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COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
Fall 2024
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Announcing October 2024 Grant Awards | |
The Partners for Health Foundation Board has awarded 10 grants totaling $860,000 to provide direct service, and support policy and advocacy efforts to address health inequities:
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Family Promise of Essex County - Financial assistance for families at risk of homelessness, emergency shelter, and case management (1-year general operating grant of $40,000).
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United Way of Passaic County - Outreach, education and systemic changes to promote food security in Clifton (1-year project grant of $30,000).
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Wafa House - Increase awareness and promote culturally appropriate mental health counseling, and strengthen networking between providers (2-year project grant totaling $75,000).
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KinderSmile - Oral health care for an underserved community, and to collect comprehensive data (3-year general operating grant totaling $240,000).
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New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children - Statewide legal services and policy advocacy to empower immigrant youth, children of mixed status families, and similarly situated youth (1-year general operating grant of $60,000).
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Monarch Housing Associates - A funding collaborative to create a comprehensive strategic plan aimed at ending family and youth homelessness in New Jersey (1-year grant of $25,000).
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Produce Purchasing Program - Support for community food providers who distribute fresh produce to households facing financial difficulties (1-year grants to multiple organizations totaling $115,000).
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Gloria C. Essoka, PhD, RN,
Elected Trustee Emerita
Gloria C. Essoka, PhD, RN has been elected Trustee Emerita of the Partners for Health Board in recognition of her significant and continued service to the Foundation. During her tenure as a Trustee (2015-2023), she served as First Vice Chair of the Board, Co-Chair of the Grants Committee, and on several other committees.
Dr. Essoka had a distinguished nursing career that spanned five decades. She worked in baccalaureate and higher degree programs nationally and internationally as a nurse educator and administrator. She retired from the Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing of the City University of New York in 2004. She then served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor and Department Chair at Seton Hall University; permanently retired in 2016.
"Gloria enriches our conversations in countless ways, and we're delighted we will continue to benefit from her wise counsel," said Sara Elnakib, PhD, MPH, RDN, Board Chair, Partners for Health Foundation.
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Partners for Health was among 11 winners, and the only winner from New Jersey, named in the national I Partner with My Library Award. Created by Let’s Move in Libraries, this award celebrates community collaborators who partner with public libraries across the U.S. and Canada. This year’s winners were selected from a pool of 61 nominees. The Montclair Public Library Foundation nominated PFH for this award.
"Partnerships with anchor institutions like the Montclair Public Library are integral to the Foundation’s ability to meeting its mission. The Library is a true partner that cares for all community members who utilize their facilities and participate in their programs. We are proud to share this recognition with them,” said Pam Scott, Executive Director of Partners for Health.
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SAVE the DATE!
On Thursday, September 10, 2025, Partners for Health and the Montclair Public Library will co-sponsor an Open Book/Open Mind conversation with Richard Rothstein and Leah Rothstein, co-authors of Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law.
Just Action is a follow up to The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein’s 2017 book that demolished the de facto segregation myth that black and white Americans live separately by choice, providing “the most forceful argument ever published on how federal, state, and local governments gave rise to the reinforced neighborhood segregation” (William Julius Wilson).
“It’s rare for a writer to feel obligated to be so clear on solutions to the problems outlined in a previous book,” writes E. J. Dionne, “yet Richard Rothstein — aware that twenty-first-century segregation continues to promote entrenched inequality — has done just that, teaming with housing policy expert Leah Rothstein to write Just Action, a blueprint for concerned citizens and community leaders.”
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About Partners for Health
Partners for Health is a community-based organization that works toward a vision of thriving communities ensuring health for all. The Foundation invests in programs, policies and organizations that lead to healthy communities and increased opportunities to thrive. It knows that everyone prospers when the needs of those who experience health inequities are recognized and supported. Through partnering with community organizations, Partners for Health strives to advance health equity through learning, grantmaking and advocacy.
The Foundation awards grants to eligible organizations that provide direct service in Montclair, New Jersey and surrounding communities, including 13 municipalities in Essex County, plus Clifton and Little Falls in Passaic County. It also funds statewide organizations that support local coalitions or advocate for statewide policy change to advance health equity and social justice.
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