LAWRENCE, NJ; September 14, 2010— BlackRock, Inc., in partnership with the Princeton Area Community Foundation, awarded $25,000 in grants to five charitable organizations throughout Mercer County that focus on the needs of underprivileged children and their families. The grants will be used to provide educational services, enrichment, and support for working families.
“Our role as a community foundation is to encourage philanthropy as a tool for building better communities,” said Nancy W. Kieling, President of the Community Foundation. “By pairing charitable organizations with donations from philanthropic-minded local companies such as BlackRock, together we can advance the well-being of our community now and in the future.”
“We are pleased to be part of this effort and look forward to continuing to give back to the communities in which we work and live, said Frank Porcelli, Managing Director and head of BlackRock’s Princeton office.
The following organizations received grants from BlackRock:
Better Beginnings Day Care Center of Hightstown/East Windsor, Inc. – Better Beginnings Day Care Center provides community-based subsidized child care that contributes to the educational, physical, social, and character development of the individual child in a safe and healthy environment, giving parents the ability to remain employed or attend a full time training/educational program so they can be self-supporting.
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Mercer County – Big Brothers/Big Sister of Mercer County helps children reach their potential by making and maintaining quality mentoring matches between adult volunteers who have been rigorously screened and at-risk children ages 6-18. Mentors (Bigs) and their mentees (Littles) meet regularly and are supported by professional case managers who service and evaluate the match on an ongoing basis.
Every Child Valued, Inc. – Every Child Valued is an educational and social services project designed to address the educational and social challenges facing families residing in or near Eggerts Crossing Village, a 100-unit housing complex in Lawrence Township. The goal is to lessen the achievement gap among African-American, Hispanic, Slavic, and special needs children who live in the neighborhood, and surrounding community through after-school and summer programs.
Trenton After-School Program – Princeton Outreach Projects, Inc.’s Trenton After School Program serves at-risk children in the West Ward of Trenton and provides after-school and summer enrichment to children who need support. TASP enriches children’s lives and builds life skills through educational assistance in a creative and nurturing environment.
Child Care Center at the Valley Road School (YWCA Princeton) – The Child Care Center at Valley Road, founded in 1995, is full day, year round, state licensed, developmentally appropriate, and designed specifically to address the language and cultural enrichment needs of low-income immigrant children of preschool age with the goal to provide school readiness. The program serves approximately 50 children each year, with the majority of children receiving financial aid.
About the Princeton Area Community Foundation
The Princeton Area Community Foundation promotes philanthropy to advance the well-being of our communities forever. The Community Foundation provides charitable giving expertise to individuals, nonprofits and corporations, and each year invests millions of dollars into the community through grants and scholarships. For more information on the Community Foundation please contact them at 609-219-1800 or online at www.pacf.org.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At June 30, 2010, BlackRock’s AUM was $3.151 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients’ needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. Headquartered in New York City, as of June 30, 2010, the firm has approximately 8,500 employees in 24 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at www.blackrock.com.
