Years of ServicePrograms and Initiatives
How United Way Helps
2024 Funded Agency Programs and Descriptions
Information is from Grant Requests
Funding for JULY 1, 2024 to JUNE 30, 2025
Note: Funding amounts for July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 can be found here.
The Arc Gloucester
Camp Sun ‘N Fun
The Arc Gloucester’s Camp Sun ‘N Fun program provides respite for family and caregivers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). For many caregivers, it is the only respite available that will provide them with temporary relief from their daily 24-hour care responsibilities. For the campers, the program provides a full, independent, outdoor camp experience in a safe and enjoyable environment while enhancing the camper’s abilities and increasing socialization skills which, in turn, increases their ability to be a productive contributor to their community. In 2023, the program was able to return to a typical camp format for the first time in three years because of the pandemic. The agency is looking forward to continuing and growing that success in 2024.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence
Mentoring in Gloucester County
Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence (BBBSI) provides professionally supported one-to-one mentoring to youth in Gloucester County using the evidence-based BBBS mentoring model. Our programs provide positive adult role models in the lives of youth facing systemic barriers like racism and poverty that reduce the likelihood of long-term behavioral and academic problems and help them become confident, caring, responsible adults. In Gloucester County, we offer Community-Based (CB) mentoring as well as our new Big Cousins program. With CB mentoring, relationships are year-round; mentors interact with families and see youth mentees 2-4 times per month on weekends and/or after school in the community. Mentoring matches commit to at least one year in the program, with many relationships lasting far longer. In addition, we now offer a Big Cousins program that provides group mentoring services for our Littles currently on our waiting list. These group mentoring sessions are held once a month and rotate throughout our service area. All youth awaiting a match are encouraged to take advantage of these activities, and many of our Gloucester County youth have already begun attending these sessions.
Boy Scouts of America, Garden State Council
Scouting Positive Impact & ScoutReach
Scouting Positive Impact / ScoutReach Program gives unique leadership and emphasis to urban and rural Scouting programs. ScoutReach is BSA’s commitment in making sure that all young people have an opportunity to join Scouting, regardless of their circumstances, neighborhood, or ethnic background. It reaches all age levels and programs that are associated with Boy Scouts of America. Today, young people are faced with many challenges as they often face fragile families and disintegrating neighborhoods. ScoutReach meets the developmental needs of youth in urban settings and housing developments. The program also focuses on the U.S. rural population, which constitutes approximately 25% of the total U.S. population. Some rural communities are stable and growing, whereas others are characterized by decentralized, low-density populations and/or poverty. Scouting, by emphasizing ethics and moral values, addresses many of the social concerns of parents and youth in our country. Scouting prepares urban and rural youth to be leaders, accept responsibility, and care about principles and causes beyond their own self-interest. Our biggest asset in urban and rural neighborhoods is a well-defined program based on values, learning-by-doing, fun, and positive role models.
Center for Family Services
Mother Child Residential
Center for Family Services’ (CFS) Mother Child Residential Program (MCR) meets the basic needs of vulnerable women and children and empowers homeless women to achieve a better life for their families. Upon arrival, residents complete an intake to identify their unique needs and develop and intensive case management plan. MCR offers on-site counseling, educational classes focused on baby bonding, parenting, anger management, behavioral health, domestic violence, healthy relationships, sexual violence, financial empowerment, cooking, substance abuse, housing, career and educational opportunities. In 2023, MCR added a housing stability plan to our services to document all the steps needed to support the family in moving towards permanent housing.
Center for People in Transition
Steps to a Career
Our Steps to a Career Program guides clients in achieving self-reliance after experiencing traumatic circumstances, such as but not limited to: separation, divorce, domestic violence, becoming widowed, or disability of their spouse. We collaborate with clients who have faced various obstacles due to crises they have experienced to achieve their career goals and maintain these goals. Our program helps our clients by aiding them in the job search process, producing and maintaining their resume, guiding them through the interview process, and helping them sustain employment.
FamCare
Special Medical Services Program
Famcare’s Special Medical Services Program (SMS) provides routine reproductive health care, cancer screening, and diagnostic testing for uninsured and under-insured Gloucester County residents. Onsite services include gynecological exams, thin prep pap tests, testicular exams, blood pressure screening, HIV and STD testing, and health education. Diagnostic ultrasound referrals are also available for breast, pelvis, vagina, and occasionally, scrotum examinations. United Way funding ensures access for low-income uninsured individuals, benefiting those at or below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Famcare’s Glassboro site serves 432 clients at or below 100% FPL with no fee, and charges on a sliding scale for others. The upcoming 2024 mobile health unit aims to expand access, especially for those facing travel obstacles.
Food Bank of South Jersey
School Pantry at Woodbury Junior-Senior High School
The Food Bank of South Jersey’s (FBSJ) mission is to provide an immediate solution to the urgent problem of hunger by providing food to people in need, educating individuals and families about the importance of eating nutritiously, and helping residents find sustainable ways to improve their lives. FBSJ will use funding from the United Way of Gloucester County to support one of FBSJ’s mission-based School Pantry programs located at Woodbury Junior-Senior High School.
FBSJ addresses children’s hunger through myriad ways, including our implementation of Kids Thrive 365, which ensures children who live in our service area who experience food insecurity receive the critical nutrition required for kids to flourish. FBSJ distributes the food to its wide network of agencies, who then determine and verify eligibility to receive services. Additionally, FBSJ hosts 30 mobile distributions each month, including 13 sites at school pantries. The School Pantry at Woodbury Junior-Senior High School was designed specifically to tackle the critical problem of hunger, particularly childhood hunger, in Gloucester County.
The Woodbury Junior-Senior High School Pantry offers a monthly food distribution on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Open to all Woodbury residents…including school-aged children…the easily accessible School Pantry provides shelf-stable products as well as proteins, dairy products, and seasonal fresh produce. In addition, FBSJ partners with Inspira Health System to provide monthly nutrition education services for residents during the Woodbury Junior-Senior High School monthly distribution event. A registered dietician from Inspira Health is available to offer nutritional advice, food selection and dietary tips, and recipes for cooking healthy meals.
Glassboro Child Development Centers
Camp Horizon School Year and Summer Learning Program
Our agency provides before and after school and summer programs for PreK-8th grade. GCDC’s 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant serves Glassboro students in grades 3-8 after school and during summer, at no cost to families. But our Glassboro PreK-2nd grade students (and Gloucester County students outside of Glassboro) remain unable to access consistent funds to support attending our programs if their families do not qualify for state childcare subsidies. These low to moderate income families known as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) continue to struggle with affordability brought on by the pandemic. Without our program and this funding, it leaves a gap of 30 Gloucester County students who would otherwise not be able to attend our school age programs. For 38 weeks during the school year and for 9 weeks during summer, we will provide Camp Horizon School Age or Summer Learning, Monday through Friday, 7AM to 5PM, for 30 students in grades PreK-2 from ALICE families at a reduced rate of at least 50% of the state’s private cost. This program includes academic enrichment, all meals, physical activities including outdoor education, STEM and Arts programs, and service learning. All parents will be working or attending school or training programs.
HollyDELL
Adult Program Community Inclusion
The HollyDELL Adult Program provides day habilitation for adults, ages 21 and over, with moderate to severe disabilities. The HollyDELL Community Inclusion Initiative allows these individuals to experience diverse aspects of life through direct interaction in the community. This initiative provides opportunities for the HollyDELL Adult Program participants to engage in a variety of activities in the local community. During these activities, individuals work on academic, life, and social skills while participating in educational and recreational outings. Each participant has goals listed in their Individualized Service Plan which are developed in partnership by the individual and/or guardian and support coordinator.
The Community Inclusion Program offers participants opportunities to work on social skills when visiting restaurants, parks, and local farms for hayrides and time by the firepit. The participate in physical activities such as bowling, miniature golf, and exercise programs through Get FIT at Rowan University. They also engage in learning and leisure activities at the aquarium, zoo, planetarium, and museums while spending time with their peers and work on life skills while shopping at local stores and malls.
These outings offer the participants an opportunity to interact and engage not only with their peers with disabilities, but also nondisabled individuals, which reduces social isolation and improves both their mental and physical health. Being physically active is vital when it comes to living a long and healthy life. Having access to recreational activities, stores, and parks enables persons with disabilities to fully participate in life at the same level as nondisabled individuals.
Literacy New Jersey
Gloucester County Adult Literacy Program
Literacy New Jersey will recruit, train, match and support volunteer tutors to work with adults in Gloucester County who struggle with their literacy skills. Tutors will provide free, one-to-one and small-group instruction to Gloucester County residents in basic literacy, preparation for the high school equivalency exam (HSE) and English as a Second Language (ESL). Students typically meet with their tutors an average of 3 hours per week. We are so proud of our students as they navigate life’s challenges while learning to read, write and speak English, and while working toward a better understanding of the current job market. Our adult literacy students struggle with everyday tasks many of us take for granted: scheduling a doctor’s appointment, reading a store receipt, or helping their children with homework. Adults with low incomes and low literacy are more likely to lack the skills that are a necessity in our current job market, and Literacy New Jersey works to help bridge this gap.
Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice
Center for Grief Support
The Samaritan Center for Grief Support has been providing counseling and support groups to South Jersey community members since 1999, and we look forward to marking our 25th anniversary in 2024! Thanks in great part to donors such as United Way of Gloucester County, our counseling and grief support groups have continued and expanded. Born out of necessity, during the recent pandemic, Samaritan has continued to offer the option for virtual engagement, allowing many to access counseling regardless of their ability to gather. Samaritan proudly offers grief counseling for our families, as well as for individuals in our community at-large, whether or not we cared for their loved ones.
Volunteers of America, Delaware Valley
Eleanor Corbett House
The Eleanor Corbett House – Supplemental Housing Program (SHP) serves individuals who would otherwise be ineligible for housing benefits through the Gloucester County Board of Social Services or Work First New Jersey (WFNJ). During the course of their participation in the SHP, individuals served will work with case management to complete a comprehensive risk/needs assessment and an Individualized Service Plan (ISP); develop budget and savings plans; participate in Rent Smart Tenant Education curriculum; establish linkages to the community and its resources; and develop strategies for obtaining permanent housing. In providing service to this population, VOADV aims to meet the immediate needs of each family in order to lessen the impact of first-time or episodic homelessness, and to promote the stabilization, wellness and resiliency of each family unit. Through culturally responsive and strengths-based assessment and case planning, VOADV’s long-term goal is to assist families in achieving and maintaining economic self-support and self-sufficiency so upon discharge from the program, they are less likely to return to homelessness.
YMCA of Gloucester County
Before & After School Program
(SACC)
Based on a program developed by the YMCA, the nation’s largest provider of child care, the School’s Out program is flexible and affordable. Choose from before- and/or after-care. Gloucester County YMCA’s School’s Out Program provides a safe and fun environment led by active, adult role models who promote positive youth development. Serving children and youth from kindergarten through fifth grade in the child’s own school, the programs provide families with quality, consistent care before and after school hours.
The School’s Out experience is based on a set of seven objectives that characterize all YMCA school age programs:
1. Promote positive youth development
2. Develop strong relationships
3. Build strong partnerships with young people, families, schools and communities
4. Create a fun and safe environment
5. Support working families
6. Foster opportunities for learning
7. Have fun!
