At Covenant House New Jersey (CHNJ), we believe it’s important to have fun trying new experiences, broadening horizons, and building community among staff and young people. Building community can be as important as providing immediate services to stabilize our youth, as well as providing the supportive services to help successfully transition youth to independent living. I am pleased to share some of the fun we had this summer, along with some of the supportive work we do to help transition youth out of CHNJ.
Whether it was an early summer trip to the Jersey Shore for our Atlantic City youth or a late summer trip to the Shore for our youth in North Jersey, we experienced sun, surf and sand.
We also flew high in South Jersey thanks to the support from our partners at High Exposure Aerial Advertising. Our good friends from High Exposure Aerial have hosted an annual BBQ with games, prizes, and plane rides for several years to support our work. The event exposes our youth to the different job opportunities in this sector and allows them the chance to see the Jersey shoreline from a bird’s eye view.
And in August, we were in Pittstown, NJ along with BlackRock volunteers picking roughly 13,000 pounds!!! of zucchini in 90 degree heat. Our efforts supported families around the state suffering from food insecurity.
And supporter and friend Dave Sholler, Chief Communications Officer for the 76ers, sponsored an extravagant Labor Day BBQ for our youth in Atlantic City which included the usual fare plus shrimp, special salads, and deserts! 76ers gear was delivered the day before so our youth were decked out in style. Everyone had a great time celebrating the unofficial end-of-summer.
