The Morristown Neighborhood House inches closer to saving after school program

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Generous donors have given Morristown’s Neighborhood House hope for salvaging a popular after-school program imperiled by state budget cuts, according to the organization’s director.

Over the summer, foundations and individuals have contributed $57,000, enough to get a bare-bones STARS program up and running after Labor Day, said David Walker, executive director of the Neighborhood House.

“STARS will continue to rise,” David vowed on Friday, expressing thanks for a $7,500 donation this week from the TD Charitable Foundation of TD Bank.

Another $43,000 is needed to keep the Smart Talented Athletic Responsible Students program in operation for its sixth year, he said.

The TD Charitable Foundation presents $7,500 check to the Morristown Neighborhood House to help replace state cutbacks to a popular after-school program called STARS. Front row, L-R: Lane Modeste, Jaquorah Marrow, Taylor Martin (all STARS participants) Back row left to right: David Walker (Executive Director, Morristown Neighborhood House), Richard Sandillo (TD Bank Morristown Store Manager), Ruth Wilson (TD Bank, Vice President Retail Market Manager, Morris County), Jennifer Huber (STARS Site Director, Morristown Neighborhood House).
STARS offers tutoring, recreation and music instruction at the Frelinghuysen Middle School in Morris Township. The idea is to productively occupy youths who otherwise would be unsupervised after the closing bell at school.

David said he hopes most of the gap will be covered by New Jersey After 3, a nonprofit umbrella organization that had been the primary sponsor of STARS until Gov. Chris Christie eliminated its state funding earlier this year.

One-third of the New Jersey After 3 budget has been restored, and the Nabe is applying for some of it.

This fall will mark the first September opening for STARS, which usually starts in October. But the program will be conducted at the Neighborhood House, for only 30 students, until funding is resolved, David said.

STARS served 150 middle school children last semester. Many hail from low-income and single-parent households that cannot afford daycare, David said.

The Neighborhood House raised $50,000 to get through that semester, to make up for cuts by New Jersey After 3. Enrollment had to be pared from 200 students the year before.

Established in 1898 as a settlement house for Italian immigrants, the nonprofit Neighborhood House continues striving to help economically challenged new immigrants find their way.

“We believe the opportunity to enrich our communities is both a privilege and a responsibility,” Don Buckley, TD Bank market president for northern New Jersey, said of the TD donation in a statement.

Other contributors this summer have included Novartis, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Victoria Foundation, and individual donors affiliated with the Community Foundation, David said.

“With help from TD Bank and other supporters, we’re certain we’ll be able to run a program,” David said.

How large a program is the question.

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