Celebrating 27 Years of Creating Opportunities to Transform Lives Wednesday, November 10, 2021 Westmount Country Club Honoring BD Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter
Gala Underwriters
Gala Underwriter
WELCOME TO THE
NJCDC’s Twenty-Seventh Anniversary Gala! CONTENTS 3 EVENT PROGRAM 5 FOUNDER & CEO’S LETTER 6 HONOREES: BD ASSEMBLYWOMAN SHAVONDA SUMTER 9 ABOUT NJCDC 20 OUR ADVERTISERS
Our Block Party on October 23rd had over 700 in attendance
NJCDC BOARD OF TRUSTEES Donald F. Buckley Chair TD Bank Anthony Coscia Vice Chair Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP David Berninger Treasurer Valley Bank Lori Grifa Secretary Archer
Eric Daleo NJ Transit
Victor J. Herlinsky, Jr. Sills Cummis & Gross, P.C.
Robert D. Daleo Thomson Reuters (Retired)
Carline Morrison BD
Nita Das S&P Global
William Pascrell, III Princeton Public Affairs Group
Etta Denk Bank of America
Kenyatta Stewart, Esq. Hunt, Hamlin & Ridley
Robert Garrison Laborers’ International Union
Martin Vergara II Morgan Stanley
Robert Guarasci, Ex-Officio NJCDC Founder & CEO 32 Spruce Street, Paterson, NJ 07501 Tel: 973.413.1600 njcdc.org New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC) is a non-profit community development and social service agency organized as a public charity under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Ad Journal design by Beth Hyslip. Printed by Ace Reprographics, Paterson, NJ
NJCDC Board of Trustees members David Berninger, Don Buckley, and Martin Vergara II at this year’s golf outing
GALA PROGRAM
Twenty-Seventh Anniversary Gala
Special thanks to all of tonight’s sponsors, attendees, and advertisers for helping to make this evening a success!
Welcome Don Buckley, Chairman, Board of Trustees New Jersey Community Development Corporation CEO’s Remarks Bob Guarasci, Founder & CEO New Jersey Community Development Corporation Musical Performance Geanelly & Haley Vallecillo Paterson Music Project Community Charter School of Paterson ’20 and ‘22 Video Presentation The Impact of NJCDC Speaker: Morningstar Alvarez NJCDC Housing Resident Speaker: Diana Rosado Paterson Youth Council Alum; Stevens Institute of Technology ’24; Co-Founder of Imagication Speaker: Jayden Perez Founder of From the Bottom of My Heart Presentation to the Honorees BD The Honorable Shavonda E. Sumter New Jersey State Assemblywoman, 35th Legislative District Dinner Raffle & Closing Remarks
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Bob Food & guest greeting residents a NJCDC’s Block Party Bob Guarasci helps give 500 Paterson families Christmas Baskets to combat hunger during annual last year’s holidays
FOUNDER & CEO’S LETTER
I Want to Welcome And Thank You
For the past 27 years, New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC) has worked to change the landscape in the City of Paterson. We focus our work on a 95-block area we call the Great Falls Promise Neighborhood, with the majestic Great Falls at its center. Our bold vision is that all 8,000 children living or going to school in our neighborhood will graduate from high school ready for college and a career.
Bob Guarasci NJCDC Founder & CEO
While we are still in the midst of decidedly complicated times, tonight we have a great deal to celebrate. Starting last winter, we initiated a new program to give 500 low-income Paterson families large boxes of food staples to help them through difficult times. While in the winter and spring we held all of our programming virtually, this summer we were able to hold in-person indoor and outdoor programs for hundreds of Paterson students of all ages. This September also saw our students’ return to in-person learning, including in our many youth development programs. We know that programs like ours are needed more than ever before as we work towards a new normal. Though this year has been a challenging one, our work hasn’t stopped— instead, it’s grown as the need for our programs and services has increased. We’re planning the transformation of Paterson’s historic First Presbyterian Church into a youth performing arts venue. And we’re building additional, much-needed affordable housing units in our neighborhood at the same time we are partnering with St. Joseph’s Health and New Jersey Community Capital to construct 56 units of “healthy home” housing. We’ve started new initiatives to link local residents with job training programs, and to directly help senior citizens lessen social isolation linked to the pandemic. While we have accomplished a great deal over these 27 years, there is much more work to be done. The transformational change we are pursuing will take more time, but because of committed partners like you, change is happening each and every day— even during a pandemic. We draw inspiration from your support— and plan to do more, to help more, and to achieve more.
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HONOREES
BD
Carline Morrison Finance Manager NJCDC Board of Trustees
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We salute BD for their
steadfast support of our work to create opportunities to transform lives for Paterson
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children and families.
Bob Guarasci NJCDC Founder & CEO
BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 70,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians’ care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers’ capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. BD is a long-standing supporter of NJCDC and has also been a key partner in the governance of the nonprofit organization through membership on its Board of Trustees for more than 15 years. BD has also long worked directly with NJCDC’s programs, including hosting NJCDC’s students at its headquarters, holding career panels, and participating in Read Across America Day at NJCDC’s preschool.
Carline participated in our virtual Read Across America Day in March
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HONOREES
Assemblywoman Shavonda E. Sumter
New Jersey General Assembly 35th Legislative District Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter entered the New Jersey General Assembly in 2012 and represents the 35th Legislative District. She has served in the executive leadership as Deputy Speaker and Majority Conference Leader. In this session, Shavonda serves as chair of a new assembly committee, Community Development and Affairs, where she looks forward to tackling important issues such as community blight, the wealth gap and upscaling the needs of New Jersey’s small businesses. She’s also a member of the Labor and Law & Public Safety committees. In addition, Shavonda was elected as the first woman to chair the Legislative Black Caucus.
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Assemblywoman
Shavonda Sumter is an advocate on matters important to the children and families we serve, and we applaud her strong leadership on is-
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sues across the board.
Bob Guarasci NJCDC Founder & CEO
Shavonda recognizes that her legislation transcends her district and affects the 9 million people in the state. She’s a staunch advocate for job growth, women’s health, voting rights, civil rights, and criminal justice reform. Shavonda has championed legislation addressing Black Maternal & Infant mortality and recently, the Governor signed her voting rights legislation into law that will restore voting rights for more than 80,000 individuals who are on probation or parole. Shavonda received her MBA from the Fairleigh Dickinson University Silberman College of Business and attended Kean University for her undergraduate degree in Political Science. Shavonda is a staunch advocate for access to health care services including mental health care. Her career in mental health services spans over 20 years working with health systems throughout the state that included Hackensack Meridian UMC Mountainside. She prides herself on hard work that her parents Charles and Bonnie Williams instilled in her. Shavonda has been married for 22 years to Kenneth; together they have two children, a daughter, Tyler and a son, Kenneth. She continues to work hard with a purpose because she believes to whom much is given, much is required. Assemblywoman Sumter has always been extremely supportive of NJCDC, and of the issues that we care about. She has participated in activities with our Paterson Youth Council and other programs, and we are grateful for her continual support.
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Hundreds of students regularly visit our Great Falls Youth Center, which has a music room and a recording studio
ABOUT NJCDC
Inspiring and empowering people with opportunities to transform their lives …
New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC) is a non-profit community development and social service agency headquartered in the City of Paterson with a mission of creating opportunities to transform lives. NJCDC was created in 1994 and has 27 years of experience in the areas of education, youth development, affordable/supportive housing, and community building. Starting with two employees, NJCDC has grown into a nearly $12 million agency employing more than 130 individuals who perform a wide variety of services that allow our comprehensive cradle-to-college pipeline of programs and services to thrive. Through this pipeline, NJCDC serves 4,000 children, teens, and families daily.
residents have earned a college degree—but it is also a neighborhood with a rich history and a great deal of hope and promise. Our vision is that all 8,000 children living or going to school in our neighborhood will reach adulthood ready for college and a career. To that end, NJCDC continues to expand its substantial base of successful programs for children and their families to grow our pipeline of services that address the needs of children throughout every phase of their childhood, from birth through high school graduation—and beyond.
NJCDC implements a place-based approach targeting the Great Falls Promise Neighborhood, a 95-block area surrounding the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park that is home to 14,000 people. The residents of the Great Falls Promise Neighborhood are diverse in race, religion, nationality, and need. Overall, it is a poor neighborhood—the median household income is about one-third the state’s average and only 11% of
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The 2021-2022 school year is off to a great start at our Community Charter School of Paterson!
ABOUT NJCDC
Education, Another Word For Opportunity
We offer high-quality education for Paterson students from preschool through grade 12. We believe that education is another word for opportunity, and that our efforts to instill a love of learning and to promote student success will help the more than one thousand students we educate to ultimately reach their greatest potential. It’s a responsibility that we take very seriously, and we do it with a host of partners—from parents to community organizations and stakeholders. NJCDC founded and supports the operation of three schools: Our Paterson Family Center preschool provides 105 children with an evidence-based curriculum delivered by highly qualified staff in order to promote learning among our youngest students. The preschool also offers support to the entire family through before-school and after-school programming, as well as specialized staff who connect families to vital resources.
900+ students in grades K-8 across two campuses. CCSP also has a strong connection to the Paterson community, drawing on a variety of resources to help students and families succeed. Garrett Morgan Academy, a high school with nearly 175 students in grades 9-12, places a special focus on science, technology, engineering, and math. We opened Garrett Morgan in 2000 and have since graduated hundreds of students who have gone on to college and successful careers. Named for the turn-ofthe-century African-American inventor of the traffic light, the school provides students with a curriculum that makes STEM instruction relevant and accessible.
The Community Charter School of Paterson (CCSP) was founded by NJCDC in 2008 to help advance educational excellence in Paterson while promoting positive youth development and strengthening families. CCSP opened in 2008 as a K-3 school serving 400 students and now serves
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Groundbreaking Ceremony Paterson for Barclay Family Street Center Healthy student Homes enjoying this past the playground September
ABOUT NJCDC
Affordable Housing For Our Most Vulnerable Residents
We believe having a place to call home is one of the most fundamental human rights and is necessary to foster stability and personal growth—now more than ever. NJCDC prides itself on providing affordable and supportive housing in Paterson and the surrounding area to those vulnerable individuals and families who need it most.
home” housing for hard-working Patersonians. We’re also in the process of turning two vacant properties into multi-family homes to create more affordable housing for neighborhood families.
We build and operate housing with on-site social services for individuals with special needs including those who are homeless, mentally ill, those with developmental disabilities, grandparents raising grandchildren, and youth who are homeless or aging out of the foster care system. Our goal is to offer those we serve a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home, to provide assistance in navigating everyday challenges, and, most importantly, to instill hope, confidence, and optimism among those we serve. These programs not only provide opportunities to transform individual lives, but serve as catalysts to help build social stability and safer neighborhoods. To date, we have built 150 units of affordable and supportive housing. And we have more projects in development that will allow us to expand our work in this area. One such project is the Barclay Street Housing Development; built in partnership with St. Joseph’s Health and New Jersey Community Capital, it will provide 56 units of affordable “healthy
Wayne Avenue Apartment Building
Spruce Terrace Apartments
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Our Bridge The to Success Paterson summer Youthprogram Council tours helped Yale’s prepare campus incoming to learn freshmen about going for high to college school
ABOUT NJCDC
Fostering The Next Generation of Citizens
In helping to foster the next generation of engaged Paterson citizens, NJCDC reaches beyond the classroom. We invest in the future residents and leaders of our community at their individual points of development—particularly during afterschool hours in youth and teen centers, in nontraditional educational programs, and through unique leadership opportunities. By doing so, we are consistently investing in the human potential of the great City of Paterson. Our Youth Development programs include our Paterson Youth Council, a year-long leadership development program that is the premier voice for the city’s young people; our Great Falls Youth Center, which provides a safe place for hundreds of neighborhood teens to study, learn computer skills, play instruments, socialize, and more; our Paterson Community School Corps (our AmeriCorps program), whose members work in several Paterson schools to eliminate barriers to academic achievement; an array of summer programs; comprehensive Teen Centers at four area high schools to promote healthy lifestyles, educational enrichment, and support services to increase academic performance; and our Full Service Community Schools at School #5 and JFK High School.
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We held a Day of Service to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, with 150+ volunteers beautifying three parks
ABOUT NJCDC
Community Building For A Brighter Paterson
Since 1994, NJCDC has taken a lead in rebuilding and strengthening our community through the empowerment of—and in partnership with—those who live and work in our neighborhood.
people together, working on common interests, and advocating for change.
Since 2014, our Neighborhood Help Center has served as a one-stop-shop for assistance on a broad range of topics that concern neighborhood residents, including housing, immigration, job readiness, educational opportunities, and financial literacy. We host a variety of educational workshops, community forums, and family-friendly events to provide those we serve with valuable information and life-changing resources. We also regularly carry out neighborhood cleanups and have built 15 playgrounds and gardens to help revitalize our neighborhood. Gardens allow residents to spend time outside in a relaxing atmosphere, while playgrounds encourage outdoor play, which is an integral part of a child’s development. We are also finalizing a resident-led and residentdriven 10-year plan to further improve the neighborhood we serve. With the help of our friends and partners, together we’ll continue to make the Great Falls Promise Neighborhood—our home—an example of a comeback community by bringing
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Our Community Charter School of Paterson held a summer enrichment program for 250 students
ABOUT NJCDC
We intend to continue serving as a powerful agent of change…
In celebrating our 27th Anniversary, we are proud to honor BD, who has been a longtime supporter of our work. In addition to their philanthropic contributions, BD has also been a key partner in the governance of our organization through membership on our Board of Trustees for more than 15 years. We are also delighted to honor Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, who is dedicated to the advancement of our community and a strong advocate for the residents we serve. Without a doubt, our ability to get things done is thanks in part to special friends like BD and Assemblywoman Sumter, who embrace our mission and help however and wherever they can.
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NJCDC’s 28th Annual NJCDC’s 28th Annual
Collection from October 1 to December 18, 2021 We invite you to make the holidays brighter for For information, e-mail americorps@njcdc.org Paterson families and children by donating new or call (973) 413-1629 or (973) 413-1626. New and unwrapped gifts for children ages 3-14 years. Jersey Community Development Corporation Collection fromis October 1 to organization, tax ID Please do not wrap the gifts. With your contria charitable non-profit butions we can help many Paterson children and number 22-3282526. Contributions are fully tax December 18, 2021 families have a wonderful and joyous holiday deductible. season. We invite you to make the holidays brighter for For information, e-mail americorps@njcdc.org
Collection from October 1 to December 18, 2021
Paterson families and children by donating new
or call (973) 413-1629 or (973) 413-1626. New
Spread the of Gifts the holidays to hundreds ofto Paterson and unwrapped giftsjoy for children ages 3-14 years. be Jersey Community Development Corporation will distributed Paterson Please do not wrap the gifts. With your contriis a charitable non-profit organization, tax ID kids and families by donating new and toys, butions we can help many Paterson children families and number 22-3282526. Contributions are tax and unwrapped children infully need! families have aor wonderful and joyous holiday deductible. donation. by making a monetary season. Visit njcdc.org/holidays for more information. Gifts will be distributed to Paterson families and children in need!
Gifts will be distributed to Paterson families and children in need!
Please donate new and unwrapped toys, or make a monetary donation. Visit njcdc.org/holidays for more information.
Gala Underwriter
NJCDC extends its sincere gratitude to the sponsors below for their generous support. To our many friends and advertisers who helped make this evening a success, WE THANK YOU! GALA UNDERWRITERS: The Daleo Family • BD
CELEBRATION LEVEL: ANIA Management • Railroad Construction Company Valley Bank
FRIEND LEVEL: AmeriGroup • AvalonBay • Broadridge Financial Solutions Marilyn Clark • Federal Home Loan Bank of NY Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ • M&T Bank PNC Bank • PSEG • TD Bank Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP
SUPPORTER LEVEL: ARC Building Partners • Enterprise Community Partners GTI • Irodz Associates • Lakeland Bank NJCDC Supportive Housing • Reliable Benefits Passaic County Community College • Sills Cummis & Gross, P.C. William Paterson University
