Brick Awards $43K In Grant Funding to Local Nonprofits

The Brick Township municipal complex. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Brick Township has obtained $43,000 in grant funding for local charitable organizations, with Mayor John Ducey having announced the recipients during a ceremony at a recent meeting of the township council.

Under the grand program, the township applies for funding on behalf of organizations. This year, about $150,000 was requested.

Ocean County Meals on Wheels, as in previous years, received the largest single grant – $10,000 – to ensure that “no senior citizen goes hungry” in Brick, said Jim Sigurdson, the organization’s executive director. Brick’s contribution to the program goes toward ensuring the nutrition center at the VFW Post on Adamston Road continues to serve healthy meals to township seniors, and that transportation issues are solved at the local level.

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Through Brick’s commitment to transportation alone, the county organization saves as much as $80,000 annually.

“It is a partnership that I can honestly say, should be mirrored in every municipality, but unfortunately is not,” Sigurdson said.

The second-highest grant was awarded to Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity, specifically to support the organizations ongoing projects within the township. The grant funding will be used in Habitat’s “A Brush With Kindness” program, which helps families in need complete necessary repairs on their homes.

Additional funding went to:

• Ocean County Hunger Relief, $4,000, for “immediate assistance” to those who cannot afford food.
• Providence House, $3,500, toward the organization’s efforts to provide legal advocacy and counseling to victims of domestic violence in Brick Township.
• Dottie’s House, $3,500, to support the organization’s shelter for battered women in Ocean County.
• Interfaith Hospitality Network, $3,000, to support the organization, which shelters local homeless families in churches, including one in Brick, Epiphany Roman Catholic Church. Representatives from the organization said 16 and 26 children are currently being provided food and shelter, with the average stay of a family lasting 106 days.
• Jersey Shore Council, Boy Scouts of America, $2,500, to fund summer camp registration and scouting materials, such as uniforms and books, for boys whose families could not otherwise afford participating in scouting.
• The Arc of Ocean County, $1,500, to go towards a pre-employment program that teaches those with intellectual disabilities skills they need to obtain a job.
• Ocean’s Harbor House, $1,500, to help the organization assist homeless and abused youth with shelter, food, and life skills outreach.
• Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey, $1,500, to cover background checks and extra insurance so 158 volunteer drivers can assist elderly residents get to appointments.
• Visitation Soup Kitchen, $1,250, for the expansion of the soup kitchen schedule. Previously, the kitchen served hot lunch on the third Wednesday of each month. Now, the kitchen also serves soup and sandwiches every Wednesday, maintaining the hot lunch on the third week of each month.
• Big Brother and Big Sisters of Ocean County, $1,000, to support mentoring efforts.
• STEPS, $1,000, toward temporary housing for potentially homeless local residents, as well as mediation in court.