| Date |
Description |
| 12/16/03 |
15
boxes of hygiene products, clothing, toys, and reading material
shipped to Pembroke, IL for distribution to the children for
the holidays.
|
| 12/16/03 |
Gifts
dropped off for over 60 children in Jersey City, NJ at the 1st Choice
Women's Resource Center. More bulk gifts dropped off at the Neighborhood
House in Morristown, NJ. |
| 12/15/03 |
Gifts
dropped off for approximately 60 children in Morristown, NJ at
the 1st Choice Women's Resource Center. More gifts dropped off
for 100+ children in Newark at the New Community Corp. More
bulk gifts dropped off at the Neighborhood House in Morristown,
NJ.
|
| 12/12/03 |
Gifts
dropped off for approximately 60 children in Neptune, NJ at the
Macedonia Baptist Church. Gifts dropped off for
100+ children in Newark at the New Community Corp. Bulk gifts dropped
off at the Neighborhood House in Morristown, NJ.
|
| 12/11/03 |
Gifts
dropped off for 6 children to Honey Bunch in Bernardsville, NJ
and approximately 40 children to Kitty's Kids for children in
Newark, NJ.
|
| 12/10/03 |
Over
200 bulk Christmas gifts dropped off at the Hope House in Dover,
NJ.
|
| 12/07/03 |
Approximately
10 coats donated to the Morristown Community Soup Kitchen.
|
| 12/05/03 |
Approximately
20 coats donated to the Morristown Community Soup Kitchen.
|
| 12/01/03 |
CDW in
Illinois ships out bears built at Build a Bear by a team of volunteers
from their company to donate to our Holiday Cheer project. What
a fantastic
idea and great way to have fun while volunteering!
|
| 12/01/03 |
Our
Director of Holiday Cheer, Natalie Bermeo, meets with students
at Belleview High School in NJ to pick up items for the children
they adopted and to discuss the benefits of community service. |
| 11/28/03 |
More
coats and blankets distributed to the poor
in Newark, NJ by our latest recruit, the mother of one of our volunteers,
who is taking off running with this project. |
| 11/25/03 |
Two
college student volunteers finish their semester long project of
collecting 500 children's books and distribute them
to the Heads Start Program in NJ. Another job well organized and
completed! |
| 11/19/03 |
Two
college student volunteers finish their semester long project of
collecting hygiene products and distribute them to the Market Street
Mission in Morristown, NJ. Great job, m'dears! |
| 11/17/03 |
Several
Girl Scouts of America councils begin collecting holiday gifts
for the needy. Contact your local council to see if they are participating. |
| 11/15/03 |
Two
college student volunteers (and their mother) finished their semester
long project of collecting coats and blankets. They distributed
approximately
250 coats and blankets to the poor in Newark, NJ. Excellent
job, ladies.
Photos pending. |
| 11/13/03 |
Two
boxes of items shipped from volunteer in CT to St. Joseph's Indian
School. |
| 11/13/03 |
Two
boxes of items shipped from volunteer in CT to Pembroke School
System in Pembroke, IL. . |
| 11/09/03 |
Focus
America ships first boxes of items to St. Joseph's Indian
School. Items include towels, pillows, Christmas presents,
and hygiene products. Shipping provided by Panurgy in Denville, NJ. |
| 11/05/03 |
Focus
America finalizes the lists of children being sponsored during
Holiday Cheer 2003. Organizations that Focus America is assisting
by collecting items for their children and parents include New
Community Corporation, First Women's Resource
Center
(Montclair, Jersey City, and Morristown locations), FactNJ, Pembroke
Consolidated School, St. Joseph's Indian School, and, through Christmas
is for Children, Hope
House, Honey Bunch, Kitty's Corner, and an agency in Neptune, NJ. |
| 11/04/03 |
Focus
America adopts additional children for the holidays from Fact
NJ,
a nonprofit organization in Union, NJ. |
| 10/31/03 |
Student
volunteers from the College Of Saint Elizabeth Trick or Treat for
Canned Goods. All goods are distributed to the day laborers in
Morristown, NJ the following day. Thank you to the residents in
Madison and Chatham, NJ for contributing for the second year in
a row. |
| 10/27/03 |
Focus
America sends $250 donation to Chain
Reaction for a Cure. |
| 10/26/03 |
Focus
America adopts additional 120 children for the holidays from New
Community Corporation, a nonprofit organization in Newark,
NJ that works to improve the lives of inner-city residents. |
| 10/25/03 |
Student
Volunteer from Focus America has fund raiser at College of Saint
Elizabeth. Raises $207 (after expenses) to donate to Chain
Reaction for a Cure, a non-profit organization that funds breast cancer
research. |
| 10/15/03 |
Focus
America adopts 210 children from the Lakota Indian tribe for the
holidays. Items being sought include basketballs, soccer balls,
hair accessories, wash cloths, twin sheets, and children videos.
Focus AMerica is working in conjunction with the St.
Joseph's Indian School, a nonprofit educational facility
that provides for the basic welfare of children (food, clothing
and medical
care)
with special emphasis on the spiritual, emotional and educational
development of each child, while respecting their culture and
heritage. They are accredited
by the Council on Accreditation of Services
for Families
and Children, Inc. and by
the State of South Dakota. |
| 10/12/03 |
Focus
America adopts 100 children for the holidays from New
Community Corporation, a nonprofit organization in Newark, NJ that works
to improve the
lives of inner-city
residents. |
| 10/10/03 |
Focus
America adopts approximately 30 families (single young mothers
and their children) for the holidays from First
Choice Women's Resource, a nonprofit organization in Morristown,
Montclair, and Jersey City, NJ. |
| 10/09/03 |
Project
Call for Help begins. Student volunteers begin collecting used
cell phones to send to Wireless Foundation for refurbishing and
distribution to domestic violence victims in order to be able to
use for 911 emergency calls. |
| 10/08/03 |
Project
Babysitting for Cancer Victims begins. Two college students will
babysit three young children while the parents go out for a working
business dinner to discuss Chain
Reaction for a Cure, a breast
cancer research non-profit. |
| 10/03/03 |
Zimmerman
and Guichardo met with Father Brando at Saint Margaret's Church
in Morristown to discuss their 4-week workshop and seminar to discuss
Relationship Reality to young Hispanic men and women in the local
area. Topics covered will be the truth about sexual diseases, pregnancy,
and what men/women expect from each other. |
| 10/01/03 |
Student
volunteers met with Saint
Margaret's Church in Morristown to set up their Beautiful Changes
project,
a project to provide young Hispanic women with an opportunity to
pamper themselves and network in a mentor-led group environment. |
| 10/01/03 |
Student
volunteers met with a elementary school in Chatham,
NJ to discuss helping with Project Christmas 2004. |
| 09/24/03 |
Student
volunteers met with an oncologist in New Brunswick
to discuss their project for providing free babysitting service
for cancer victims. |
| 09/15/03 |
Student
volunteers from the College of Saint Elizabeth Special Topics
course (see August
28th entry) have selected their projects to completed
by December 2004. Students will
participate in providing free babysitting service to breast cancer
victims, collect and distribute holiday gifts to over 500 children
in NJ (and IL), organize a musical holiday party at a retirement
center, collect cell phones for victims of domestic abuse, collect
coats and blankets for the working poor, collect new and gently used
books to promote literacy among children, provide a night of beauty
and friendship for young Hispanic girls to address self-esteem issues,
and collect and distribute baskets of hygiene products to women in
NJ.
|
| 08/28/03 |
15
students from the College of Saint Elizabeth began a Special Topics
in Management class that allows the students to "create" a non-profit
company and implement one of the community-service projects. They
must select projects that require NO MONEY. Students must get
all goods and services donated in order to succeed. |
| 08/26/03 |
Over
250 of the backpacks were distributed to the working poor
in Morristown, NJ through the combined efforts of the Market
Street Mission who supplied the distribution location and
Wind of the Spirit who marketed the event to their clients.
The remaining backpacks were shipped out to various clients
from Fact NJ in NJ as well as a few individuals on the
East Coast.
It was
an amazing experience. Children and parents were lined up
around the block, waiting to get their backpacks. Most of
the backpacks were sports related but the children didn't
care. One little girl showed off her new backpack as if she
had just won the lottery. |
 |
|
| 08/20/03 |
 |
Our
Girl Scout Gold Award volunteer, Leanne P., dropped off 300
backpacks,
boxes of teacher supplies, and other supplies for students.
We are very proud of her efforts which will be the Tipping
Point for many people's lives. She is helping to equip students
with the tools necessary to improve their position in life
through education.
Collected
goods are being shipped out to people as far south as the
Carolinas and as far west at Illinois. The remaining goods
will be distributed to the children of the working poor in
Morris County, NJ.
|
Best of luck
at college, Leanne, and thank you so much for all that you did
over the summer. |
| 08/18/03 |
Spoke
with Pembroke. Desperate need for size 18 navy slacks for the
older boys in the school system. Otherwise, supplies have been
distributed and school has started. We have touched many lives
in Pembroke, IL. Everyone who helped us should be proud, especially
Susan Bosworth, RoseMarie Cusumano, Martha Gigio-Wood, Jo-ann
Straat, and Mary Jean Zimmerman.
|
| 08/15/03 |
Met
with the NJ-based volunteer team for Christmas is for Children,
a 501c3 charity that was started 12 years ago by Trisha Murphy
Rae. Last
year,
we
assisted
them
in collecting Christmas gift donations for children at the Battered
Women's Shelter. This year, we will be partnering with them to
provide assistance for all of their children...over 1500 children
were served last year. We are looking forward to this wonderful
partnership.
|
| 08/07/03 |
Met
with St. Margaret's Church in Morristown to discuss Mentor Program
and how to reach out to young girls in their parish for our Fall
program.
|
| 08/06/03 |
Spoke
with Pembroke Community Consolidated School to confirm receipt
of boxes and to strategize how to collect data for remaining
children who will need uniforms. Uniforms and school supplies
will be handed out on registration day (August 12 and 13). School
starts on August 19th. We will do a last minute rush to insure
that all children have uniforms. Boys size 16 and 18 are in desperate
need.
|
| 08/05/03 |
Met
with Verizon and received a grant for financial support of our
Mentor Program in Morristown, a program that will run in the
Fall 2003 to help build self-esteem and break down diversity
issues in young girls, with an emphasis on first-generation Americans.
We are THRILLED to have Verizon's backing for this program.
Shelly
Zimmerman, Founder of Focus America and
Stephen Heller, Director
of Community Relations at Verizon. |
| 07/31/03 |
Met
with Christmas is for Children to discuss upcoming plans for
the holidays. In addition, one of our student volunteers wants
to begin a Thanksgiving Winter Coat Drive for Pembroke IL and
needy communities in New Jersey. Another outstanding project
led by our dynamic college students!
|
| 07/31/03 |
Shipped
four boxes to Pembroke Community Consolidated School in Hopkins
Park, IL. One box contained 35 shirts and 12 pants for the uniforms.
The
other boxes contained items donated by the Madison Baptist Church:
12 box sets of crayons, 25 marker sets, 10 scissors, 187 erasers,
3
calculators,
52 pens,
60 notebooks,
4 notepads,
2 fillers notebook paper packs, 10 math sets (compass, protractors,
ruler), 26 Elmer glues, 7 glue sticks, 530 pencils, Alphabet
stencils, and 50 Coca Cola folders.
|
| 07/30/03 |
Met
with FactNJ to discuss our Mentor Program and other partnership
opportunities.
|
| 07/26/03 |
Started
receiving school supplies from Madison Baptist Church (Madison,
NJ). Also received word that Project Pencils (being run by our
Girl Scout for her Gold Award project) has received unbelievable
quantities of donations including over 300 backpacks, hundreds
of pens and pencils, teaching supplies, computer paper, and other
necessary learning tools. These will be shipped to Pembroke,
IL and distributed to children in need throughout Morris, Passaic,
and Essex counties in New Jersey.
|
| 07/22/03 |
Drop-shipped
55 new white shirts and navy skirts for girls school uniforms
(purchased from JCPenney's )
to Pembroke School District, donated with fund from an
individual donor and matching funds from Sankyo
Pharma.
|
| 07/17/03 |
Drop-shipped
25 white shirts (size 12-16) for boys school uniforms (purchased
from OldNavy.com)
to Pembroke School District, donated with fund from Degussa
Corporation.
|
| 06/15/03 |
Introduction
of Textbook Voucher Program to provide our college-aged volunteers
an opportunity to be rewarded for their time and effort based
upon hours volunteered and performance. Applicants receive up
to $100 as a gift certificate to be used at their college bookstore
to help offset the cost of textbooks.
|
| 06/15/03-07/31/03 |
Project
Pencils begins in Montville, NJ (collection of school supplies
for children in need). This project will be on-going until July
31st. Collection point in Morristown is at the Presbyterian Church
of Morristown's Parish House on South Street.
|
| 05/20/03 |
BIG
NEWS: IRS approved 501c3!
Also, spoke
to the Superintendent of Pembroke schools regarding Project
Summer Education and uniform needs. Desperate need for pants,
skirts, and shirts for the children. They faxed over needs
and information was forwarded to a volunteer for contacting
the Madison Baptist Church who would like to help with this
donation drive.
|
| 05/16/03 |
Formally
announced Project Pencils under the management of our volunteer
high school senior, Leanne, who is working toward her Girl Scout
Gold Award. |
| 05/14/03 |
Spoke
with the head of the Girl Scouts of America Lenni Lenape Council
regarding partnerships for collections of food, clothing, etc.
They will collect and we will distribute. |
| 05/07/03 |
Teleconference
with member of the Outreach Committee from Presbyterian Church
of Morristown, NJ. Submitted a proposal for project funding. |
| 05/06/03 |
Located
a volunteer to paint murals on the wall at the Market Street Mission
in Morristown, NJ as part of Project Cheer. |
| 04/28/03 |
Project
Cheer continued at the Transitional Housing in Morristown, NJ. |
| 04/23/03 |
Completed
training with Girl Scouts of America's Lenni Lenape Council in
order to begin Project Mentor with their 11-15 year old Girl Scouts
in Passaic, NJ. |
| 04/22/03 |
Picked
up 6 pallets of White Rose Saurakraut from Children's Hopes and
Dreams in Dover, NJ and donated it to the Market Street Mission
in Morristown, NJ who, ironically, were thrilled to have it for
their lunch today (hot dogs!). Every little bit makes a difference. |
| 04/22/03 |
Spoke
with Reverand Louis Barnes in Pembroke, IL regarding their need
for Habitat supplies as well as uniforms for the children. Will
begin an alliance with Reverand Barnes as he has been repeatedly
mentioned as the Patron Social Worker of the area. |
| 04/20/03 |
Happy
Easter. Dropped off over 50 lbs. of fresh pork (donated by the
Mennonite community in Bucks County, PA) to the Market Street Mission
in Morristown, NJ. |
| 04/18/03 |
Received
$268 donation from College of Saint Elizabeth's Campus Ministry
(from the Ticket Auction earlier this month). |
| 04/15/03 |
Received
confirmation of grant request to waive the $295 maintenance cost
for the Virtual Community from Blackboard. Also, received confirmation
that Madison Baptist Church in Madison, NJ will adopt our cause
to help use raise goods for communities. |
| 04/10/03 |
Met
with the Girl Scouts of America, Lenni Lenape Council regarding
how to develop cooperative initiatives including a mentor program.
Training for our senior volunteers will begin on April 23rd and
the mentor program will start May 16th in Passaic County, NJ. |
| 03/28/03 |
Packaged
and shipped 2 large boxes of linens and reference material for
the children. |
| 03/15/03 |
Met
with Madison Baptist Church, discussing our programs and asking
to be adopted as one of their "causes". This would provide
volunteer opportunities for congregation members as well as some
potential financial support. |
| 03/14/03 |
Heard
from Morristown church, requesting an April 1st meeting to continue
discussions regarding an Outreach grant. |
| 03/13/03 |
Sent
our first electronic newsletter to Friends of Focus America. Subscribe
by emailing elists@focusamerica.org with
the subject heading SUBSCRIBE. |
| 03/12/03 |
Formally
began recruiting education majors for the Sponsor a Student program.
Identified course curriculum and created a shell course on Blackboard.com's
website. Requested a grant from Blackboard to create a virtual
gathering place. This grant would waive the $295/year cost of maintaining
the grant. |
| 03/05/03 |
Mailed
a request to Morristown church asking for financial assistance
in covering our minimal operational and project expenses until
our 501c3 form is finalized with the IRS (which will allow grant
funding). |
| 03/04/03 |
Began
circulating Sponsor a Student flyers to individuals
and corporations to request sponsorship ($50/student) for our 8-week
summer education program. |
| 02/27/03 |
Elizabeth
Santos, a CSE alumni and Focus America volunteer, coordinated
a wonderful fund raising event at the infamous China Club in
New York City in conjunction with Conquest Marketing. This event
helped raise almost $1000 which will be used to purchase arts
and crafts and additional educational supplies for the children
at Homeless Solutions (Morristown, NJ) as well as sponsor students
in our upcoming Summer Education program. This was our first
major fund raising event. It was completely managed by Elizabeth
who spent an unbelievable amount of time and energy (and enthusiasm)
to make it a success. A
very warm hug and thank you to Elizabeth, Conquest Marketing,
and all of Elizabeth's circle of friends who supported Focus
America by attending this event.
|
| 02/27/03 |
Prudential
employee, Tiffany Regan, dropped off 25 boxes of donated
food to Children on the Green in Morristown, NJ. Children
on the Green is the day care center for children of women
living at the Battered Women's Shelter or Homeless Solutions.
The
daycare provides snacks and lunch for the children. Through
the wonderful efforts of volunteers like Tiffany Regan,
we were able to make a big difference. Now, the money
that WOULD HAVE been spent on snacks for the children
will be spent on purchasing educational supplies.
|
 |
A
very special THANK YOU to Tiffany Regan, Janet Saulterhemmer,
and all of the volunteers at Prudential for touching the lives
of these children.
|
| 02/24/03 |
Project
Cheer started at Homeless Solutions. Volunteers, led
by CSE student, Natalie Bermeo, visit the Homeless Shelter on
a monthly basis to decorate bulletin boards and spend time with
the children. On her first visit, Natalie discovered that some
of the children didn't have notebook paper or pencils in order
to complete their homework. We donated over $150 worth of supplies
to meet this need. |
| 02/22/03 |
Packaged
and shipped 12 large boxes of clothing, shoes, and school supplies. |
| 02/2003 |
Lee
Mary Guichardo and Rosalind Pena, CSE students and Focus America
volunteers, began coordinating and managing supplying volunteers
for the Resource Center at the Community Soup Kitchen in Morristown,
NJ. They provide translation services for the people at the soup
kitchen who are in need of assistance. They help patrons of the
soup kitchen draft resumes and look for jobs. They have volunteers
at the Resource Center every Thursday. |
| 01/21/03 |
Mailed
out 2 requests to local corporations asking for minor funding to
help cover our minimal operational expenses. |
| 01/16/03 |
Packaged
and shipped 3 large boxes of clothing, shoes, and linens plus 3
smaller boxes of reference, religious, and fiction books. |
| 01/15/03 |
Mailed
out 13 requests to local corporations asking for minor funding
to help cover our minimal operational expenses. |
| 01/14/03 |
Dropped
off approximately 40 winter coats and hats/mittens for the patrons
of the Community Soup Kitchen in Morristown, NJ. Spent an hour
mingling with the guest, speaking with some of the working poor
immigrants to let them know we would be at their new resource center
on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help them. |
| 01/14/03 |
Receive
a verbal pledge from the US Army/Department of Defense to receive
numerous computers to send to Pembroke, IL to create a tutoring
computer lab for the children. Anticipated arrival is in March
2003 of computers. |
| 01/13/03 |
Met
with the Community Soup Kitchen in Morristown, NJ to discuss an
alliance. Spanish-speaking student volunteers from the College
of Saint Elizabeth will work at their new resource center on Tuesdays
and Thursdays to help match up resources to people in need. |
| 01/12/03 |
Met
with Homeless Solutions in Morristown, NJ to discuss an alliance.
Student volunteers from the College of Saint Elizabeth will arrange
one night a week for education majors to visit with the children
who live at the homless shelter. We will also search for 5-6
donated computers to set up a tutoring lab for the children.
Heard
from UPS that our grant request was denied due to the volumn
of requests that they receive each year.
|
| 01/09/03 |
Dropped
off approximately 8 boxes of food at the Community Soup Kitchen
in Morristown, NJ. |
| 01/08/03 |
Teleconferenced
with multiple Morristown agencies and arranged a meeting with the
Community Soup Kitchen in Morristown, NJ to discuss providing volunteers
in their new resource center for the homeless and working poor
in the area. |
| 01/08/03 |
Sent over a
form for the Outreach Pastors to distribute to the mothers who
participated in the Christmas Gift drive. The form requests information
about their children (ages, names, birthdays, hobbies) and any
immediate needs for the families such as blankets, hats, coats,
etc. The Outreach Pastors will have the forms back to us by next
week (hopefully) so that we can begin matching up the Pembroke
families with donors. |
| 01/06/03 |
Spoke with the
Outreach Pastors to discuss future projects. While they received
an abundance of charity over the holiday, Focus America is providing
year-round support to this poverty-stricken community. Discussed
Adopt-A-Family campaign to team up affluent families in NJ and
PA with the families in Pembroke. |
| 12/26/02 |
Started
collecting food for the children at Children on the Green in Morristown,
the daycare center that allows the shelter children to attend for
no charge. |
| 12/20/02 |
Dropped
off 20+ Christmas gifts for children living with their mother in
a battered women's shelter and 15+ gifts to Overlook Hospital in
Summit for low-income families. |
| 12/19/02 |
Dropped
off 30+ Christmas gifts for children living with their mother in
a battered women's shelter. |
| 12/19/02 |
Mailed three
more boxes of gifts to Pembroke. |
| 12/18/02 |
Mailed two more
boxes of gifts to Pembroke. |
| 12/16/02 |
Mailed five
boxes of clothing and gifts to Pembroke. |
| 12/13/02 |
Mailed seven
boxes of gifts (two REALLY big ones) to Pembroke. Received our
first unsolicited, out-of-state donation from a family in Massachusetts.
Merry Christmas, Pembroke! |
| 12/12/02 |
Several students
and founder interviewed with the Beacon Newspaper for pre-Christmas
story about Pembroke and Focus America. |
| 12/02/02 |
Mailed one big
box of blankets to Pembroke and eight press releases. Thank you
to everyone who purchased a turkey ticket as this shipment was
paid for by your contribution. |
| 11/27/02 |
Partnered
with Christmas is for Children in New Jersey by adopting 25 children
who are living in a shelter for battered women or homeless people. |
| 11/27/02 |
Mailed four
boxes to Pembroke: two of baby clothing, one of food, and one full
of coats, hats, and blankets. Thank you to everyone who purchased
a turkey ticket. Your contribution enabled us to mail these items! |
| 11/26/02 |
Completed turkey
raffle, selling over 100 tickets. Three turkeys were raffled off
and delivered. |
| 11/25/02 |
Mailed grant
request to Ingram
Micro requesting funding for uniforms, educational materials,
and computers for distance learning initiatives. |
| 11/21/02 |
Mailed grant
request to the Wachovia
Foundation requesting funding for marketing material production. |
| 11/13/02 |
Students from
the College of Saint
Elizabeth started their turkey raffle to students, family,
friend, and instructors. |
| 11/12/02 |
Meeting with
firms in Newark who are donating time to advise us on future direction
of Focus America, particularly with dispersement of donations to
our projects. |
| 11/11/02 |
Mailed 5 large
boxes of clothing, bedding, canned soups, canned beans, pasta and
rice. |
| 11/08/02 |
Mailed grant
request to the Gap requesting
GapCard funding for purchasing more uniforms for the students of
Pembroke. |
| 10/31/02 |
Students from
the College of Saint
Elizabeth went Trick or Treating for canned goods to send to
Pembroke. |
| 10/28/02 |
Mailed two boxes
with 50+ navy pants and skirts and 55 white collared shirts to
Pembroke to help get the children back into the schools. |
| |
|
