Asking the Public to Learn About its Services and How You Can Help!
Many children in Jersey City are brought up in communities ruled by gangs, violence and drugs. These kids fall victim to street life, mainly because they aren’t given the opportunity to explore their dreams and see what else is out there. Covenant House New Jersey (CHNJ) recently launched an innovative program to help change these patterns and bring hope to the lives of Jersey City teens.
From September 2009 through March 2010, an exploratory study of Jersey City was conducted by CHNJ to identify the challenges faced by the homeless and at-risk youth in this city. The goals of the study were to determine if there was a need for Covenant House services in Jersey City and to examine level of services provided to youth up through the age of 21. The findings showed that there weren’t any agencies in the city that conducted street and community outreach with the purpose of connecting at-risk youth to stable housing and critical support services.
In 2011 CHNJ started its Jersey City outreach program with grant funding from the W.E. Simon Foundation. This grant allowed Covenant House to hire outreach workers, purchase a vehicle and secure office space on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Jersey City. The outreach employees work tirelessly to infiltrate Jersey City’s poverty stricken communities, develop trusting relationships with the citizens and help prevent youth from turning to gangs, prostitution and crime to survive. Covenant House’s Jersey City outreach is a unique program; there aren’t any other non-profit organizations or services that infiltrate the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods on a daily basis. Continue reading Covenant House NJ recently launched Jersey City outreach program
 Tips for organizing your money from The Provident Bank
Not Yo Mama’s Fair Organizers, LLC (NYM) is an event planning company which coordinates craft fairs, based out of Jersey City, NJ. NYM was started in 2009 with the idea of bringing high end crafting into the mainstream and helping develop the business of thousands of artisan crafters. Not Yo Mama’s Fair Organizers, LLC partner with local community and art organizations to set up fairs and ultimately donate a portion of the proceeds to the partnering organization. Not Yo Mama’s Fair vendors create a wide range of handmade goods; jewelry, handcrafted leather, stationary, original artwork, home goods as well as furniture. Currently run by artists Megan Gulick and Michelle Mumoli, NYM has 15 fairs scheduled from April through December of 2012, with as far a reach as Newark and Asbury Park.
Dr. Ellen O’Connor recently retired after dedicating her career to childhood literacy. She is the former Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction at the Bayonne Board of Education. 
Sr. Joan Sullivan is an adjunct ESL instructor at Passaic County Community College. She previously served as the Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Newark.
John J. Gillespie was a special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration of the U.S. Department of Justice for 31 years until 2003. He then went on to work for Pamrapo Savings and Loan in Bayonne until 2010. 
The team also includes Felix Tejada, Jose Aviles and Johnny Hernandez of Union City; William Arevalo, Anthony Valentini, Jarrett Blair and Gino Montero of Jersey City; Carlos Lopez of North Bergen; and Hector Melendez of Hoboken.
Hudson County Community College and Saint Peter’s College signed documents formalizing the memorandum of understanding between the two colleges. Seated from left: HCCC President Dr. Glen Gabert and SPC President Dr. Eugene Cornacchia. Standing from left: SPC Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Marylou Yam and HCCC Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Eric Fri  