Community Services Receives Grant from Wells Fargo
The Ocean County-based office of Community Services of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton was awarded a $1,000 grant in July by Wells Fargo to support the organization’s mission of providing quality services to those most in need, to advocate on their behalf within the private and public sector, and to strengthen the communities in which they live and work.
Pictured in photo (left to right) Wells Fargo employees Brenda Ross-Dulan, Bob Grisanti, Susan Mondi- Smith, Community Services program manager Lisha Loo-Morgan and Mary Yono of Wells Fargo present grant award.
Community Services operates programs in Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties to help struggling households get, keep, and/or advance in a job, effectively manage their financial resources, live healthier lifestyles, nurture positive relationships, develop positive communication styles, prepare for citizenship and naturalization, and meet their basic needs.
“At a time when donations from the public and private sectors are down due to the economy, we truly appreciate the support Wells Fargo has provided,” said Jackie Edwards, Director for Community Services. “We will use this grant to support Project Hope which provides individuals and families who are impoverished, homeless, or facing the threat of homelessness with opportunities to develop skills and resources needed to achieve stability, self-sufficiency, and well-being.”
The grant was awarded as part of Wells Fargo’s Community Connections program, which provides local branch managers the opportunity to make a $1,000 charitable contribution on behalf of Wells Fargo to a nonprofit of their choice.
Wells Fargo’s 56 branches in the Southern New Jersey region distributed a total of $50,000 in grants to support nonprofit groups — $1,000 for a nonprofit identified by each store manager.
“Our local branches see which nonprofits are out in the community making a difference every day,” said Brenda Ross-Dulan, Wells Fargo’s Southern New Jersey region president. “We use this as an opportunity to celebrate and say thank you to Community Services in OceanCounty for all of the value they have provided to our community over the past year.
The Community Connections program offers Wells Fargo store managers the opportunity to provide additional grants to local nonprofits of their choice in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. A total of $140,000 in Community Connections grants is slated to be distributed throughout the month of July in Southern New Jersey.
“Many of our Wells Fargo team members also volunteer or are impacted by Ocean Community Services in some way, said Bob Grisanti. “We’re proud to help the nonprofits who serve our communities wherever we can.”