision-impaired athletes. A $26,667 grant will help Blind Athletes, Inc. to provide training opportunities for blind and visually impaired athletes in the area of track and field and provide recreational walking activities, including speed walking, and Beepball, a sport that depends on the sense of hearing.

The Association of Blind Athletes of New Jersey (ABANJ), which works with the blind and visually-impaired will receive $26,666 to provide athletic training and competition for blind and visually impaired athletes in New Jersey. The grant will support the training of athletes in the area of goalball, Beep Baseball, Judo, track and field, audio darts, and skiing. Funding will also be used to provide uniforms and equipment. Funds will additionally be dedicated to community outreach to increase participation and awareness of ABANJ's purpose and to encourage donations and volunteerism statewide.

A $26,667 grant will go to New Jersey Titans Team, Inc., a nonprofit Beep Baseball organization, which provides individuals with visual impairments and blindness the ability to engage in Beep Baseball, an adaptive version of baseball. The grant will support training to improve the athlete’s technique, batting, sprinting, and methods of defense skills and field layout. The funding will also allow the team to participate in weekly practices, local and national tournament games.

The Division of Housing and Community Resources strengthens and revitalizes communities through the delivery of affordable housing, supportive services, and financial and technical assistance to communities, local government, and community-based organizations. For more information on the Athletics for Individuals with Disabilities program, visit:
https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/community.html.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: