Project Self-Sufficiency

Dear Friends,

​

Summer is a special time at Project Self-Sufficiency; we see the fruits of our labors in many of our programs and we are busy laying the groundwork for the upswelling of activity that we anticipate in the autumn.

 

During the summer, many families in our community face a daunting challenge: How to feed their children once school is not in session.  In fact, the need for food has exploded in our area over the past few years; Project Self-Sufficiency distributed more than 260,000 meals to hungry individuals and families through our on-site food pantry, onboard our mobile services vehicle, Journey, and via twice monthly delivery in Sussex County during the past year. The generosity of our community has enabled us to support these hungry families, but the need continues to skyrocket.

 

PSS Journey and the Food Project continue their important mission of bringing food and essential resources to those in our community who might not have the means to travel to our Newton campus.  In addition to the usual stops in Franklin, Hackettstown, Hopatcong, Netcong, and Vernon, we are pleased to bring PSS Journey to the New Jersey State Fair in August.

 

Fortunately, at this time of year, our gardens are bursting with activity as volunteers supplement donations to the food pantry by mulching, weeding, cultivating, and harvesting fresh produce for daily distribution to our participants.  A group of Master Gardeners also meet weekly with the preschool children at the Little Sprouts Early Learning Center, weaving lessons about nutrition into enchanting games in their very own vegetable garden.  We are so very thankful for their dedication.

 

Summer also brings with it one of our very favorite events, the Mosaic Awards.  Here we take the time to honor all the volunteers whose creativity and commitment to our mission inspire us every day.

 

Several of our signature programs are launched in July.  The Summer Office Skills job skills training program welcomes women whose careers need a jumpstart to our campus for refreshers in computer training, workplace skills, and help with resumes and interviewing.  The New Jersey Youth Corps kicks off a summer session at the same time, inviting high school dropouts to take that crucial step towards college or career by obtaining their high school diplomas.  The Bridges program helps struggling pregnant and young adult parents to find new paths to employment, career training, or higher education. The Summer Youth Employment Program encourages teens to obtain paid, on-the-job work experience and introduces them to the importance of resumes, interviewing skills, and more.  During the same month, younger children participate in Project Vacation; this year’s adventure highlights potential career paths through games, crafts, and entertaining guest speakers. Throughout all these programs, we are grateful for the volunteers who contribute their time and talent to help these young people thrive and move forward with grace and confidence.

 

Of course, the summer would not be complete without our popular Back-to-School Fair which prepares families for success in the upcoming school year.

 

Virtual seminars and workshops are now a robust mainstay of our Family Success Center programming.  We continue to foster awareness of the impact of adverse childhood experiences and this summer we are excited to bring a wide range of in-person and online parenting classes to our community. 

 

We cannot forget our mainstay programming for single parents and displaced homemakers.  Our home visitation services are marking a banner year of assisting pregnant and parenting young women while many of our core services address the needs of women who need restorative workplace training and support.  Our support groups for women, parents, fathers, and breast cancer survivors help participants to address their emotional needs as they navigate complex situations. Project Self-Sufficiency’s Central Intake team, Connecting NJ, is helping thousands to access health and social service resources and has been identified by the State of New Jersey as a model for similar programs across the area.