Who We Support
All Saints Child Care Center
150 Park Ave, Leonia, NJ 07605
Paula Kardasis, Director
Bergen Family Center (Southeast Senior Center for Independent Living)
228 Grand Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-4080
Tasheira Howard, Director of Adult Services, 201-567-1495
wwwbergenfamilycenter.org/SESCIL
Bergen Volunteers
64 Passaic Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-489-9454
Nina Bachrach, Executive Director
This organization helps our neighbors by enlisting and training volunteers, and then matching them to the needs of local residents. Here’s how they came to the aid of a local neighbor: Ruth, a Leonia resident for fifty years, could not navigate the stairs in her two-story home after she broke her leg. The Bergen Volunteers Chore Program came, added a railing to the upper part of her stairs, and added grab bars in the tub/shower. All at no cost for labor. Bergen Volunteers provides many other services including Mentoring where trained volunteers help with distressing circumstances.
Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative
75 Essex St, Suite 100, Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-518-8484
Amanda Missey, Pres & CEO
BVMI utilizes volunteer medical practitioners to provide free primary, urgent, chronic and preventive care to a growing number of uninsured residents of Bergen County. With staff fluent in Spanish and Korean, BVMI serves a broad segment of our community. One of those residents, Lee, a female patient in the BVMI Korean Health Program, received care that truly transformed her life. Aware of her family history of breast cancer, Lee scheduled a wellness visit with BVMI. Because she had no health insurance, Lee had delayed her mammogram for years. BVMI stepped in and ordered a mammogram, which was followed by a biopsy when the mammogram suggested abnormalities. Breast cancer was discovered at an early stage, and Lee underwent successful surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Her doctors report that Lee’s prognosis is very good.
A grant from the Leonia Community Chest has helped BVMI launch their Telehealth program with the outbreak of Covid-19, and despite the loss of her job during the pandemic, Lee could continue regular follow up appointments.
Center for Food Action
192A West Demarest Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-1804
Nicole A. Davis, Executive Director
The Center For Food Action provides food and homelessness prevention services to vulnerable members of local communities, including heating, rental, mortgage and utility assistance. One in seven children, in New Jersey, go to bed hungry and many seniors are forced to make tough decisions about whether to pay bills or buy groceries.
In 2021, CFA has provided more than $3M worth of food to more than 60,000 people. Since Hurricane Ida, the number of new families has increased because so many were devastated by the storm and are faced with incredible losses, including cars and homes. CFA delivers food packages to people who cannot get to one of the CFA locations, and CFA has added dozens of pop-up food distributions to get food to people living in low-income areas and to reach underserved populations.
Community of Friends In Action (CoFIA)
P.O. Box 313, Leonia, NJ 07605
201-833-1737
www.communityoffriendsinaction.org
Carolyn Sobering & Ruth Swinney, Co-Chairs
The Community of Friends in Action (CoFiA) works for better immigration policy and is devoted to support immigrant workers and their families by providing information about social services, facilitating employment opportunities, and developing leadership training. It also provides health training, ESL classes, wage theft recovery assistance, and a workers’ link program that connects homeowners and small businesses.
CoFIA has helped dozens of Leonians by sending people to help them shovel, move furniture, and provide other manual support for our neighbors in need. During the first years of the pandemic, CoFiA significantly helped Our Community Dinner Table, which provided food assistance to the community, while supporting local restaurants. CoFiA also sponsors OSHA safety-training scholarships for community workers.
Give Chances
Anna Lee, Ph.D, MSW,
Exec. Director, 201-266-0640
235 Pegasus Ave.
Northvale, NJ 07647 www.givechances.org
Leonia Arts
227 Fort Lee Road, Leonia, NJ 07605
201-786-3430
Suzanne Dickerson Davis, President
Andee Post, Vice President
Leonia Boy Scout Troop 71
201-965-0579
Paul Springob, Scoutmaster
Leonia Chamber Musicians
P.O. Box 473, Leonia, NJ 07605
201-947-3923
www.leoniachambermusicians.org
Daryl Goldberg, President
Leonia Cub Scouts
1 Cottage Place, Leonia, NJ 07605
201-637-6819
Jean Willi, Cub Master
Leonia Girl Scouts
332 Westview Avenue, Leonia, NJ 07605
201-592-0194
Stacey Orishak, Leader
Leonia Makes Music (Leonia High School)
127 Eastview Avenue, Leonia
Suzie Park, 609-610-0817
Leonia Public Library
227 Fort Lee Road, Leonia
201-592-5770
Michelle Malone, Director
Feel like smelling the flowers at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden? Want to spend a sunny day at the Storm King Art Center enjoying outdoor sculptures? Well, you can get free passes at the Leonia Library thanks to the help of donations from the Leonia Community Chest.
While many of us enjoy the books, interactive materials and programs for Teens, Adults and Children at our library, they also offer added benefits. Along with the places mentioned above, the Library offers free passes to the Frick Collection, the USS Intrepid, the Museum of Modern Art, the Newark Museum of Art, the New York Transit Museum and the Children’s Museum, all made possible with the help of your donations to the Leonia Community Chest. Contact the Library to learn how to pick up the museum passes.
Plus, the Community Chest helps support ESL programs at the Library, which continued virtually during the pandemic.
Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey
196 Speedwell Ave, Morristown, NJ 07960
973-539-9580
Triste Brooks, President and CEO
Planned Parenthood is one of the nation’s leading providers of high-quality, affordable health care, and the nation’s largest provider of sex education. Bergen County is served by Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, & Southern NJ's two health centers: one in Englewood and the other in Hackensack. Services performed at both are similar, though their hours vary. These services include: Medication Abortion (up to 11 weeks pregnant), Birth Control, COVID-19 Vaccines, HIV Testing (Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a retrovirus which causes AIDS), Emergency Contraception (Morning-After pill), Pregnancy Testing & Services, STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) testing, treatment, and vaccines, Women’s and Men’s Health Care. Patients are welcome with or without health insurance.
In addition to delivering health services, PPNCSNJ provides age-appropriate, medically accurate, evidence-based comprehensive sexual health education through partnerships with middle and high schools.
In 2021, 558 Leonia residents were served. “Get Yourself Tested” is still offered at all health centers. More than 16,000 screenings for STIs and 3,256 HIV tests were performed at Bergen County Health Centers.
Project Literacy of Greater Bergen County
355 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-488-7066
Sculpture for Leonia
Mary Martire, Chairperson
Vantage Health System, Inc.
93 West Palisade Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631
201-567-0550
David Griffith, President & CEO
Woman's Club of Leonia
140 Crescent Ave, Leonia, NJ 07605
201-461-5020
njsfwc.org/the-club-pages/leonia/
Lynne Berenbroick, President
Women's Rights Information Center
108 West Palisade Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631
201-568-1166
Lil Corcoran, Executive Director
Leonians might be surprised to learn that a number of Leonians live below the poverty line. With funding provided by the Leonia Community Chest, the Women’s Rights Information Center (WRIC) is able to help women in our community develop skills that enable them to earn a living wage and become economically stable.
WRIC is a certified job-training provider licensed by the State of NJ. It provides career services such as job search counseling, resume development, and interview coaching, as well as donated professional attire for women seeking employment. In addition, WRIC provides legal consultations, victim services, health and wellness and financial literacy seminars and help in finding shared housing.
During the pandemic, WRIC even provided direct financial assistance by paying a client’s cable bill so her children had WI-FI for their school work.