Staying true to its principle of empowering the community, the Smith Family Foundation of Trenton recently hosted its third annual College Care Package Giveaway event. Having prepared over 400 care packages, the Foundation welcomed first year students with open arms as they gifted them with useful amenities for college and congratulated them for their incredible achievements.
Held at the James Kerney Campus of Mercer County Community College in Trenton, the excited first year students in attendance formed an extensive line prior to the event beginning. Students who participated in this event will attend a variety of prestigious institutions such as The College of New Jersey, Rider University, Dickinson College, Bloomfield College, and Rutgers University. Despite the massive line, members of the Smith Family Foundation and volunteers worked their hardest to serve as many students as possible, as efficiently as they could.
Staff and volunteers were friendly, loving, and encouraging as they personally congratulated students for their accomplishments and even helped with carrying college care packages and other items to the students’ cars.
With the help of organizations such as Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Jackie’s Dollar Vine, Dollar Value, TDI Connect, The College of New Jersey, Princeton University, Queens of Purpose, Foundation Academy Charter School and volunteers from Assembly Woman, Verlina Reynolds-Jackson’s office, the event was a tremendous success.
A massive amount of goods were gathered to create these wonderful care packages which included items such as non-perishable snacks, laundry bags and detergent, soap, first-aid kits, etc. Along with the care-packages, students also received the college essentials of either a mini-refrigerator, a microwave, or a laptop.
The goal for the Smith Family Foundation, as they serve a larger amount of students each year, is to at least serve 500 students in 2020. As for the graduates of 2019 heading to college, the Foundation encourages them to “Always make higher education the normal next step”.
The Smith Family Foundation is a private grant-making institution, founded in Trenton, NJ in 2016. Its Mission is to empower community resources, cultivate leadership and transform lives by providing funding and leadership development to Trenton-based organizations. For more information visit https://smithfamilyfoundationnj.org/.
