BJ’s Charitable Foundation Announces Q4 Donation of More Than $500,000

to Programs That Benefit Children and Families

Natick, Mass. – (March 26, 2008) – Recently, BJ’s Charitable Foundation,SM as part of their quarterly giving schedule, presented 48 grants totaling $511,000 to non-profit organizations located in the areas BJ’s Wholesale Club operates.  The recipients support the Foundation’s mission of promoting the safety, security and well-being of children and families, supporting education and health programs, providing community service opportunities, and aiding in hunger and disaster relief.       

“BJ’s Charitable FoundationSM takes great pride in supporting non-profit organizations that share our focus of creating a positive, long-lasting impact for children and families in every community BJ’s serves,” said Paul Bass, president of BJ’s Charitable Foundation. “Year after year, we work to help more community programs to enrich the lives of those in need.”

Below is a list by state of the organizations that received grants through BJ’s Charitable FoundationSM in Q4:

Connecticut

Connecticut Food Bank (New Haven) – $10,000 to offset the costs of transportation and warehouse expenses critical to food distribution operations for their 650 programs throughout the state.

The Diaper Bank (New Haven) – $10,000 to purchase diapers for low-income families.

The American School for the Deaf (West Hartford) - $10,000 to the Early Childhood Intervention Program, serving pre-school deaf and hard-of-hearing children, age birth to three, and their families. The program offers a variety of services, including home visits, audiological services, cochlear implant services, loaner hearing aids, and physical and occupational therapy.

Delaware

Practice Without Pressure, Inc. (New Castle) – $5,000 for their Orientation Sessions that teach parents and caregivers about helping children with disabilities prepare for routine dental, medical and self-care procedures. 

Latin American Community Center (Wilmington) – $2,500 to HOSTS (Helping One Student To Succeed) mentoring program, which pairs a volunteer mentor with one or two children for prescribed academic activities.

Florida

B.A.S.E. Camp Children’s Cancer Foundation (Winter Park) – $6,000 to the Food Basket Program, which offers a week’s worth of food for families that have a child with cancer or other life threatening illness.

Christians Reaching Out to Society, Inc. (West Palm Beach) – $5,000 to purchase food for their four emergency food pantries in Palm Beach County.

La Liga Contra El Cancer (Miami) – $35,000 to The League Against Cancer/Liga Contra El Cancer for research and treatment.

New Life Family Center (Miami) – $5,000 to provide transitional housing for families that stayed in emergency and residential shelters.  Funding will go toward the cost of room and board, food, clothing and upkeep of the facilities.

Orlando Regional Healthcare on behalf of The Howard Philips Center for Children and Families (Orlando) – $10,000 toward the Center’s Teen Xpress, a school-based, mobile healthcare unit providing complete medical and mental healthcare services to underserved, uninsured and at-risk students at five low-achieving middle and high schools, as well as a local shelter for homeless youth.

Women in Distress of Broward County, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale) – $5,000 to the Emergency Shelter Program, a 62-bed emergency shelter for homeless women and their children, who are victims of domestic abuse.

Georgia

Community Welcome House (Newnan) – $5,000 to support their educational outreach program and shelter for women and children who are homeless due to domestic violence.

Prevent Child Abuse Rockdale (Conyers) – $5,000 to their Nurturing Program, a 13-week curriculum, which teaches age-specific parenting skills and the need to nurture oneself in an effort to stop the intergenerational cycle of child abuse.

Tiny Stitches (Suwanee) – $2,000 to help volunteers purchase additional fabric, yarn, and other supplies for sewing, knitting, and crocheting of clothing and blankets that will be distributed to disadvantaged families by local social workers.

Wesley Community Centers (Atlanta) – $7,500 to Project Extend, an all-volunteer work force that performs home repairs at no cost for low-income older adults.

Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University (Atlanta) –$35,000 in support of their Breast Health Center for research and treatment.

Massachusetts

Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro West’s Hollis Street Clubhouse (Framingham) – $7,500 for the Power Hour Homework Assistance Program that provides support, resources and guidance necessary for children to complete their homework.

Crispus Attucks Children’s Center (Dorchester) – $7,500 to the Violence Prevention Project, a curriculum for urban preschool children. 

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston) – $100,000 in support of their Women's Cancers Program for research and treatment.

Everybody Wins! Metro Boston (Boston) – $5,000 to train mentors and buy children’s books and other materials for the Power Lunch program that pairs volunteers from businesses and community groups during their lunch hour for one-to-one reading with students.

Julie’s Family Learning Program, Inc. (Boston) – $5,000 for their family development services, which include adult basic education, job training, family literacy, technology literacy, parenting skills, health and wellness, nutrition, emergency assistance and counseling.

Lower Cape Outreach Council (Orleans) – $5,000 to stock food pantries in each of the eight towns of lower Cape Cod.

Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange, Inc. (Boston) –$5,000 for outreach programs such as information and referrals, registration and matching, and the MARE Photo listing book.

Mission of Deeds, Inc. (Reading) – $7,500 to purchase new bed sets (mattresses, box springs and bed frames) for people living in shelters and transitional situations and have incomes below poverty level.

Pine Street Inn (Boston) – $12,500 to support permanent housing for children and families. 

The B.R.I.D.G.E. Program (Lowell) – $1,000 for healthy snacks to help supplement the meals covered by the federal meals program for at-risk 7th and 8th grade students with behavioral problems.

The Junior League of Worcester (Worcester) – $5,000 to Project Fresh Start and Coats for Kids programs. Project Fresh Start provides new and used household goods to families or single parents moving from shelters into permanent housing.  Coats for Kids works in collaboration with the Worcester Public Schools to provide new coats, hats and mittens to needy school-aged children.

Maine

Sisters of Charity Health System (Auburn) – $5,000 for the Sisters of Charity Food Pantry to help feed the hungry in the Lewiston and Auburn areas.

Maryland

Law Enforcement Families Association, Inc. (Abingdon) – $2,000 to fund care baskets for injured police officers and their families.

New Jersey

Camden Eye Center (Camden) – $2,500 to Sight First for Kids Program, which offers eye care services to children from poor, low and moderate-income families.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (New Brunswick) – $35,000 to the Ladies Professional Golf Association In the Fight to Eradicate Breast Cancer (LIFE) Center, set up by the Val Skinner Foundation at CINJ for research and treatment.

New York

Franklin Community Center, Inc. (Saratoga Springs) – $5,000 to fund additional staff members for Project Lift, an after-school program that creates positive youth development activities for raising self-esteem and developing peer-pressure refusal, decision-making, problem solving and communication skills in the Saratoga Springs City School District.

Groundwork, Inc. (Brooklyn) – $5,000 to the Youth Education for Tomorrow (YET) initiative, a 90-minute balanced literacy program comprised of independent student and teacher reading, oral language, vocabulary and comprehension activities, writing and reading games working with low income, at-risk children and their families.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York) – $35,000 to support their Breast Disease Management Team for research and treatment.

Muscular Dystrophy Association, Syracuse District (Syracuse) – $5,000 to fund summer camp for people with neuromuscular diseases.

St. Catherine’s Center for Children (Albany) – $5,000 to the Marillac Homeless Family shelter to help cover the cost of renovations and repairs to the common areas of the shelter (waiting room, child care/recreation area and pantry), as well as new furnishing for the apartments.

The Schenectady Inner City Ministry (Schenectady) – $5,000 for the Emergency Food program to provide individuals with three days worth of food.  Emergency Food program helps recently unemployed people who would otherwise have to choose between buying food for their family or paying for rent and other basic needs.

North Carolina

Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center (Durham) – $35,000 to support the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center for research and treatment.

Muscular Dystrophy Association, Charlotte District (Charlotte) – $5,000 to fund summer camp for people with neuromuscular diseases.

Ohio

Domestic Violence Project, Inc. (Canton) – $10,000 for their counseling, violence prevention and education services.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Stark & Carroll Counties (Canton) –$5,000 to support the cost of materials and professional labor to construct a home in either the Canton or the Massillon metropolitan area. 

Rainbow Injury Prevention Center (Cleveland) – $5,500 to fund instructors and safety supplies for the Safe Sitter curriculum, which educates aspiring babysitters on how to care for young children.

Pennsylvania

Crispus Attucks Association, Inc. (York) – $5,000 to STARS (Striving to Achieve Remarkable Success), a youth fitness program that provides educational and recreational programs to improve the long-term health and well-being of inner city youth. 

Philadelphia Society for Services to Children (Philadelphia) – $5,000 to Families and Schools Together (FAST) program, which works with parents and trained professionals to enhance family functioning through supporting child achievements in school and lessening the daily stress that parents and children encounter.

The Career Wardrobe (Philadelphia) – $5,000 to the Dressing and Image Consultation Program and Gateway to Success educational program to help low income women transition into the workforce by providing free professional clothing and educational opportunities in the Philadelphia region.

Rhode Island

Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County (Wakefield) – $2,000 for an Education Advocate to visit and discuss age-appropriate topics such as bullying, healthy relationships and dating violence in middle schools and high schools. 

Virginia

Center for Hope and New Beginnings (Suffolk) – $5,000 to purchase food for both families in their shelter and food baskets distributed to the community.

Seton Youth Shelters (Virginia Beach) – $5,000 for the overall operations of their shelters serving children who are often victims of physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect. 

About BJ’s Charitable Foundation

Established in 2004, the goal of BJ’s Charitable Foundation is to create a positive, long-lasting impact on the communities served by BJ’s Wholesale Club. The Foundation’s mission is to enhance and enrich community programs that primarily benefit children and families.  The majority of giving focuses on organizations that promote the safety, security and well-being of children and families, support education and health programs, promote community service opportunities, and aid in hunger and disaster relief.  Since its first grant in 2005, BJ’s Charitable Foundation has allocated funds on a quarterly basis, giving more than $5,250,000 to over 500 deserving organizations in the 16 states BJ’s Clubs are located. In 2007, BJ’s Charitable Foundation presented 204 grants totaling more than $1,690,000.  For more information about BJ’s Charitable Foundation and eligibility and application procedures, please visit, www.bjs.com/charity. 

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