5 Princeton Nonprofits Get Grants For Summer Programs

PRINCETON, NJ – Five Princeton nonprofits received grants from the Princeton Area Community Foundation for summer programs that engage local young people, especially tweens and teens living in underserved communities.

The goals of the grants are to help bridge access to summer programming and increase the participation of youth and support families who may not otherwise have options available.

The grant winning organizations are:

• Arts Council of Princeton, Princeton: $9,500 for the Summer Arts for Unaccompanied Teens, which offers 10-weeks of free, bilingual summer arts programming and meals to unaccompanied youth who are enrolled at Princeton High School. The program teaches printmaking, digital arts, ceramics and illustration.

• Princeton Community Housing, Princeton: $13,500 for its Youth Summer Enrichment Program, which will provide grants for 46 children to attend nonprofit and municipal summer camps. PCH’s social services coordinator, a licensed social worker, will promote the program and help families with registrations.

• Princeton Nursery School, Princeton: $14,280, for its Un Poco de Todo: An Active, Enriching, and Engaging Summer Experience for All! program; 84% of their families could not afford summer programming without the tuition assistance offered by the school. The summer program will offer experiences that promote cultural exploration, physical activity, and community building with classmates and families.

• Princeton-Blairstown Center, Princeton: $10,000, for its Trenton Summer Bridge Program, which focuses on addressing the summer learning gap and the post-pandemic social-emotional skills deficit in students. Students receive STEAM and literacy instruction, learn about communication, cooperation, critical thinking and creativity and develop an increased appreciation for the outdoors while attending camp at the 268-acre PBC Campus.

• YWCA of Princeton, Princeton: $9,780, for its Summer Enrichment Initiative: Igniting Engagement and Exploration; each week, visitors will provide an array of experiences, including a mobile planetarium, a traveling zoo, storytelling, STEM lessons, and circus performances.

The summer programs are also designed to help prevent academic summer slide and provide social-emotional learning lessons and enrichment opportunities.

“We are committed to our communities, and to working with nonprofit partners who work daily to support families and help make a difference for children,” said Nelida Valentin, Community Foundation Vice President of Grants and Programs. “We know that for many of these working families, summertime presents childcare challenges, which is why we’re funding these outstanding programs. Having caring adults and good programming that reaches kids can make a difference in the lives of young people.”

The Summer Initiative Grants are funded through the Community Foundation’s Community Impact Fund. The Burke Foundation, J&J Innovative Medicine (formerly Janssen), and generous individuals also contribute to the Fund.

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