Project Readiness Branching Out To Help Beyond Morris County!

Our names are Jen Scarpati and Annie Peters, and we co-founded Project Readiness in February of 2019. In its infancy, we operated Project Readiness from our homes, but we're thrilled to announce that we just moved into our first office! Please come visit us in our new space at 75 Bloomfield Avenue, Suite 304, in Denville, NJ.

Project Readiness's mission is to enable academic success for all of New Jersey’s children, regardless of income level.  

New Jersey, like many states, has municipalities in which children of means attend school alongside children at an economic disadvantage.  Data collected by organizations such as the United Way show that this economic disadvantage often translates into an academic disadvantage.  To that end, a student’s family income is one of the most prominent predictors of that student’s SAT score.  Also, children of homes with less income are less likely to pursue higher education.  Project Readiness has the mission of providing students with a year’s complement of age-appropriate school supplies and a new backpack.  That student is equipped for the coming academic year with both tangible supplies, and the knowledge that a sponsor believed in their potential enough to make a monetary investment in their schooling.  

Project Readiness works to benefit those New Jersey families designated as "ALICE" households.  These families are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed.  While these families live above the Federal Poverty Level, they do not make enough to afford basic necessities.  When combined with those families living below the Federal Poverty Level, these ALICE households account for 37% of New Jersey households -- a huge number of people.

In its first years, Project Readiness partnered with other Morris County charities in order to identify these families and students in need.  These organizations included Head Start of Morris County, Nourish.NJ, Family Promise of Morris County, and Homeless Solutions of Morris County. Recently, we've begun to achieve our goal of working directly with schools, who, in turn, can identify their students more in need of our assistance.  To that end, we're thrilled to have formed partnerships with East Side High School in Newark, NJ, as well as Frelinghuysen Middle School in Morristown, NJ.  We've also expanded into Sussex County, working with Caring Partners of Morris Sussex as well as the Franklin Borough School.  Also, we've recently embarked on a partnership with CASA, the excellent organization that works to pair foster children with court-appointed special advocates that can best address their individual needs.  Starting with CASA of Essex County, Project Readiness plans to supply each of this organization's foster children with a year's supply of school supplies and a new backpack.  

Now that Project Readiness has extended its reach past Morris County, our work in New Jersey has only just begun!  

 We won't be satisfied until no student in New Jersey is forced to worry about the source of his or her school supplies for the coming academic year.  

There are many ways to help support Project Readiness from sponsoring a student, hosting a workplace drive, corporate donations and/or monetary donations. We can only do this work with the generosity of our donors.  If you would like to donate to our mission, please visit our website at www.projectreadinessnj.org and click the red "Donate" button -- and thanks!

Project Readiness - 75 Bloomfield Avenue, Suite 304, Denville, NJ

​NO ONE CAN EVER TAKE AWAY A CHILD'S EDUCATION. However, a child needs to flourish in school first. Rising costs are placing basic necessities outside of the reach of many families in Ne... Read More »