BJ's Charitable Foundation Grants More Than $1 Million to Nonprofits

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BJ's Charitable Foundation today announced a donation of $1,055,400 to 166 nonprofit organizations in the 15 states where BJ's Wholesale Clubs are located. The donated funds will be dispersed to organizations that focus in four areas: hunger prevention, self-sufficiency, health care and education.

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The rising cost of fuel and food prices are making it more difficult for hunger relief organizations to deliver and provide food to those who experience hunger. BJ's Charitable Foundation is granting $371,400 to 49 non-profit organizations with programs to help prevent and alleviate hunger. The grants will help shelters, food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries purchase and distribute food.

Forty-five nonprofits that provide temporary or emergency services to individuals and families who have the goal of becoming independent members of society will receive a total of $278,800. The grants will enhance shelter programs; provide funds to purchase supplies and clothing for residents and fund programs that offer families temporary, safe refuges.

A total of $94,300 is granted to 17 organizations that provide healthcare programs to individuals and families that do not have access to healthcare. The funds will help supply medical clinics and aid in costs for health prevention services, supplies for vision, dental and hearing screenings provided to individuals.

Finally, the Foundation will donate $310,900 to 55 educational nonprofits that provide academic and vocational programs and opportunities for the disadvantaged. These programs include the purchase of supplies for literacy skills, mentoring, tutoring and career development.

"The BJ's Charitable Foundation is proud to support organizations that provide care and crucial services for individuals and families in need," said Jessica Newman, Manager of Community Relations for BJ's Wholesale Club. "The funds distributed to organizations that focus on hunger prevention, healthcare, self-sufficiency and education will have a positive impact in BJ's communities."

Now in its seventh year, the BJ's Charitable Foundation has donated more than $14 million to nearly 1,600 community organizations. The noted organizations receiving grants from BJ's Charitable Foundation submitted proposals in 2011. All recipients are 501(c)3 charitable organizations that support services in the regions where BJ's Wholesale Clubs are located.

Hunger Prevention

Gifts of Love, Inc.  (Avon, CT) $10,000
Foodshare, Inc. (Bloomfield, CT) $12,500
FSW, Inc. (Bridgeport, CT) $7,500 
Episcopal Social Service of the Diocese of CT, Inc. (New Haven, CT) $5,000
Capital Area Food Bank (Washington, DC) $20,000
Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, Inc. (Bradenton, FL) $15,000
Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida (Fort Myers, FL) $10,000
Jubilee Center of South Broward (Hollywood, FL) $7,500
Osceola County Council on Aging, Inc. (Kissimmee, FL)  $5,000
Atlanta Community Food Bank (Atlanta, GA) $7,500
The Place of Forsyth County (Cummings, GA) $3,900 
Roca, Inc. (Chelsea, MA) $5,000
Citizens for Citizens, Inc. (Fall River, MA) $10,000
Pathways for Children (Gloucester, MA) $5,000  
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts (Hatfield, MA) $5,000
Bread & Roses (Lawrence, MA) $12,500
Lazarus House Incorporated (Lawrence, MA) $5,000
Mystic Valley Elder Services, Inc. (Malden, MA) $5,000
Jewish Family & Children's Service, Inc. (Waltham, MA) $7,500
Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (Charlotte, NC) $15,000
The Community FoodBank of New Jersey Inc. (Hillside, NJ) $5,000
Long Beach Island Community Center, Inc. (Long Beach, NJ) $5,000
Jewish Family & Vocational Service of Middlesex County, Inc. (Milltown, NJ) $5,000
Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties (Neptune, NJ) $5,000
Elijah's Promise (New Brunswick, NJ) $5,000
Jewish Family Service, Inc (Teaneck, NJ) $5,000
Crown Heights Jewish Community Council, Inc. (Brooklyn, NY) $5,000
Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York (Latham, NY) $5,000
Island Harvest (Mineola, NY) $10,000
Help From People to People, Inc. (Nanuet, NY) $5,000
Bailey House, Inc. (New York, NY) $5,000
Yorkville Common Pantry (New York, NY) $5,000
Dutchess Outreach, Inc. (Poughkeepsie, NY) $5,000 
Foodlink, Inc. (Rochester, NY) $10,000
Bethesda House of Schenectady, Inc. (Schenectady, NY) $20,000
Richmond Senior Services, Inc. (Staten Island, NY) $5,000
Food Bank of Central New York (Syracuse, NY) $5,000
Mobile Meals, Inc. (Akron, OH) $15,000
Children's Hunger Alliance (Cleveland, OH) $5,000
Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio (Lorain, OH) $10,000
Meals on Wheels of Northampton County, Inc. (Bethlehem, PA) $7,500
Family Services of Montgomery County, PA (Eagleville, PA) $5,000
Philabundance (Philadelphia, PA) $15,000
SHARE Food Program, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA) $5,000 
Greater Berks Food Bank (Reading, PA) $5,000
Maternal and Child Health Consortium (West Chester, PA) $5,000
Westbay Community Action (Warwick, RI) $5,000
Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (Chantilly, VA) $5,000
Lorton Community Action Center (Lorton, VA) $5,000

Self-Sufficiency

Operation Hope of Fairfield, Inc. (Fairfield, CT) $7,500
Women's Center of Southeastern Connecticut (New London, CT) $5,000
Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (Washington, DC) $5,000
Women In Distress of Broward County, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale, FL) $5,000
Ability Housing of Northeast Florida, Inc. (Jacksonville, FL) $5,000
Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry, Inc. (BEAM) (Jacksonville Beach, FL) $5,000
Intervention Services, Inc. (Maitland, FL) $12,500
Children's Harbor, Inc. (Pembroke Pines, FL) $7,500
Atlanta Union Mission (Atlanta, GA) $5,000
Caring For Others, Inc. (Atlanta, GA) $5,000
Families First (Atlanta, GA) $7,500
North Georgia Angel House Inc. (Canton, GA) $4,000
Project Renewal Domestic Violence Intervention Program, Inc. (Conyers, GA) $5,000
Our House, Inc. (Decatur, GA) $7,500
Victory Programs, Inc. (Boston, MA) $5,000
Emmaus Inc. (Haverhill, MA) $5,000
Womanshelter/Companeras (Holyoke, MA) $10,000
Father Bill's & Mainspring Inc. (Quincy, MA) $15,000
Horizons for Homeless Children (Roxbury, MA) $10,000
Healing Abuse Working for Change (Salem, MA) $5,000
HAP, Inc. (Springfield, MA) $5,000
Human Services Programs of Carroll County (Westminster, MD) $15,000
Wake Interfaith Hospitality Network (Raleigh, NC) $5,000
Greater Nashua Interfaith Hospitality Network (Hudson, NH)   $5,000
Seacoast Task Force on Family Violence (Portsmouth, NH) $7,500
Family Guidance Center Corporation (Hamilton, NJ) $4,000
HABcore (Red Bank, NJ) $5,000
The Center for Great Expectations (Somerset, NJ) $5,000
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Ocean County, Inc. (Toms River, NJ) $3,000
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of New Jersey, Inc. (Trenton, NJ) $3,000
Albany Damien Center (Albany, NY) $5,000
Community Maternity Services (Albany, NY) $5,000
Haven House/Bridges, Inc. (Brentwood, NY) $5,000
Circulo de la Hispanidad (Long Beach, NY) $5,000
Center for Youth Services, Inc. (Rochester, NY) $5,000
Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network, Inc. (RAIHN) (Rochester, NY) $4,900
Options for Community Living, Inc. (Smithtown, NY) $7,500
The Goodwill Industries of Akron, Ohio, Inc. (Akron, OH) $5,000
Pathway Caring for Children (North Canton, OH) $5,000
The Career Wardrobe (Philadelphia, PA) $7,500
Turning Points for Children (TPFC) (Philadelphia, PA) $5,000
Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network Inc. (Philadelphia, PA) $5,000
Bucks County Housing Group, Inc. (Wrightstown, PA) $5,000
ForKids, Inc. (Norfolk, VA) $10,000
Primeplus Norfolk Senior Center (Norfolk, VA) $4,900

Healthcare

Griffin Hospital (Derby, CT) $5,000
Waterbury Hospital (Waterbury, CT) $5,000
Brandywine Community Resource Council, Inc. (Claymont, DE) $4,300
University of Central Florida Foundation, Inc.(Orlando, FL) $5,000          
Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland (Westminster, MD) $7,500
Presbyterian Hospital Foundation (Charlotte, NC) $7,500
Coltrane LIFE Center, Inc. (Concord, NC) $5,000 .
Goodwin Community Health (Summersworth, NH) $5,000
Moorestown Visiting Nurse Association (Moorestown, NJ) $5000.
Diabetes Foundation Inc. (Paramus, NJ) $5,000
LADACIN Network (Wanamassa, NJ) $10,000.
Hearing and Speech Center of Rochester (Rochester, NY) $5,000
North Shore Child & Family Guidance Association, Inc. (Roslyn Heights, NY) $5,000  
Western Stark Free Clinic, Inc. (Massillon, OH) $7,500
Pocono Medical Center (East Stroudsburg, PA) $2,500
Calcutta House (Philadelphia, PA) $5,000
Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island (Providence, RI) $5,000

Education

Read to Grow, Inc. (Branford, CT) $5,000
The McGivney Community Center, Inc. (Bridgeport, CT) $10,000              
Village for Families & Children (Hartford, CT) $12,500
Youth Continuum, Inc. (New Haven, CT) $5,000
Reading ASSIST Institute (Wilmington, DE) $5,000
Firewall Ministries, Inc. (Cooper City, FL) $5,000
Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition (Delray Beach, FL) $10,000
The Ann Storck Center (Fort Lauderdale, FL) $5,000
Boys & Girls Club of Martin County Inc. (Hobe Sound, FL) $5,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida (Jacksonville, FL) $5,000
Club Esteem (Melbourne, FL) $5,000
Neat Stuff, Inc. (Miami, FL) $5,000
Florida Senior Programs, Inc. (Orlando, FL) $5,000
Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind, Inc.(Port Richey, FL) $5,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County, Inc. (Sarasota, FL) $10,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, Inc. (Atlanta, GA) $5,000
Gate City Day Nursery Association (Atlanta, GA) $5,000
Mentor Me- North Georgia, Inc. (Cumming, GA) $5,000
Children's Restoration Network (Roswell, GA) $10,000.
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Boston, MA) $7,500
Community Action of the Franklin, Hampshire, and North Quabbin (Greenfield, MA) $3,700
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Haverhill (Haverhill, MA) $5,000
Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (Jamaica Plain, MA) $7,500
Asian Center Merrimack Valley (Lawrence, MA) $5,000
Housing Families Inc. (Malden, MA) $5,000
South Shore YMCA (Quincy, MA) $7,500
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Westfield (Westfield, MA) $5,000
Jobs for Maine's Graduates, Inc. (Augusta, ME) $5,000
Cannon Memorial Young Men's Christian Association (Kannapolis, NC) $5,000
Thompson Child & Family Focus (Matthews, NC) $5,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Triangle (Raleigh, NC) $5,000
Communities in Schools of Wake County (Raleigh, NC) $7,500.00
Mayhew (Bristol, NH) $5,000
Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, Inc. (Nashua, NH) $5,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County (Asbury Park, NJ) $5,000
Boys & Girls Club of Vineland (Vineland, NJ) $5,000 
The Addictions Care Center of Albany (Albany, NY) $5,000
BronxWorks Inc. (Bronx, NY) $5,000
Highbridge Community Life Center, Inc. (Bronx, NY) $5,000
South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (Bronx, NY) $5,000
The Public Broadcasting Council of Central New York (Liverpool, NY) $4,800
Young Women's Christian Association of the City of New York (New York, NY) $5,000
Association to Benefit Children (New York, NY) $5,000
ENACT, Inc. (New York, NY) $6,000
Learning Disabilities Association of the Genesee Valley, Inc. (Rochester, NY)  $2,100
Seamen's Society for Children & Families (Staten Island, NY) $5,000
Watervliet Civic Chest Inc. (Watervliet, NY) $5,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve, Inc. (Akron, OH)   $5,000
University Settlement, Inc. (Cleveland, OH)  $5,000
People for People, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA)  $5,000
Children's Literacy Initiative (Philadelphia, PA)  $5,000
York County Literacy Council (York, PA)  $5,000
The Providence Public Library (Providence, RI) $4,300
Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (Norfolk, VA) $5,000
Girls for A Change (Santa Cruz, VA) $7,500

About BJ's Charitable Foundation

BJ's Charitable Foundation was established with the mission to enrich every community BJ's Wholesale Clubs serve.  The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that primarily benefit the underprivileged in the area of basic needs (hunger prevention, self-sufficiency, education and health).  For more information about BJ's Charitable Foundation, please visit, bjs.com/charity.

SOURCE BJ's Wholesale Club