Grant Highlights
The following foundations and businesses have played a key role in assisting Pathways for Exceptional Children. We cannot express our appreciation enough for the help they have provided. The grants they have given have been used as seed money to initiate new programs or to expand existing programs to meet the growing numbers of children participating. These foundations and businesses have partnered with Pathways to help build our success and have assisted us to service thousands of children and their families either directly or indirectly as we have shared and trained others in New Jersey and now at a national level. If you are interested in becoming a partner or grantor to Pathways please click here to email Melinda Jennis, President (melinda@pathwayskids.org) or call 973-856-9587.
The Kessler Foundation
Beginning in 2008, Kessler Foundation has provided funding to "Project Win-Win", a program that actively prepares children with special needs beginning at age 12 for employment in the work force. Teamed up with mentors trained as job coaches, these children learn office, technology, and a variety of specialized business skills under the direction of class instructors and business professionals. Pathways will begin to transition these children into actual job settings when they are of age and ready for a more formalized work environment. The Kessler Foundation has provided funding for "Project Win-Win" for three years. Please click on the button below to to view the "Project Win-Win" video sponsored by many of these Foundations.
Linda Bunis Haller Foundation
The Linda Bunis Haller Foundation has provided grants on an annual basis to Pathways since its inception in November 2002. The grant funding has helped provide seed money for programs such as: a) Magic of Reading and Writing, b) Project WIn-Win, and c) Learning Through Life. The foundation was initiated by Mr. and Mrs. Morton Bunis in memory of their daughter who was the mother of a child with special needs.
Morgan Stanley Foundation
The Morgan Stanley Foundation has been a consistent annual supporter in awarding grants to Pathways through their Volunteer Incentive Program. The funding they have provided has helped to establish our Magic of Reading and Literacy Links programs.
The Morgan Stanley Foundation has also provided assistance for our Project Win-WIn employment program and operational support that has helped Pathways to grow to meet increasing demands.
New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs
Pathways has not received government funding but the Montville Township Recreation Department has consistently received grants from the Department of Consumer Affairs called the "Recreation Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities or ROID grants. Montville Township Recreation and Pathways work as partners to collaboratively build programs for children with special needs and this grant has assisted our community to build recreational based programs that have grown to over 35 per year.
AAA Fire Protection - Orange, NJ
AAA Fire Protection has donated to the "Project Win-WIn employment program and has made special events like our annual overnight field trip for teens possible. The field trip takes the about 30 young adults out to eat, for entertainment, swimming, night at the hotel, and a trip to "Special Friends Day" at Montclair State University where the kids were DJs for over 200 people!
Autism Speaks
In 2007, Autism Speaks awarded Pathways a grant to expand our Magic of Reading after-school program. The funding helped provide training to program instructors on reading techniques for children on the autistic spectrum and strategies to enhance skills of all children attending the program. Through this grant, we have expanded our recreation and mentor programs in Montville Township and supported the startup of baseball, tennis, arts & crafts, life skills, and social skills programs in Summit, New Jersey. The grant has also helped pilot mentor and adult sensitivity trainings in other communities throughout New Jersey.
Robert and Joan Dircks Foundation
The Robert and Joan Dircks Foundation was one of the first to take an interest in the Mentor Program and provided a grant to help kick start the program beyond Montville Township into the rest of the state of New Jersey. The were also instrumental in helping us to expand our literacy programs by providing additional grants and funding.
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
Pathways was awarded a "Quality of Life" grant from The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to help broaden our Power Soccer program and team, which currently consists of 19 children that play soccer independently using power wheelchairs in a way people never believed possible. This team exemplifies what the CRF "Quality of Life" program is about. The funding will enable us to bring the thrill and freedom of Power Soccer to more children in power wheelchairs throughout New Jersey.
Starbucks Foundation
The Starbucks Foundation awarded Pathways a grant to expand the literacy portion of "Project Win-Win" employment program. Illiteracy is often one of the largest barriers to gaining entrance into the workforce and funding like this has made a difference in improving literacy and understanding of vocabulary that is more functional to employment tracks the children select.
The Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation gave Pathways the seed funding through a literacy grant that helped pave the way for us to begin our first "Magic of Reading" program. The grant helped to purchase books and other literacy games and materials. It also provided funding for Pathways to give parents training on reading strategies and how to select appropriate books for their children given their reading level.
Randy & Barbara Ann Frankel Foundation
The Randy and Barbara Ann Frankel Foundation gave us grants for two years that helped to bring our families and community together for a picnic filled with fun and games. These picnics helped spring board Pathways into our present day "Walkathon" that is held each year in May. The Foundation also assisted Pathways to begin our "Magic of Reading" program and technology needed to assist children to learn keyboarding skills for writing.
