Princeton Organizations Awarded Funding to Bridge Summer Education Gap

PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Area Community Foundation has awarded $487,500 in Summer Initiative grants to 21 local nonprofits. Out of the 21, five are Princeton-based. These funds will support summer camps and programs designed to prevent learning loss and provide affordable childcare options for working families.

For the third consecutive year, the Community Foundation is backing these initiatives that blend academic instruction in reading and math with engaging activities including sports, swimming, arts and crafts, and field trips. Many programs also offer meals and transportation services.

Funding comes from the Community Foundation's Community Impact Grants Fund, which operates thanks to generous contributions from individual donors, foundations, and corporate partners like Johnson & Johnson.

This year's initiative received additional support from community philanthropists, with several longtime supporters making particularly significant donations.

"We have terrific nonprofits in our region whose staffs work tirelessly to ensure that children get academic support over the summer and working parents have childcare when school is out of session," said Mathieu Nelessen, Community Foundation President & CEO. "We're able to help fund these wonderful summer programs because of generous donors in our community, and we'd like to thank everyone who contributed to our grants program."

Here are the local organizations that received the grant:

• Greater Somerset County YMCA, Princeton, $25,000 for its Princeton YMCA Summer Camp, which includes swimming lessons and a social emotion learning component. Grants will be used to pay for scholarships for the program.
• Princeton-Blairstown Center, Princeton, $10,000 for its Trenton Summer Bridge Program at its 268-acre campus. The program includes STEM, STEAM, critical thinking and literacy instruction to address the summer learning gap and the post-pandemic social-emotional skills deficit in students.
• Princeton Community Housing, Princeton, $14,000, for its Youth Summer Enrichment Program, which will provide grants for 50 children living in the agency’s homes, so they can attend local nonprofit and municipal camps and enrichment programs. The program is designed to help reduce summer learning loss, provide access to structured enrichment programs, and reduce the summer financial burden for families.
• Princeton Public Library Foundation, Princeton, $11,039 for its Youth Summer Reading and Volunteer Program. The reading program encourages youngsters to submit book reviews and log 20 reading hours. The volunteer program offers opportunities for teens to take part in group craft projects and to plan and execute community events at the library.
• YWCA of Princeton, Princeton, $35,000, for its 9-week EmpowerU Summer Program, which includes themed activities and field trips. Students can choose from theater arts, science and engineering, global traditions, or arts & crafts and creativity programs. For the first time, the nonprofit will add two off-site locations to reach more children.