News from Project Self-Sufficiency

The month of December brings with it a rush of visitors to the Project Self-Sufficiency campus, almost all of them bearing toys and gifts for the children of Sussex and Northern Warren Counties.   We find ourselves in the unique position of watching a veritable parade of giving:   Convoys of trucks filled to the brim with toys from the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots Operation Toy Train being offloaded by scores of volunteers in the frigid night air.   A racing boat stuffed with toys docking in the parking lot.   School buses packed with donations from young children across the region.   Employees from local businesses arriving in droves to volunteer.   All of these scenes culminating in a beautifully arranged toy shop made available to more than 1,100 parents selecting toys for more than 2,100 children. This is what the Season of Hope looks like.   This is what it looks like to live in a community that cares. Season of Hope was made possible by so many ge

Students at the Reverend Brown School recently gathered boxes and bags of non-perishable food items for the pantry at Project Self-Sufficiency as part of the school’s Extending Hands initiative.   The effort, initiated and coordinated by Reverend Brown staff member Monica Carelli, collects food donations throughout the school year and rotates donations among area food pantries each month.   Project Self-Sufficiency was chosen to receive donations during November to coincide with the agency’s Thanksgiving food basket distribution to hundreds of local families. “Our Thanksgiving food drive for Project Self-Sufficiency was a wonderful collaboration between our Kids Take Action Club and our Extending Hands program,” explains Reverend Brown Science Coordinator Patricia Quinn.   “The students of Reverend Brown really embraced this outreach project to help feed local families.” The school has made an annual donation to Project Self-Sufficiency’s Thanksgiving food drive fo

Project Self-Sufficiency was recently awarded funding from Impact 100 Garden State, a New Jersey women’s philanthropic organization, to create a mobile version of its programming in order to reach far-flung portions of its service areas in Sussex and Northern Morris Counties where residents may not have easy access to personal vehicles or public transportation.   Funding will be used to retrofit a recreational vehicle with internet access, computer work stations, a counseling office and a classroom, and be staffed by a case manager, computer instructor and career counselor.   The mobile unit will travel a set schedule throughout Sussex and Morris Counties delivering the services which the agency has successfully provided for 30 years. Project Self-Sufficiency has initiated a contest to name the new mobile service unit.   The winner will receive two tickets to the agency’s April 30 th fundraiser, A Taste of Talent, at Perona Farms.   To submit a name for Project Self-