Westfield – The Westfield Foundation welcomes three trustees to the board for 2014-15. The new trustees are community members Claudia Andreski, Robert Gorelick and Mark F. Swingle.
The Westfield Foundation is a local foundation whose goals include supporting the ongoing efforts of individuals and organizations to improve the quality of life in Westfield. The Foundation also offers support in bold new initiatives, most recently to Roots & Wings, an organization dedicated to helping young adults who have aged out of NJ’s foster care system. The seed money provided by the Foundation in the past has been instrumental to organizations such as IMAGINE and Furniture Assist to name a few.
In the second quarter for 2014, the Foundation granted more than $76,500 to 11 local organizations. These funds will be used in a mentoring program for WHS student interested in medicine, theater performances in Roosevelt and Edison intermediate schools, purchase of theatrical equipment, preservation and display of archives, a junior theater program, a holiday concert, groceries for children with cancer, development of a website and seed money for a program to help youth who are aging out of the foster care system in NJ. Recipients include: Arts Power, Trinitas Health Foundation, 117th Cavalry Association, Summit Speech School, Solid Brass Chamber Music Guild, Roots and Wings, Hedgehog & Feather Theatre Co., Emmanual Cancer Foundation, Literacy Volunteers of Union County, Youth & Family Counseling Service and the Cranford Dramatic Club. Additionally, the Foundation awarded $40,000 in scholarships and $16,250 for a summer jobs program.
Over the years a unique and popular opportunity for donor giving to the Westfield Foundation has been to establish a “legacy” fund in an individual or family’s name. The annual investment income from a legacy fund will support the Foundation’s yearly giving both immediately and in perpetuity, and is a lasting legacy of generosity for families in the Westfield community.
Money to support the Foundation’s grants has been and continues to be provided by concerned and caring Westfield residents.
