By Elizabeth Wulfhorst
Earlier this month the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners approved two resolutions that granted over $24 million dollars in federal aid money to 93 county nonprofit organizations. The awards came through the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) COVID-19 Community Recovery Grant Program.
According to the county, nonprofit organizations were eligible to receive up to $500,000 in funding for either expenses incurred or revenue lost during the pandemic, or for programs and services related to pandemic recovery.
Dozens of organizations that serve the Two River area received grants from a few thousand dollars up to the full half million. Groups that help combat food insecurity (Lunch Break: $500,000, Fulfill: $500,000) and domestic violence (180 Turning Lives Around: $500,000); that support children and families (Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County: $500,000, YMCA of Greater Monmouth County: $485,025.50) and promote the arts (Middletown Township Cultural & Arts Council: $369,010, Phoenix Productions: $54,800) and many others benefited from the program.
Here are highlights showing how some of the recipient organizations plan to use their grant money.
Count Basie Center for the Arts: $500,000
“COVID hit us hard,” said Jon Vena, chief marketing officer for Count Basie Center for the Arts. “The performing arts sector took a hit. It took a real hit.”
Which is why Vena said he really appreciates the grant program. “We are so grateful to the county for the work they did and the appropriations they made with these funds,” he said.
Vena explained that coming through the pandemic took ingenuity, effort and the support of the community, which kept the doors open even at the height of COVID outbreaks. The Basie never had to shut down completely, instead pivoting to outdoor venues for concerts and even drive-in events. “We did everything we could to keep our organization and our nonprofit mission viable during that time,” he said.
The money the Basie received from the county will go toward making sure the doors stay open and welcoming to the community – upgrading the HVAC system in the original theater. “We thought it appropriate to put it back into something that would allow people to continue gathering and to continue being safe,” Vena said, noting the historic theater will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2026.
“Having the right types of airflow and filtration” is important, he said. “You know, we’ve looked at several studies that point to that as a very real and very advantageous mitigating factor for indoor facilities. So that’s where we’re going to appropriate those funds.”
Vena said an advanced HVAC system with the latest air filtration technologies, along with other preventative measures individuals can take when they come to a show – choosing to wear a mask or being vaccinated – in combination is “the best way for people to gather.”
The center’s newest editions, the Grunin Arts and Education building and The Vogel, which opened during the pandemic, already have updated systems.
The Basie is currently awaiting delivery of the new HVAC unit and hopes to have it installed and running by early September.
Preferred Behavior Health Group: $97,100
Linda Keenan, chief development officer of Preferred Behavioral Health Group, said the organization was “pleased and grateful” to receive the full amount asked for on their grant application. “We decided to apply for the grant because we are always looking for funds to enhance our services,” Keenan said about the nonprofit that has been providing guidance, counseling and assistance to individuals and families in Central New Jersey since 1978.
“What we have seen as an organization is that the need for behavioral health care and support – health care support treatment – has increased exponentially over the past two years,” she said, and the group needed funds to “enhance our communications tools, specifically our website.” Keenan noted that the website is a “lifeline for many people who are looking for support and looking for help.”
Two and a half years into the pandemic, more people are online completing everyday tasks and the new website will provide videos, blogs, interactive messaging, scheduling capabilities, information about warning signs, the impact of mental illness, links to other resources and more, while being completely HIPAA compliant.
“When there are behavioral health issues, whether it’s mental illness or substance use disorders, people need information right away,” Keenan said.
“This funding is actually going to enable us to do development, creation, programming, implementation, hosting, everything that is critical for a well-developed information resource center, and that’s how we’re looking at our website,” she said.
Keenan said the development of the website is expected to take three to four months, so new features could be active by the end of the year.
Family & Children’s Service: $128,431.44
Family & Children’s Service (FCS) is the county’s oldest nonprofit social services organization. Since 1909 it has been helping address homelessness; neglect, abuse or exploitation; health and respite care; financial instability due to physical, developmental or mental disabilities; childhood literacy; and long-term care planning, according to its website.
But, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Samantha White, the group’s director of development, said they noticed how hard the isolation measures hit one of the most vulnerable groups they serve – seniors. Even after pandemic measures eased, “so many of our clients weren’t returning to normal activity,” White noted.
“So we’re using the money to pilot and launch an in-home recreation program,” she said.
FCS will have a recreational director to oversee volunteers who will visit seniors in their homes to participate in activities they may have done pre-pandemic at a senior center or other facility. Volunteers and seniors with similar interests will be matched for a weekly or monthly visit to paint, play cards, enjoy music or anything else they enjoyed doing before COVID hit.
FCS will use the ARPA grant money to “watch” the program through the end of the year, White said.
“We’re really excited about it,” she said. “I don’t know that anyone else is doing it. And we really have seen that it’s just such a need – the more interaction you have, the longer people are living and the healthier people are living.”
Seniors interested in the program or those considering volunteering can reach out to Family & Children’s Service at 732-222-9111 or fcsmonmouth.org.
In addition to the program, FCS will use part of the money received to address ventilation issues in their building.
Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore: $500,000
One of the biggest expenses for Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore (GSJS) during the pandemic was keeping its camps open, explained Carla Scarabino, vice president of external affairs for the organization. Keeping camps running required expenditures no one was expecting: hand sanitizer, masks, laptops for virtual work, training of counselors and much more.
And GSJS also lost revenue as camp enrollment plummeted. But closing their camps wasn’t an option in Scarabino’s eyes.
“We really found that Girl Scouts, with the values and the activities that we have, we really were supporting mental health, especially during the pandemic,” she said. So even though they operated camp at a loss, “we knew that we had to, we had to be there.”
“We felt so strongly about going forward with everything and then we were able to offer programs all throughout the pandemic to our girls,” Scarabino said. She explained how they created “badge boxes” which allowed girls to complete the steps to earn badges from home instead of at a meeting or outing and developed virtual programming as well.
The grant money from the county – in addition to help from other community partners – will help cover those expenses and others, which GSJS and all other recipients were required to itemize on the grant application. “I love the fact that this grant was not just arbitrary, you know,” Scarabino said. “Nobody just came up with number. You really had to show both what you had spent and then the loss of revenue that you had.”
At a July 18 press conference at Brookdale Community College, Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone spoke about the benefits these grants will offer to the community.
“We are thrilled to be able to support our nonprofit organizations that are true community partners and help make Monmouth County an incredible place to live, work and raise a family,” he said. “To date, the county has utilized almost $150 million in federal funding to assist our residents, including small businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, renters and landlords.”
This article originally appeared in the July 28 – Aug. 3, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
