Imagine announced today a $46,150 grant from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey to support Imagine Newark, a new children’s grief support center opening in the South Ward of Newark.
“We are grateful for the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey’s investment in this program, which will help us broaden our services to reach underserved youth,” said Mary Robinson, Imagine Executive Director and Founder. The support will help many grieving children and their families throughout Newark and beyond to get support for loss due to the death of a parent or sibling. The new center will open in March 2019 in the South Ward of Newark.
“The Healthcare Foundation is proud to support this important work,” said Marsha Atkind, Executive Director/CEO. “We have learned over the years how important it is to address the trauma that children experience and help them deal with their emotions in a positive way. With the support that Imagine will provide, we are hopeful that these children can go on to fulfill their potential and lead happy, productive lives.”
Pictured L-R: Imagine Newark Program Director, Jacelyn Matthews, MA, EdM; Mary Robinson, Executive Director, Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss; Barbara Dixon, Executive Director, South Ward Children’s Alliance.
About the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey
The grant to Imagine was one of 50 totaling more than $6 million awarded by the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey this year to organizations in the Newark, NJ area. The Foundation is an independent, endowed, grant-making organization dedicated to reducing disparities in the delivery of healthcare and improving access to quality healthcare for vulnerable populations in the greater Newark, NJ area. To learn more, please visit https://hfnj.org.
About Imagine
Imagine provides free year-round peer support groups for children aged 3-18 who have had a parent or sibling die with concurrent groups for parents and guardians. Free support groups are also available for young adults aged 18-30 who have had a friend, sibling or parent die.
Imagine is currently seeking adult volunteers to facilitate support groups at the new center in Newark for a February 2019 training. For more information about volunteering or about Imagine Newark click here or contact Imagine Newark Program Director, Jacelyn Matthews, at jacelyn@imaginenj.org or 908-264-3100 x108.
Imagine will host a community kickoff event on Thursday, January 31st at 12pm. We are inviting everyone to learn more about our mission to ensure that no child in Newark grieves alone. In addition, at 6pm on January 31st, there will be a community training for those who want to acquire skills to support grieving children and their families. Imagine is excited to offer such a rich resource to the immediate South Ward community, and to the greater Newark area. Both the community kickoff event and training will take place at 400 Hawthorne Avenue, Newark, NJ.