BJ’s Charitable Foundation Distributes 70 Grants to Support Children and Families Throughout its 15-State Footprint

November 4, 2015 /3BL Media/ - BJ’s Charitable Foundation announced today the donation of 70 grants to nonprofits that will impact the lives of more than two million residents across its 15-state footprint. As part of its quarterly grant cycle, the Foundation contributed $249,900 to benefit the underprivileged in the areas of education and hunger prevention.

“We are very proud to partner with these 70 organizations that support children and families in need that live in the communities surrounding BJ’s Clubs,” said Jessica Newman, Executive Director of the BJ’s Charitable Foundation. “Together, we can feed the people who need it most while also funding essential educational services.”

Some funding examples include:

• Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida (Fort Myers, FL) $5,000 to help with fuel and maintenance costs for its warehouse truck. Providing food for 30,000 individuals each month, the Food Bank partners with 150+ agencies for food distribution including church food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, disaster relief agencies and more.
• The Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry Inc. (Gloucester, MA) - $7,500 to purchase both food and a cooler for its Making the Healthy Choice Easy Program. The goal of the program is to provide those in need with good food and engage entire households to promote healthy eating and wellness. This is done by removing the transportation barrier by bringing healthy food directly to where people live and learn and through nutrition education and weekly outreach.
• Children's Aid and Family Services, Inc. (Paramus, NJ) - $5,000 to purchase nutritious formula for low-income families served through the Baby Basics Program. The program serves low-income families with children ages newborn through two years by providing free nutritional formula for one year and diapers for two years. A range of other services is available to families including counseling, parental education, a safety-net support system and a wide referral base.
• Korean American Family Services (Flushing, NY) - $5,000 to purchase literacy and STEM learning curricular materials, books, art supplies, and physical activity supplies for the Hodori "Little Tiger” Program. This after-school program provides students not only with academic assistance, but also with social and emotional support that will enrich their developmental growth through carefully designed after-school and summer-school programs. 
• Junior Achievement of South Central PA (York, PA) - $2,500 to supply 25 classrooms with program kits in the York City and Harrisburg City In-Class Programs. The kits allow students (grades 9-12) to learn and experience business fundamentals as well as the art and hard work of entrepreneurship as they operate a student-led company.
• Urban Alliance Foundation, Inc. (Washington, D.C.) - $2,000 to fund student wages for the Baltimore High School Internship Program. The nonprofit aims to empower under-resourced youth to aspire, work and succeed through paid internships, formal training, and mentorship. Over 17,000 youth have been served in D.C., Baltimore, Chicago and Northern Virginia to date with a 100% on-time high school graduation rate from high school.

To learn about our other incredible grant recipients, please visit http://www.bjs.com/about/news/content/item1,574.shtml