On May 11, Diocesan Council approved the ACTS/VIM grant board’s 2016 recommendation for awards totaling $155,000. These grants will help support eighteen different programs offering basic necessities including food, shelter, and education to our neighbors throughout the diocese, of which the food pantry at Church of the Holy Spirit in Verona is just one example.
Verona, a primarily residential community, features a 54-acre park with twin lakes and a picturesque bridge. Its schools are highly rated and community organizations active with scouting, sports, and music programming for youth and a variety of civic and social organizations for adults. But like many communities in our diocese, Verona is home to a growing number of working families and individuals struggling financially and unable to afford basic necessities, including food. When Holy Spirit, Verona opened its new food pantry in late April, the parish's dream to bring assistance to their neighbors in need became a reality.
The ACTS/VIM endowment (A Commitment to Serve/Venture in Mission) results from a $6,000,000 capital campaign launched in 1979. Over the years, the ACTS/VIM board has awarded countless grants to congregations and other organizations working in our northern New Jersey communities.
The eighteen ACTS/VIM grant recipients for 2016 are:
Bible School Summer Camp, Church of the Good Shepherd, Ringwood
Care on the Corner, St. John the Divine, Hasbrouck Heights
EfM Program Start-up, Trinity Parish in Bergen Point, Bayonne
Faith, Hope & Love Food Pantry, Christ Episcopal Church of Teaneck
Food Pantry, Church of the Holy Spirit, Verona
Food Pantry, Holy Trinity Church, West Orange
Grace Community Services, Grace Church Van Vorst, Jersey City
Haven of Hope for Kids, Episcopal Church of St. Luke and St. Mary, Hope
Healthy Food Initiative, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Clifton
High School Equivalency Tutoring Program, Newark Shared Ministry ( Apostles' House; Christ Church Short Hills; Diocese of Newark; General Theological Seminary; House of Prayer Episcopal Church, Newark; NEWARK ACTS; St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Chatham), Newark
Jubilee Center of Hoboken, All Saints Episcopal Parish, Hoboken
Korean Culture School Program, All Saints' Episcopal Korean Church, Bergenfield
Newark School of Theology Scholarship Program, Newark
North Porch Women's & Infants Center; Newark, Dover, Paterson, Wharton and Hackettstown
Senior Resource Center, Church of the Messiah, Chester
St. Paul's CDC Emergency Men's Shelter, Paterson
St. Paul's Choir School, St. Paul's Church in Englewood
The Choristers Program of Grace Church, Grace Church in Newark
