Our
Outreach
Currently, we have adopted families in the following
states through our People
Helping People Program:
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Michigan
- New
Jersey
- New
York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- West
Viriginia
If
you live in one of these states and would like to participate,
please contact us at family@focusamerica.org.
Need
Assistance?
Please
have a local social service agency contact us via fax
at 707-371-7037. We do not take direct solicitations
from individuals. You must be referred to us.
Corporate
and Individdual Sponsors:
The more sponsors we have, the more
families we can support. Help us by donating computers,
adopting a family, or providing financial support. Contact
Shelly Zimmerman at szimmerman@focusamerica.org.
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Support
these wonderful programs.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE
Donations are tax deductible and you can donate by credit card
or mail your tax deductible donation to
Focus America A NJ Non-Profit Corporation
PO Box 267
Convent Station, NJ 07961
As
much as we'd like to, we do not provide financial assistance. |
Poverty
is a serious problem in our country. The working poor are invisible
in our society. Over half
a million (500,000) households in New Jersey are not earning
enough money to support their households. The
result
is that everyone in the family suffers. These families cannot
afford good housing which, studies prove, result in children
being more
inclined to suffer from disease, serious injury, educational
failure, malnutrition, and other problems.
How
to Help: Donors should send gift cards to
grocery stores such as Kroger, Albertsons, Shop Rite, A&P,
and Piggly Wiggly
to our mailing address below. This keeps the family's information
private and also cuts down on shipping expenses (37 cents
vs. up to $50 for mailing a box of canned goods!). You can
also purchase these online from your home computer. A tax
form will be mailed to you upon receipt of the gift card.
The
fact is that the working poor in New Jersey (and across the entire
country) need assistance. The problems they face
require
services that are only provided by government agencies
and social service charities. While there are many organizations
that address
these issues, there will never be enough assistance until
there are no more people living in poverty and struggling
to put
food on their table, clothing on their children, and safe
roof over
the heads of their family.
Focus
America's People Helping People Program selects
a few qualified low-income or working poor families earning less
than $25,000/year and assists them for
up to 12
months by providing a monthly box of non-perishable food, educational
supplies for the children, hygiene products, and clothing by
a dedicated volunteer who finds donors to assist with the family's
needs. In addition, volunteers find donors to provide assistance
during holidays, gently used or new winter clothing
for the children, and a free computer (when available).
The
following table indicates the number of target and actual families
adopted in our People Helping People Program. Please notice that
in 2004, the kick-off year for this program, we determined to
only adopt 4 families but, found enough donors to adopt 12 families.
These numbers DO NOT include families helped by our other
programs.
| Year |
Target
Goal for
Families Adopted |
Actual
Number of
Families Adopted |
| 2004 |
4
new families |
12
families and counting |
| 2005 |
12
new families |
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For
2005, only 12 are scheduled to be selected. Qualified
applicants will be interviewed and required
to sign
an agreement
outlining their role and responsibilities while
participating in Focus America's People Helping People Program.
Facts
About Poverty
In
2003, the federal poverty level for a family of three was $15,260
(equivalent to a full-time job at an hourly wage of $7.34).
The
federal poverty level for a family of four is $18,400 which
is equivalent to a full-time job at an hourly wage of $8.85.
However,
Dr. Diana Pearce from the University of Washington published
a report that determined families without smaller children
need to make over $24,000/year in order to pay rent and, hopefully,
meet all other household expenses . This figure increases depending
on which county in New Jersey the family resides and whether
or not the family has smaller children that require childcare.
In
January 2003, the NJ Department of Labor reported that 25% of
New Jersey jobs pay less than $20,250 per year. In addition,
a report by the New Jersey 2003 Consolidated Action Plan (prepared
by DCA) reported that over 16% of all households in New Jersey
(or 500,000 households) reported incomes less than $20,000/year.
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