The American Red Cross is pleased to announce three new partnerships with nonprofit organizations that will increase access to nutritious food, health services and safe housing before and after disasters. The Red Cross partnerships with Mighty Writers, Jewish Family Service and No1HungryEHC aim to expand and enhance the services these nonprofits provide in Atlantic County. The nonprofits have received vehicles and other equipment from the Red Cross, enabling them to reach and serve more people in the community now and during times of disaster.

“It’s a team effort to help communities become better prepared for and more resilient after disasters, especially as the climate crisis worsens existing societal inequities such as access to nutritious food, health and mental health care, and housing resources,” said Rosie Taravella, CEO, American Red Cross New Jersey Region. “By joining together with these and other local organizations at work in Atlantic County, we can make a greater difference in the lives of those we jointly serve.”

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These new partnerships are part of the national Red Cross Community Adaptation Program, which is providing enhanced support in select communities across the country that are at high risk for extreme weather and face socioeconomic challenges. The program focuses on supporting local nonprofits specializing in health, hunger and housing to strengthen their programs before a disaster and to serve families hit hard by this new increasing state of climate disasters.

The Red Cross identified Atlantic County as one of 18 front-line communities across the country that are often impacted by climate-related disasters. By forging new partnerships with these local nonprofits, the Red Cross seeks to build more resilient communities in the county that are better equipped for the climate crisis.

“It’s wonderful to have such great partners working out in the community, and with our Community Adaptation Program, specializing in hunger, housing and health,” said Kristie Collins, Community Disaster Risk Reduction Manager with the Community Adaptation Program at the American Red Cross. “Now they have these amazing vehicles that they’re going to get out on the road and be able to serve more people with!”

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Mighty Writers Atlantic City provides a daily after-school Writing Academy (grades 3-8), teen workshops and volunteer opportunities, and student mentoring. Think clearly and write with clarity is the organization’s battle cry but their teachers learned it’s difficult to think or write with clarity when hungry. The organization began distributing lunches and when the lunch numbers grew quickly, they began distributing boxes of groceries and hot meals, along with books. The custom mobile food pantry provided through the partnership will be utilized mainly in the Atlantic City area to bring food to underserved communities. The nonprofit also received a generator to power their refrigerator and freezer to keep the mobile food pantry running during times of disaster.

“We teach thousands of kids to think clearly and write with clarity and it’s hard to do that when they are hungry,” said Tom Sykes, Senior Director, Mighty Writers Atlantic City. “We already feed about 150 people at two different food distribution locations weekly and this is going to double or even quadruple that. We cannot thank the Red Cross enough. We are a writing organization and there are no words to describe what this means to us.”

Jewish Family Service of Atlantic and Cape May Counties (JFS) specializes in counseling, mental health services, homeless programs, vocational services, and adult and older adult services. The custom-designed case management vehicle received through the partnership will provide JFS with a mobile outreach office to access rural areas and saturated urban areas like Atlantic City. The van features Wi-Fi compatibility, two office-style areas for staff to conduct intakes, cushioned leather seats and wooden storage cabinets.

“We are a mobile workforce and believe in engaging our clients primarily in their own communities,” said Ann Thoresen, Chief Operating Officer, Jewish Family Service of Atlantic and Cape May Counties. “We already serve 15,000 people through our services of counseling, vocational services, supportive housing and our food pantry, and this is a game-changing gift that will allow us to increase our presence in the community.”

No1HungryEHC is committed to ending hunger in Egg Harbor City. The organization provides food for the food insecure with donated items from the community. No1HungryEHC believes that no one should go to bed hungry, and they work tirelessly towards this goal. The customized vehicle received through the partnership will greatly aid with picking up local food donations and making deliveries for the organization’s food pantry. The nonprofit also received funding for the construction of a wheelchair threshold ramp, two refrigerators and two freezers to help secure non shelf stable items such as milk, eggs and frozen items, and a generator to power the refrigerators and freezers to help keep the food pantry services available during times of disaster.

“In addition to the box truck, we were gifted beautiful, beautiful freezers and refrigerators from the Red Cross that have already quadrupled our space,” said Angela Krukauskas, President and Founder, No1HungryinEHC. “We’ve been storing food and meats and frozen turkeys in numerous homes all across Egg Harbor City. Now we can keep them all in one spot!”

Each year, the Red Cross responds to about 65,000 disasters across the country by providing food, shelter, emotional support, financial assistance and supplies. Last year in New Jersey, the Red Cross assisted thousands of families affected home fires, as well as those affected when extreme weather brought heavy rains, causing flooding in numerous communities.