WESTFIELD, PLAINFIELD, and PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY – October 6, 2026

More Than Bootstraps (MTB), a New Jersey non-profit dedicated to helping low-income, first-generation students access and succeed in higher education, has received a $1,000 community service grant award from the Westfield Rotary Club Foundation. The Westfield Rotary Club is part of Rotary International, which is a worldwide humanitarian organization that seeks to do good in the world.

The Westfield Rotary Club and its local foundation look to support entities that are changing people's lives for the better. "More than Bootstraps is the type of visionary group that Westfield Rotary wants to assist," Club President Jim Hely said. This is the sixth award MTB has received from the Rotary Club of Westfield.

Founded by Audrey Fisch, a long-time Westfield resident and college professor, More Than Bootstraps addresses the challenges first-generation, low-income students face in getting to and succeeding in higher education.

Now underway with its seventh year of programming, MTB is continuing to grow its work with underrepresented first-generation college students in Passaic, NJ, and has begun programming in Plainfield, NJ. Employing a near-peer mentoring approach, the organization matches high school students with near-peer mentors – graduates of the Passaic Public Schools or Plainfield High School currently enrolled in institutions from Princeton to Kean University. Led by their college student mentors, MTB High School Fellows follow a curriculum that focuses on knowledge about higher education and financial aid, communication with families, holistic student development, and the promotion of student well-being and agency. 

Grants and donations to More Than Bootstraps fund the monthly stipends that allow the high school and college students some time and space to come together and create a community of success while still meeting their financial responsibilities. 

MTB launched in Westfield on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2020. Donations from Westfield residents and local organizations, including Temple Emanu-El of Westfield, the Westfield Rotary Club Foundation, the Westfield-based Union Innovation NJ Alliance, and the Westfield Foundation, provided the initial resources to support the inaugural five College Student Leaders and six High School Fellows. All of those college students have now graduated from college, and some of the High School Fellows have as well. To date, all (17/17) MTB college students have graduated from college, all within four years.

In 2026-2027, the organization is serving 92 High School and College Students across Plainfield and Passaic. 

Passaic High School Fellows and College Student Leaders at the MTB Fall 2026 Kickoff

Plainfield High School Fellows and College Student Leaders at the MTB Fall 2026 Kickoff

“We are grateful to the Rotary Club for recognizing how difficult it is for first-generation college students to pull themselves up by their bootstraps in getting to and succeeding in the complex American higher education environment,” said Audrey Fisch, president of More Than Bootstraps. “This grant from the Rotary Club enables our students to empower each other to succeed.”

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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.

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. 

About the WESTFIELD ROTARY CLUB FOUNDATION

The Westfield Rotary Club Foundation, Inc.  is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation supported by the donations of past and present Rotarians, and by donations of community members. The Foundation has provided millions of dollars in scholarships to local students and grants to local nonprofit organizations, all to make our community a better place to live and work. The finances of the Foundation are separate from the finances of the Rotary Club of Westfield. Donations to the Foundation are used exclusively to fund the charitable work of the Foundation.

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