WESTFIELD, PLAINFIELD, and PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY – June 2, 2026

More Than Bootstraps (MTB), a New Jersey non-profit organization, has received a $3,000 grant from the Westfield Service League to support its college access and success work in Plainfield, New Jersey. All of this funding will go directly to students in the form of stipends to allow them time and space away from their other financial obligations in order to mentor their younger high school peers.

Now beginning its seventh year of programming, MTB employs a near-peer mentoring approach to address the challenges first-generation, low-income students face in accessing and succeeding in higher education. Working with underrepresented students in Passaic and Plainfield, NJ, the organization matches high school students with near-peer mentors – high school graduates from the communities of Passaic and Plainfield who are currently enrolled at institutions ranging from Princeton to Kean University. College Student Leaders meet weekly with their high school mentees and follow a curriculum of activities focused on personal and professional development, college and financial aid awareness, and communication with families.

MTB began work in Plainfield in January 2026. Adja, Fernanda, Kalista, Nikitha, and Jessica, all first-generation college students at institutions from Kean University to Union County Community College, have been shadowing Passaic College Student Leaders. In May, they led recruitment efforts. From the 75+ applications received to date, they will collaborate with MTB leadership to select 10 Plainfield High School sophomores as the inaugural Plainfield High School Fellows. Under the supervision of MTB Program Resource Fellow Ayana Goodwin, the Plainfield Leaders will continue to train over the summer and will begin mentoring their younger high school peers in September.

MTB Plainfield College Student Leaders describe the program to high school juniors (not pictured, Kalista).

“As we continue to integrate More Than Bootstraps into the Plainfield community, we are enormously grateful for the recognition of our program’s contribution to increasing access to and success in higher education for first-generation college students,” said Audrey Fisch, president of More Than Bootstraps. “Westfield Service League members work diligently as volunteers in the Westfield Thrift and Consignment Shop in order to make these community contributions. We are honored to have been chosen for this grant that will allow us to support the students we serve in Plainfield.”

###

MTB Program Resource Fellow Ayana Goodwin

Grants and donations to More Than Bootstraps fund the monthly stipends that allow the high school and college students in the program some time and space to devote to their professional development and college-going activities while still meeting their financial responsibilities. Interested donors are invited to visit the MTB website: www.morethanbootstraps.org/donate.

About the Westfield Service League

The Westfield Service League is a nonprofit organization rooted in more than 90 years of community service. Powered by dedicated volunteers, they operate the Westfield NJ Thrift & Consignment Shops to fund a longstanding grant program supporting nonprofit organizations across Westfield and Union County.

More Than Bootstraps is a nonprofit created by educators seeking to level the playing field and remove some of the substantial barriers that first-generation college students encounter in accessing and succeeding in higher education. More Than Bootstraps employs a near-peer mentoring model to create a community of success. College students from the community return to guide their younger peers in the community through the college search, application, and assimilation process. These leaders, working as a mentoring cohort, in turn strengthen their own college-going identities and improve their own chances of success in higher education.

Students are selected based on their desire to attend college and their commitment to the program rather than grade point average or test scores. All students in the MTB program receive stipends, laptop computers, and access to emergency resources to help them with the many non-tuition expenses of higher education. 

More Than Bootstraps is a 501(c)3 organization, Tax ID 83-2245008.

Media Contact:

Audrey Fisch, Ph.D.

President, More Than Bootstraps

(908) 397-0893

audrey@morethanbootstraps.org