Hudson County Community College Foundation Receives Sizable Endowment from Hudson Cradle for Annual Scholarships
February 1, 2016
JERSEY CITY, N.J. / February 1, 2016 – Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Vice President for Development Joseph Sansone announced that the College has been presented with an endowment of nearly $68,000 from Hudson Cradle.
The donation was given to establish an annual scholarship for incoming freshman women who are single mothers and reside in Hudson County. The Hudson Cradle scholarship recipient must also be enrolled at Hudson County Community College as a first-time student and demonstrate financial need.
Hudson Cradle was a nonprofit organization in Jersey City that served nearly 500 at-risk infants over a 20-year span. The organization was established in 1991 in response the “boarder baby” crisis in New Jersey. Hudson Cradle provided infants – many of whom were victims of prenatal drug addiction, HIV exposure, homelessness, chronic illness and developmental delays – with pediatric nursing care, therapy and more; its group of volunteers were dedicated to holding and rocking the babies in the organization’s care. Significant upgrades in New Jersey’s foster parent program diminished the need for Hudson Cradle’s services, and the organization closed its doors in 2011.
“This endowment will go a long way to assist young women in our community in developing a more sound future for themselves and their children,” said HCCC President Glen Gabert, Ph.D. “For two decades Hudson Cradle attended to the needs of the most vulnerable inhabitants of our community, our infants. We are honored to have been presented with this gift from such a well-respected organization, and we will oversee the endowment with the same sense of caring that Hudson Cradle demonstrated over the years,” he stated.
The Hudson County Community College Foundation is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 corporation giving tax-exempt status to contributors. Since the Foundation was established in 1997, it has provided over $2 million in scholarships to more than 2,000 students.
In addition, the HCCC Foundation established the Foundation Art Collection nine years ago to coincide with the initiation of the College’s Fine Arts studies program. Presently, the Collection includes nearly 800 paintings, lithographs, photographs, sculptures, and other works-of-art that are displayed throughout all of the buildings on the College’s Journal Square Campus and at the North Hudson Campus.
Information about HCCC Foundation scholarships may be obtained by contacting Mr. Sansone at 201-360-4006 or jsansoneFREEHUDSONCOUNTYCOMMUNITYCOLLEGE.