Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., which provides community-based services as an alternative to youth incarceration and congregate residential care, received a $20,000 grant from the Community Foundation of South Jersey’s (CFSJ) South Jersey Covid-19 Response Fund. 

The CFSJ funding went to Cumberland/Cape May County YAP, one of nearly 150 programs in 33 states where the nonprofit partners with youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and other systems to provide safe community-based youth and family services. Cumberland/Cape May County YAP partners with the Cumberland County Juvenile Center.

“As a community-based youth program, we felt the effects of the COVID-19 shut down almost immediately. Canceling in-person community interaction required a huge shift in how the staff connected with and served the families in need. Our Advocates filled holes left during the pandemic,” said New Jersey YAP Regional Director Stephanie Moore. “More funds are needed to sustain and grow the program, but thanks to CFSJ, we are able to keep our feet on the ground where we are needed most.”

The CFSJ COVID-19 Relief Fund grant helped YAP offset pandemic-related state funding cuts, in essence helping YAP stay alive in South Jersey. The funding helped compensate staff and covered costs of transitioning to virtual services and gas expenses for traveling to meet program participants. YAP also used the grant for bonuses for staff members who went above and beyond to provide services while ensuring that program participants’ basic needs were met during the pandemic. 

YAP’s neighborhood-based Advocates and mobile behavioral health professionals are trained to empower program participants to see their strengths and connect them with tools to achieve positive goals. The Advocates also work with parents and guardians, connecting them with tools to firm the family foundation. The program has already proven successful. About 86% of program participants in the program don’t re-offend and remain arrest free, according John Jay College of Criminal Justice research. Additionally, nearly 90 percent of the youth still lived in their communities with less than 5 percent of participants in secure placement.

Now that social restrictions have been lifted, students have struggled to adapt back into the school routine. Library hours are still restricted, after school sports are limited. Families have had to reacclimate to at-work schedules, and youth are simply choosing not to go to school. Youth are also battling new social anxieties and depression. YAP Advocates are working to overcome this new set of challenges, often helping to pay families’ bills out of their own pockets. 

“Being able to assist an organization like YAP and help them continue to be in the community, in the homes, and making a difference was important to us,” said Andy Fraizer, Executive Director of CFSJ. “Funding is key to helping the youth and the families YAP serves. Hearing their success stories and knowing we can make a difference is all CFSJ needed to hear.” 

Youth Advocate Programs, Inc.

Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. is a national nonprofit advocating for and delivering evidence-based services in homes and communities as a more effective and racially equitable alternative to youth incarceration, congregate child welfare, behavioral health, and intellectual disabilities placements, and neighborhood violence. Headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., Youth Advocate Programs has been in an existence for 47 years. YAP’s work is built on a foundation of research demonstrating that people do better throughout life when they have support where they live, work, learn and play. To learn more about YAP, visit yapinc.org. 

The Ritz Theatre Company (The Ritz), which was founded to bring live, quality, professional productions to the region while making theater accessible to all, received a $3,000 grant from the Community Foundation of South Jersey’s (CFSJ) South Jersey Covid-19 Response Fund.

After a virtual summer camp in 2020, a scaled-down camp in 2021, and having endured an 18- month shutdown, finances for the theater were tight. The Ritz received PPE loans, funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Camden County, and a Shuttered Venues grant for small businesses that kept the theater going and secured needed jobs, but the grant from CFSJ provided the funds needed to keep the camp experience alive.

“Thanks to CFSJ, our camp will not be scaled-down, but back to full capacity with eight instructors and both a junior and senior camp,” said Donna Miller, the Director of Development for The Ritz. “In fact, the junior and senior camps are already filled to capacity! The staff is so excited to be able to share their love of theater with kids at camp after such a difficult time and we couldn’t thank CFSJ enough for helping us make this happen.”

Research shows involvement in theater helps kids develop empathy; build self-confidence; and cultivate strong communication skills, time management, and problem-solving. Kids who are involved with The Ritz become lifelong supporters of the arts and the community. The funding from CFSJ this year will allow kids to experience the difference theater can make and allow the theater to keep awarding scholarships to its rising stars.

“Being able to help youth find their passion, work at it, and see it through this summer is gratifying,” said Andy Fraizer, Executive Director of CFSJ. “The arts were hit hard by the pandemic and we view the arts as a way to bring the community together, hence the investment in the historic Ritz Threate Company summer program.” 

The company has performed for 37 years in the iconic theater building right on the White Horse Pike in Haddon Township. As patrons make their way back to the theater, the staff is working hard to keep actors and patrons safe. Keeping the arts alive in South Jersey is vital to the community, and The Ritz is so thankful for CFSJ and its support. 

The Ritz Theatre Company

The Ritz Theatre Company engages and enriches Delaware Valley audiences by producing professional, diverse entertainment while training artists of all levels in a historic NJ landmark. Throughout our rich history, we’ve aspired to make theatre accessible to everyone, to entertain our audiences with favorites, to challenge them (and ourselves) with complex works, to provide onstage training for actors, to introduce kids to the magic of live theatre, and to help restore the historic building we call our home. Learn more about the Ritz Theatre Company at ritztheatreco.org/. 

The Gleneayre Equestrian Program (GEP) is an organization which serves at-risk youth. The GEP received a $3,000 grant from the Community Foundation of South Jersey’s (CFSJ) South Jersey Covid-19 Response Fund. The Gleneayre Equestrian Program uses the powerful connection between horses and people to teach, learn, grow, and heal.

This hands-on experience-based equestrian program was suspended when COVID-19 impacted South Jersey. As a result of closures, students missed out on the connecting experience with their project horse, but the horses were also missing their students. The GEP team worked to keep the horses healthy and maintain the facility, but inevitably expenses grew. They sought support from the Response Fund. They received financial support to address blacksmith costs, horse health, and wellness expenses, including those of older horses who have specific, sometimes costly needs.

Being a part of the CFSJ community has broadened and deepened the Gleneayre Equestrian Program’s network. Bill Rube, Executive Director at Gleneayre Equestrian Program shared, “CFSJ has a great team. When the pandemic hit, they knew there would be growing needs throughout the community, and they stepped up to make a difference. They clearly communicated how they could help programs like ours and walked us through the grant application process. They kept regular correspondence with us before, during, and after the grant process was complete.”

“After speaking with the Gleneayre Equestrian Program and understanding the issues they faced, we felt the need to assist so ultimately participant youth could develop character, learn ethics and responsibility, grow physically and emotionally, and discover themselves,” said CFSJ Executive Director Andy Fraizer.

The Gleneayre Equestrian Program
The Gleneayre Equestrian Program exists to provide a hands-on, experience-based learning environment for people in difficult situations, including children, families, and military personnel. We believe that the powerful connection between people and horses is transformational. Through horsemanship, we develop character, learn ethics and responsibility, grow physically and emotionally, and discover ourselves. Our own lives improve as we improve those of our horses. We focus on people and horses that are poorly served by more mainstream resources and programs. We are committed to children facing challenges at school and at home, to families struggling with the unique demands of military life, and to service members in need of support. In particular, we know that all children have the potential to become healthy, active, and productive young adults, and our horses help us get through to those who are otherwise hard to reach. We house a diverse group of donated horses to our program that are safe for interaction with children. We provide a caring, happy home for horses whose show careers are over, but who have lots of life left in them. Learn more about the Gleneayre Equestrian Program at gleneayreequestrianprogram.org/.