BJF Grantees
Since 2014, the BJF has issued grants to charities that target youth development. Some of the charities we support work with children after school and further their growth through new toys, games, and playground activities. Other charities the BJF has supported sends underprivileged kids on trips throughout the country, and also to sleepaway camps to learn about farming, healthy food choices, group activities, sports, and the fun of being in and around nature for extended periods of time.
BJF Grantees:
- Friends of the Children New York
- Steve’s Camp at Horizon Farms
- Chabad – Camp Gan Israel
- Trip of a Lifetime
- Camp Felix and The Felix Organization
All of these organizations set out to improve and enrich the lives of children. Thinking back, Bryan made my childhood so exciting – adding color, flavor, volume, and texture to every day and every night. The charities we issue grants to create great experiences for kids that would not have the opportunity to have these experiences on their own. The BJF is proud to have formed great relationships with charities that exemplify Bryan’s inspirational personality, as well as the mission of this foundation:
"To provide charitable support to organizations that set out to inspire, nurture, and promote the betterment of the human spirit that is present within each of us".
If your charitable organization is interested in becoming a future grantee of the Bryan Jacobson Foundation, please email us at info@bryanjacobsonfoundation.org.
Friends of the Children New York
MISSION
Friends of the Children NY changes the destiny of New York City’s most vulnerable children…one child at a time. Friends of the Children NY is an early intervention program that screens and selects children in kindergarten who are the most at-risk of school failure, juvenile delinquency, and early parenting. It pairs each child with a full-time youth advocate, called a “Friend,” who exposes the Achievers to activities that foster positive social and emotional development. Friends of the Children NY breaks the cycle of generational poverty through an intensive and research-based approach that empowers the Achievers with the character strength to rise above their circumstances. The goal of the early and long term intervention is to get 100% of the Achievers to graduate from high school with a plan for their future, having avoided the juvenile justice system and having put off parenting until adulthood.
HOW IT WORKS
The Achievers have a high school graduation rate of over 80% compared to the NYC city-wide rate of 60% and a rate for the population we serve of less than 40%. Over Friends’ 12-year history, only two (6.8%) of the male Achievers have been involved with the juvenile justice system while 45% have an incarcerated parent. Based on projections from the U.S. Department of Justice for the population we serve, statistics forecast ten of the Achievers over the age of twelve to have been involved with the juvenile justice system. This is an 80% improved outcome. Over the 12-year history, one (4.7%) of the female Achievers became a teen mother while 58% have a mother who was a teenager when she first gave birth. Based on statistics from the Guttmacher Institute, seven of the Achievers were forecast to be teen mothers, an 85% improved outcome.
HISTORY
Established in 2001, Friends of the Children New York expanded the program from employing three Friends serving 24 children, to employing twelve Friends serving over 115 children. Having virtually quadrupled since it began in 2001, Friends’ goal is to have a Friends Place serving New York City’s most at-risk children in all five of our city’s boroughs. The Bryan Jacobson Foundation will help Friends achieve that very goal!