Creating "A New Play for Newark," the center brings All Stars’ free community-building and cultural activities to hundreds of young people and their families in and around Newark.
We are grateful to the NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for this much needed infusion of support.
(PRWEB) February 02, 2014
Newark, NJ (January 30) – Long after this year’s Super Bowl Most Valuable Player is named, the game will continue to have an impact on youngsters throughout the State of New Jersey. The NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation (SYF), the charitable arm of the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, is helping to renovate or refurbish youth-serving facilities throughout the Garden State. Today, the All Stars Project of NJ Scott Flamm Center for Afterschool Development announced that it is one of at least 23 sites benefiting from a $1.5 million grant for repairs and renovations from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to SYF through the Community Foundation of New Jersey.
The new Scott Flamm Center for Afterschool Development is a 9,000 square foot state-of-the-art, performing arts facility in downtown Newark. Young people and their families from Newark and the surrounding communities come to the Flamm Center for development training and experiences, interacting with leading business professionals, educators and artists.
“We are grateful to the NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for this much needed infusion of support,” said Gloria Strickland, All Stars Project of NJ Director. “Their generosity completed our expansion campaign, underwriting the creation of our rehearsal and volunteer room at the Flamm Center where hundreds of Newark children will come together to play, perform and develop.”
Ms. Strickland and the Flamm Center Project are among the afterschool leaders and projects featured in a new video created by RWJF
Other repairs across New Jersey funded in part through the RWJF grant include new gym floors, new playgrounds, computer upgrades, roof repairs, new elevators, and top-to-bottom cosmetic improvements. RWJF Senior Vice President and Director of the Health Care Group, John Lumpkin, MD, explained, “an important part of attaining a culture of health is making sure that everyone has the opportunity and access to be physically active. This is especially important for our children. We need to teach kids healthy habits that last a lifetime. And we can only do that when they have safe places to play and be active.”
The list of additional facilities whose repairs have been made possible in part by RWJF, along with a new video showcasing other sites benefiting from the grant, can be found at http://www.rwjf.org/nj.
Based in Princeton, RWJF is committed to making a difference in its home state of New Jersey. In addition to the grant to SYF, RWJF also pledged $5 million immediately following the storm for Sandy recovery in New Jersey.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the largest private foundation in New Jersey and the nation’s largest philanthropy working to improve the health and health care of all Americans. We are striving to build a national culture of health that will enable all Americans to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come. The Foundation has invested more than $1.5 billion in New Jersey since 1972. For more information, visit http://www.rwjf.org/nj. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at http://www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at http://www.rwjf.org/facebook.
About the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee
The NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee is the entity created by the owners of the New York Football Giants and the New York Jets to raise the necessary funds and partner with the NFL to plan and stage Super Bowl XLVIII and all of its associated events. The Host Committee also works closely with area business leaders and public officials to coordinate key logistics and maximize the game’s positive economic impact for the region. Additionally, in an effort to give back to the surrounding region, the Host Committee supports an active roster of charitable initiatives, largely conducted through the work of the Snowflake Youth Foundation, including the rehabilitation of after-school centers, support for the Super Community Blood Drives, and various environmental works.
About the NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation
The NY/NJ Snowflake Youth Foundation is a newly formed charity headquartered at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Created as an initiative of the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee, the Foundation will harness the excitement of the Super Bowl XLVIII to raise critical funds to renovate and transform after-school facilities in the NY/NJ area that provide school-age boys and girls with safe and supervised recreational, educational, and character-building activities. More information can be found at http://www.snowflakeyouthfoundation.org.
About the All Stars Project: Founded in 1981, the trailblazing All Stars Project reaches 10,000 young people each year in NYC, New Jersey, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area and Dallas. All Stars has been a pioneer in the movement to use performance, on-stage and off, to help young people from poor communities to develop. Its core programs are the All Stars Talent Show Network and the Development School for Youth. All Stars is 100% privately funded. Over three decades, tens of thousands of individual philanthropists nationwide have donated $80 million and millions of hours of personal time to share their lives, their expertise, their workplace and their homes with disadvantaged young people. Visit http://www.allstars.org or like us at https://www.facebook.com/Allstarsproject.
