The St. Francis Community Center, located in the Brant Beach section of Long Beach Township, is one of 20 nonprofit organizations to receive a grant from Ocean County, for its help providing transportation to the elderly and disabled. Now in its 30th year, the county’s mini-grant program will be the source of more than $40,000 expected to be distributed for such purposes.
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| Photo via Google St. Francis Center offers transportation services through its Senior Services Program. |
“The size of Ocean County – more than 638 square miles – makes it difficult for the county to run a transportation system that can accommodate the needs of all of our residents,” Freeholder Director John C. Bartlett Jr. stated in a press release. “Providing this funding to these agencies helps to enhance the county’s program.”
The mini-grant program has provided close to $1.8 million since it began in 1985. The program is funded through a portion of the county’s casino revenue grant from NJ Transit. Ocean County is the only county in the state that provides a portion of its grant funds to help local nonprofits, said Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little, who serves as liaison to Ocean Ride.
“This program goes hand-in-hand with our Ocean Ride public transportation system by helping to offset transportation costs for some nonprofit organizations,” Little stated.
The maximum grant award for this year’s program was $2,000 per applicant. The mini-grants help fill transportation gaps that the county system could not otherwise fill, David Fitzgerald, director of the Ocean County Department of Transportation, noted.
Because the county’s casino revenue grant has been declining since 2008 and funding has dropped by over 50 percent, the county’s transportation advisory committee has recommended the maximum award remain at $2,000.
Grant applications are reviewed by the county’s transportation services department in conjunction with the Ocean County Transportation Advisory Committee for Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities, which makes recommendations to the board of freeholders. New applicants are not currently being accepted due to limited funding.
“Doing so would place an additional strain on the mini-grant program in future years,” Fitzgerald said.
Other 2015 grant recipients include The Arc, Ocean County Chapter; Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey; Community Medical Center Foundation; Community Services of Ocean County; Counseling and Referral Services of Ocean County/Seashore Family Services; Eye Openers of Point Pleasant/Brick; Interfaith Health & Support Services of Southern Ocean County; Jewish Family & Children’s Services/Jewish Federation of O.C.; LADACIN Network (Cerebral Palsy of Monmouth/Ocean Counties); Manchester Township Senior Outreach Program; NJ Coalition on Women & Disabilities Ocean County Chapter, Ocean County Board of Social Services; Ocean Housing Alliance; Our Special Kids of Toms River; The Special Children Center; Team Randy; Toms River Township Senior Center; 21 Plus; and Vetwork, A Program of Vetgroup.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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