Somerset Hills YMCA Awarded $15,000 Grant From the Toys "R" Us Children's Fund

Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund Grant is Part of $1 Million New Jersey Initiative to Benefit

Nonprofit Organizations Supporting Children in the State

(BASKING RIDGE NJ) -- November 21, 2011 – The Somerset Hills YMCA has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund through its 2011 New Jersey grant initiative. The one-time grants were given by the Fund to alleviate economic challenges and sustain organizations that favorably impact children across New Jersey. The Somerset Hills YMCA was one of 54 organizations selected from a pool of more than 500 proposals from charities requesting funding from across the state.

“The Somerset Hills YMCA takes pride in offering all children the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. The role of any Y is to support its community, and our programs are based on the unique needs and interests of our members and neighbors. We have designed more than twenty programs that offer our special needs population a range of activities and interests, many of which are free or subsidized. This Toys ”R” Us grant means that we will be able to reach out to more children with special needs in our neighborhoods and provide them with the kind of experienced and nurturing care that they need,” said Fred Wasiak, Chief Operating Officer at the Somerset Hills YMCA.

The Somerset Hills YMCA has been offering programs and services to children for sixty years, believing that the values and skills learned early on are vital building blocks for quality of life and that confident kids today become contributing and engaged adults tomorrow.

“Of the many proposals we received, the Somerset Hills YMCA demonstrated a distinctive commitment to supporting children in New Jersey,” said Kathleen Waugh, Chairman, Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund. “With additional support from the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund this year, we hope that the impact of its meaningful work will be even greater to further our collective efforts in our state to keep kids safe and help them in times of need.”

Grants will support a wide array of unique programs and services aligned with the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund mission of keeping children safe and helping them in times of need. Funding was awarded to nonprofit organizations that demonstrated an immediate and specific need and directly impacted children in the state. Kids in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties will benefit from the impact of the grant initiative through community-based and statewide charities. To view the complete list of recipients, please visit: Toysrusinc.com/charitable-giving/2011NJGrants

The $15,000 grant for the Somerset Hills YMCA was earmarked to support two specific programs: Carousel Kids that offers a self-contained program for children with disabilities with a 1:1 or 1:2 aide to participant ratio, and the Summer Camp Inclusion program that enables children with disabilities to be mainstreamed into traditional summer camp, also with the help of trained aides or ‘shadows.’ The funding will be used to expand these programs in order to serve more children with disabilities in Somerset County.

Toys “R” Us, Inc. has a long history of giving back to the communities it serves by keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. The company and the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund together have given hundreds of thousands of dollars in product donations and monetary grants annually to a wide range of nonprofit organizations in New Jersey. For 38 years, Toys “R” Us, Inc. has been based in New Jersey with more than 4,500 employees across more than 45 stores, regional offices, the corporate headquarters and the company’s largest retail distribution center in the country.  For more information about Toys “R” Us, Inc. charitable giving and the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund, please visit Toysrusinc.com/charitable-giving.

The Somerset Hills YMCA is a charitable community service organization, rooted in Christian values and dedicated to helping all people grow in spirit, mind and body.  We are guided by our core principles of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

About the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund

The Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund is a public charity affiliated with Toys “R” Us, Inc., a company that unabashedly declares “We love kids!” The core mission of the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund is to keep children safe and help them in times of need. Since it was founded in 1992, the Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund has contributed millions of dollars to qualified organizations that support that mission, including those providing disaster relief to children and families who are victims of large-scale crises. The Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund also provides grants to leading organizations that support children with special needs.  Primary fundraising activities include the annual Toys “R” Us Children’s Fund Gala, a private, invitation-only event that showcases the work of the Fund and raises money to support its many beneficiaries. This annual benefit has raised more than $95 million since its inception in 1985 and is one of the largest single-night fundraising events held in New York City.