Christine Hanlon OCEAN TOWNSHIP — A new township based nonprofit will focus on improving the lives of financially strapped families and promoting positive youth development.
The Community Hope Fund, which will hold its official launch party this month, is being organized by a group of local residents to help their neighbors in need.
“There are a lot of families now, based on the economic climate, that are in need of food and clothing, and they’re struggling more than ever. So we would like to provide some assistance in that regard,” explained Christine Hanlon, president of the Community Hope Fund.
A township resident and mother of four, Hanlon, who is also an attorney with Menna Supko & Nelson, Shrewsbury, said the charity is the brainchild of several township residents who wanted to help other members of their community.
It was a group idea that formed during discussions that Hanlon and members of the Ocean Township Human Services Department were involved in. Human Services Department Director Richard Ponton was instrumental in these discussions, Hanlon added.
Hanlon, who has served on a number of community organizations including the Ocean Township Human Services Council/ Alliance and the Ocean Township Community Emergency Response Team, said the idea for the charity came up during the planning for the township’s inaugural Mayor’s Ball fundraiser earlier this year.
“[Dr. Ponton] contacted me,” Hanlon explained. “It was something we had been talking about for a while. It was something needed in our community.
“We were raising money for the Ocean Township Historical Museum, and we had talked about how in the future we would like to raise money for the youth of our community and needy families. This … came out of those discussions.”
Hanlon said the program will help support struggling families through food drives and other activities, including providing limited direct assistance in the form of grocery or general merchandise gift cards.
The fund has already begun helping local families. With the help of area residents, the Community Hope Fund, in collaboration with Human Services, delivered approximately 150 Thanksgiving food baskets to families and individuals.
A registered 501(c)(3), the Community Hope Fund is funded through the generosity of area residents seeking to help those in their community.
To be considered for assistance, a family or individual must file an application, which the board of directors will review.
If accepted, a family would receive help in the form of food or clothing collected through drives, and plans call for other initiatives, Hanlon explained
“One of the things that we are doing is a bicycle-recycling program,” Hanlon explained. “The Human Services office is doing a bicycle-recycling program, and then if people want to make donations to the Community Hope Fund to help repair the bicycles, the Fund can facilitate the donations and get the bikes repaired, so we can get them to needy families or children.”
Although the Community Hope Fund will work hand in hand with the Human Services Department, Hanlon said they remain separate entities.
“I am a volunteer; I have no township employment or relationship other than the fact that I live in town. I’m an attorney and I’ve been involved in the town as a volunteer for various events and programs,” she explained.
In addition to community assistance, the fund is also expected to assist in community outreach to local children.
“There was an established need to help some of the children in our local community,” Hanlon said. “Whether it’s bicycles or going to camp or an after-school program — whatever it is.”
Under its youth development program the fund will seek to foster developmental assets, including personal relationships and opportunities that help youth thrive and protect them from harmful and unhealthy choices.
After-school and other programs are expected to cultivate developmental assets in youth by promoting constructive use of time, building self-esteem, fostering a love of learning, and reinforcing emotional health and physical well-being, she explained.
The youth program will also provide grants to organizations that employ innovative and research-based models to promote youth development, including programs that have clear and reasonable goals and measurable outcomes.
Preference will be given to organizations conducting programs within Ocean Township or groups that have had difficulty obtaining funding through traditional sources.
The official launch of the Community Hope Fund is expected to take place on Jan. 23 at the township’s Terner House Gallery located next to the Ocean Township Library.
“It’s a … celebration of hope, because we are the Community Hope Fund,” Hanlon explained. “And it’s going to be a winetasting party … a free event. We are hoping some people will make donations, but we are not requiring anything. We are hoping to have an art auction as well. That will be our official entrance into the community.”
Hanlon said the best thing about the Community Hope Fund is it will help support residents in her community.
“Both of our focus areas in terms of the youth development and the neighbor assistance really focus on the needs of our community,” Hanlon said. “And like I said, in this economic climate there are more needy families than ever.
“It’s very fulfilling to be able to help in this way and be able to [offer] grants … and to maybe make people’s holidays a little bit better or help them out in a time of need,” Hanlon added.
For more information on the Community Hope Fund, visit www.communityhopefund. org.
Contact Daniel Howley at
dhowley@gmnews.com.