Paterson Alliance Inc

UNITING NONPROFIT AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO CREATE A VIBRANT PATERSON.

MEMBER SERVICESTHE PATERSON ALLIANCE HOSTS MONTHLY MEETINGS THAT GIVE MEMBERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT AND COLLABORATE, AND ALSO TO LEARN ABOUT THE ISSUES FACING OUR CITY AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE. WE WERE ABLE TO SERVE A MENU OF VALUABLE PROGRAMS, INCLUDING SHARING INFORMATION AND RESOURCES TO COUNTER COVID CHALLENGES, SUCH AS FOOD AND HOUSING NEEDS, VIRTUAL LEARNING, CHILDCARE, MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS AND VOTING DURING A PANDEMIC.WE WORKED WITH PATERSON AND PASSAIC COUNTY TO BRING THE NONPROFIT SECTOR'S EXPERTISE INTO THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OF ALLOCATION OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS.WE OFFERED A NEW PROGRAM, DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION IN THE WORKPLACE, TO OUR MEMBERS, AS PART OF OUR CAPACITY-BUILDING PROGRAM. PARTICIPANTS WILL CREATE AN ACTION PLAN TAILORED TO THEIR ORGANIZATION TO IMPLEMENT THE CREATIVE IDEAS GLEANED FROM THESE CONVERSATIONS.OUR ANNUAL AWARDS LUNCHEON CELEBRATES EMPLOYEES AND VOLUNTEERS OF MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE GONE THE "EXTRA MILE". THE VIBRANT PATERSON GOOGLE GROUP GIVES MEMBERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE NEWS AND EVENTS, AND IS SUPPLEMENTED WITH INFORMATION ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER.IN 2021, THANKS TO AN ANONYMOUS FUNDER, THE PATERSON ALLIANCE WAS ABLE TO GIVE EIGHT OF OUR MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS A TOTAL OF $36,000 IN GRANTS TO SUPPORT THEIR MISSIONS.THE HEART OF THE PATERSON ALLIANCE IS REFLECTED IN THE FRIENDSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS THAT HAVE BLOOMED AND GROWN IN THE 24 YEARS WE HAVE WORKED TOGETHER.

PATERSON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION COALITION THERE HAS BEEN MUCH STUDY AND NEW INFORMATION ABOUT EARLY BRAIN DEVELOPMENT, AND THE PATERSON ALLIANCE HAS RESPONDED BY LEADING THE PATERSON EARLY CHILDHOOD COALITION, A GROUP OF MORE THAN 30 ALLIANCE MEMBERS AND STAKEHOLDERS, TO CREATE A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH TO SUPPORT CHILDREN FROM BIRTH TO AGE 5. THE COALITION HAS CREATED A PUBLIC AWARENESS AND INFORMATION CAMPAIGN TO TEACH PATERSON FAMILIES AND PARENTS THE BENEFITS OF HIGH-QUALITY EARLY EDUCATION AND TOOLS TO BOOST INFANT BRAIN DEVELOPMENT. THE OUTREACH INCLUDES A WEBSITE (IN FOUR LANGUAGES), SOCIAL MEDIA GROUPS, EARLY CHILDHOOD NAVIGATORS AND PARENT CAFES. NAVIGATORS ARE LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO SHARE INFORMATION IN THE LANGUAGES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST AS THEY SHARE TOOLS ON HOW CHILDREN CAN THRIVE WITH A STRONG START. PARENT CAFES BRING PARENTS TOGETHER WITH SERVICE-PROVIDERS TO DISCUSS NEEDS AND RESOURCES THAT LEAD TO SOLUTIONS. WE CONTINUE TO BUILD NEW COLLABORATIONS, AND BECOME MORE EFFICIENT IN SHARING INFORMATION AND RESOURCES TO A BROADER AUDIENCE. WE ARE GATHERING DATA ON OUR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, WITH HELP FROM THE 2020 CENSUS, THE HENRY & MARILYN TAUB FOUNDATION AND ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN OF NEW JERSEY. THIS DATA WILL LEAD TO AN UPDATED PATERSON KIDS COUNT WHICH WILL BE PUBLISHED IN 2022.

PATERSON ALLIANCE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM THE PATERSON ALLIANCE HOSTS AN APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM EACH SUMMER FOR NINE PATERSON HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS AND SENIORS. THE GOAL OF THE PROGRAM IS TO PROVIDE SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO PATERSON YOUTH, WHILE ALSO EXPOSING THEM TO VALUABLE CAREER OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THEM IN THE PUBLIC AND NONPROFIT SECTOR. THE STUDENTS NOT ONLY GAIN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT EDUCATION AND CAREER OPTIONS BUT ALSO ABOUT LIFE PREPAREDNESS SKILLS AND FINANCIAL LITERACY.EACH STUDENT APPRENTICES WITH A NONPROFIT MEMBER OF THE PATERSON ALLIANCE AND EXPERIENCES A REAL WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT. THEY ARE PAID FOR THEIR WORK, AND LEARN TO BUDGET THEIR INCOME, AND THE JOY OF PAYING TAXES. IN ADDITION, STUDENTS WILL HAVE AN HONORED WORK EXPERIENCE TO INCLUDE ON FUTURE JOB APPLICATIONS AND COLLEGE RESUMES. WE HAVE FOUND THAT STUDENTS OFTEN DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH MENTORS, AS WELL AS CONTACTS THAT PROVIDE REFERENCES FOR FUTURE JOBS AND COLLEGE APPLICATIONS.THE STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN A PAID SEVEN-WEEK PROGRAM, WHICH INCLUDES ONE WEEK OF COMPREHENSIVE ORIENTATION THAT FOCUSES ON WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR, JOB READINESS SKILLS, FINANCIAL LITERACY AND COLLEGE PREPAREDNESS. WE INVITE COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM VARIOUS CAREER PATHS TO GIVE STUDENTS IDEAS OF THE MANY OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE IN THE WORKFORCE. AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM, STUDENTS CREATE A PRESENTATION, DETAILING THEIR EXPERIENCES. THEY PRESENT IT AT THE PATERSON ALLIANCE'S AUGUST MEMBERSHIP MEETING. THIS MEETING IS INSPIRATIONAL, AND IS EVIDENCE OF OUR PATERSON STUDENTS' TALENT.

PATERSON FULL SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOL NONPROFIT INITIATIVEFULL SERVICE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS HAVE A NATIONAL TRACK RECORD IN IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES AND NURTURING COMMUNITIES. BY PARTNERING WITH THE PATERSON EDUCATION FUND, AND BRINGING TOGETHER THE FIVE NONPROFITS WHO SERVE AS SCHOOL-BASED "LEAD AGENCIES", WE HAVE GROWN TO ELEVEN FSCSS. WE ARE FINDING WAYS TO COLLECTIVELY AND POSITIVELY IMPACT THE SCHOOLS BY PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE SERVICES, BEST PRACTICES AND PROVEN SOLUTIONS. WE ARE CREATING PROCESSES THAT WILL STRENGTHEN THE FSCS FOOTPRINT IN PATERSON AND PROVIDE A FUNDING STREAM TO ALLOW FOR GROWTH. OUR SUCCESSFUL 2020 COLLABORATION WITH PATERSON EDUCATION FUND, NEW DESTINY FAMILY SUCCESS CENTER, ST. PAUL'S COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT CONTINUES TO BRING MUCH-NEEDED FUNDING TO TWO PATERSON SCHOOLS THROUGH A 21ST CENTURY GRANT OF MORE THAN $2.2 MILLION OVER THREE YEARS.PATERSON COUNTS CENSUS 2020THE 2020 CENSUS GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACHIEVE A COMPLETE COUNT OF PATERSON'S POPULATION. PATERSON HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN UNDERCOUNTED, WITH 84% OF ITS RESIDENTS LIVING IN "HARD-TO-COUNT" NEIGHBORHOODS. THE PATERSON ALLIANCE WAS A CO-CHAIR FOR PATERSON'S COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE. WE CREATED A CAMPAIGN AND WORKED WITH PARTNERS AT LOCAL, COUNTY AND STATE GOVERNMENTS TO ENSURE A COMPLETE COUNT. PLANS WERE UPENDED FREQUENTLY BY COVID, AND WE RESPONDED. OUR 2020 CENSUS CAMPAIGN HELPED THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU REACH EVERY KNOWN HOUSEHOLD IN PATERSON. WE EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS! THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU COUNTED 159,732 RESIDENTS IN PATERSON, A 10% INCREASE OVER THE 2010 CENSUS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING BENEFITS RESULTING FROM AN INCREASE IN REPRESENTATION AND MORE FEDERAL FUNDING COMING TO PATERSON.