Focus America: People Helping People

The Power of One...

2009-07-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

READ OUR FOUNDER'S BLOG: Charity in Real Time

Focus America believes in the Power of One: If one person makes a difference in just one person's life, the world has changed...and for the better. Since 2001, Focus America's volunteers have worked on improving our country for future generations by helping each other.

For seven years, our small army of dedicatedvolunteers have followed their own passion, whether it is collecting vegetable seeds to help a community grow food in Appalachia or collecting winter coats to distribute to the destitute in Newark, NJ. We have spent countless volunteer hours collecting coats, food, gifts, and other supplies to ship to poor communities around the country.

We have adopted a community in Myra, Kentucky in the heart of Appalachia, helping this community of generational-poor by building gardens, chicken coops, and pig pens to assist with growing their own food.

These communities want to move beyond poverty but, not only do they not know how to do it, they have no opportunity for any sort of advancement. Education is limited, jobs are non-existent (outside of the coal mines), and escape simply doesn't happen.

We will also be assisting our youth in developing self-esteem and confidence through athletic programs, especially those who do not have access to the financial means to attends camps, athletic activities, or after-school education programs.

We are proud to announce a relationship with Seaton Hackney Stables as we form a brand new project, Friends of Seaton Hackney Stables, to raise awareness and funding to insure that all children, regardless of socioeconomic class, can participate in the fantastic programs available at the stables in Morristown, NJ. In addition, we will continue to support the Morristown Wildcats Football Club and Rettig's Gym in Cedar Knolls. Please explore our website to learn more about our programs and how to help.

Awards and Honors

2008-05-09T10:27:00.001-07:00

FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY: In 2007, Focus America was proud to celebrate our 5th Anniversary. Since our inception in 2001, we have remained true to our focus of being a completely volunteer-run organization to keep overhead to a pure minimum and to maximize our impact. We have been able to help thousands of families without any fund raising. Now, as we look toward the next five years, we will be reaching out to our donors to send items or help fund some of our efforts to communities in need. Thank you to all of our supporters over the past five years and we hope you continue to support our efforts!

WHITE HOUSE RECOGNITION: In 2004, Focus America was proud to be a recipient of the national Daily Points of Light Award from the White House and Washington D.C. in recognition of our effort to assist people in need: Award #2747 August 2004

Programs and Projects

2007-06-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Current Projects

Project Holiday Cheer: Holiday Gifts for Children Living in Shelters
Project PencilsProviding the tools for education to children in disadvantaged communities.
Project Power: Self esteem for disadvantaged kids in Morristown, NJ. Includes Friends of Seaton Hackney
Project Seeds: Give a man a fish or teach him to fish? Pay it forward by helping people help each other by growing their own food.

URGENT 2008 Needs:

New and gently used school supplies
Contacts at food manufacturing companies to ship food to Appalachia
Christmas gifts for Morris area shelters
Funding for shipping items to Appalachia
Funding for continuing the use of Constant Contact
Funding for our June 2008 trek to Appalachia to deliver school supplies

Founder's Mission

2007-05-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

In 2002, I founded Focus America and created a volunteer-run 501(c)3 non-profit after reading a disturbing article in the New York Times about a poor community in Pembroke, IL. It shocked me to know that people in remote sections of our country lacked running water or paved roads or food to eat.

Having grown up in an affluent region of the US, I knew that poverty existed in other countries. I have seen poverty first-hand during my numerous international excursions over the years, including the Shanty Towns in Venezuela, villages in Dominican Republic, and Indian Reservations in Alaska. When I realized that children were starving in our own country strictly because of limited resources, I knew that I had to help in some way. With the encouragement of my senior students at a local college, Focus America was founded.

As we prepare to celebrate our Five Year Anniversary, I'm terribly proud of the journey in which I have embarked. Focus America has morphed over the years, from a volunteer-run charity by my college students with a broad range of interests (and, therefore, projects) to a smaller, more focused organization with specific goals and projects that reflect my own personal interests:

helping impoverished communities in Appalachia become self-sufficient and
helping the underprivileged living in my community experience existing athletic opportunities that, due to financial reasons, would be unobtainable without our help.

People help us achieve our goals and mission every day...often not even knowing so. Assisting an elderly person with their groceries or holding a door open for a stranger at the store are simple ways we can make a difference. My hope is that everyone visiting this website will take the next step and help us help other people.

Focus America's mission includes:

Humanitarian (such as providing food, clothing, and other support)
Education (such as providing school supplies to children and schools)
Resource (such as providing information and referral services)

Focus America was founded based upon the following philanthropic objectives:

To provide humanitarian relief to people living in impoverished communities; and
To provide assistance with returning children to the classroom in order to complete their education; and
To serve as a distribution point of information and referral service to help these communities connect with other resources; and
To develop volunteer opportunities for high school students, college students, corporations and individuals who can manage their own projects to help individuals.

In order to achieve its Mission, Focus America provides the following services through its 100%volunteer network:

Collects and distributes school supplies to impoverished communities and foster children.
Collects and distributes food to improverished communities.
Collects and distributes food and gifts during the holidays to provide a day of cheer and hope for the children.
Collects and distributes winter clothing for impoverished communities living in northern regions.
Distributes information to these supported communities to assist them in rebuilding their future (such as providing links to jobs or other social services).
Solicits donations on a very limited basis with all contributions and gifts supporting the organization's Mission.

Focus America is an exempt organization pursuant section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations are therefore tax deductible.

The Butterfly Effect

2007-05-09T13:57:00.001-07:00

Project Holiday

2007-05-09T13:56:00.004-07:00

Please note that it is with deep regret that, as of November 2007, we are no longer offering holiday support to individuals or communities. If you need help, please contact your local Catholic Church for assistance.

During the holiday season, Focus America sponsors children from various agencies throughout the country. Volunteers match children up with donors who send educational items, clothing, and toys during the holiday seasons. We also collect bulk items to mail to several communities.

In 2006, we sponsored the Myra, KY community and shipped hundreds of pounds of coats, food, and toys to help the 800 families working with the Manna from Heaven mission. We also helped several individual families in New York, foster children in New Jersey, and children living on Indian reservations in the midwest.

Since we began this program in 2002, we have helped almost 5000 children during the holiday season.

In 2006, we sponsored 800 families.
In 2005, we sponsored over 1000 children.
In 2004, we sponsored over 1500 children.
In 2003, we sponsored almost 1200 children in seven states.
In 2002, we sponsored 75 children in Illinois and New Jersey.

Unfortunately, as our focus has shifted to provide on long-term community care (see Project Seeds), we simply do not have the funding nor volunteer-power to help individuals nor can we respond to individuals who contact us requesting gifts for their childrens.

Project Power

2007-05-09T13:56:00.003-07:00

Sticking closer to our geographic home base, Focus America's newest program, Project Power, focuses on building and expanding the self-esteem, fitness and abilities of young children through the promotion of athletic programs. Focus America has partnered with two local organizations to provide children in need the opportunity to participate in programs that, otherwise, would be financially unobtainable.

EQUESTRIAN SKILLS: In conjunction with Seaton Hackney Stables, Focus America is sending underprivileged children to summer camp in Morristown as well as fall and spring troop riding programs. Together, Focus America and Seaton Hackney Stables are providing children with the athletic opportunities to build their minds, bodies, and confidence. The experience of horseback riding is life-changing to many of these children and makes a huge difference in their lives.

GYMNASTICS: In conjunction with Rettigs Gymnastics Team Parent Association (RGTPA), Focus America is providing funding to support the gymnastics training, coaching, competition expenses and travel fees as past of the Junior Olympics program. Based in Cedar Knolls, Rettig’s Gymnastics has been working with gymnasts for over 15 years. The Focus America sponsors provide these young girls, ages 7 to 18, much more then the intense skills of gymnastics. Gymnastics overall encourages discipline, self-esteem, physical fitness, and determination.

The gymnasts training hours are intense and can range from 8 to 20 hours a week. The gymnasts learn that their individual abilities and dedication to the team are the foundation to their success. These are all important attributes for any young woman to succeed in today's world. The expense of participating in the various gymnastic events is often too much for families to afford and, therefore, Focus America is pleased to be a part of this effort to find community-minded corporations to assist in providing financial assistance to fund this program

Project Pencils

2007-05-09T13:56:00.001-07:00

As of 2008, we no longer provide assistance to individuals or communities for Project Pencils.
For five years, Focus America sent school supplies and uniforms for needy children who reside in improverished areas. Distribution is based upon supplies donated and the needs of applicants. Students and corporate volunteers work hard collecting as many school supplies as possible to properly equip and motivate the children in need when they return to school in the late summer.

Starting in 2002, we provided over 2000 backpacks and other school supplies to various communities in need throughout the United States including Illinois, South Dakota, and Kentucky. We also distributed supplies to children in Morris, Union, and Passaic County, NJ.

As always, we encourage corporate involvement in the collection of items for this very worthy project. Companies or individuals who wish to collect items in 2008 should donate them to their local DYFS office.

Items to be collected can include pens, pencils, backpacks, spiral notebooks, notepads, rulers, glue sticks, tape, construction paper, and other school supplies.

Project Seeds

2007-05-09T13:55:00.001-07:00

Give a man a fish, he feeds his family one meal.
Teach the man to fish, he can feed his family forever.

Project Seeds was started in 2006 after a conversation with Manna from Heaven's pastor. A comment was made about growing their own food. A lightbulb went off and, after several clicks on the Internet, we shipped out hundreds of vegetable seed packages and ordered 250 live baby chicks.

Today, we are focusing on providing the former coal-mining community of Myra, KY with the tools to raise their own food for both consumption and sale. We continue to send, vegetable seeds, and gardening tools. So far, Focus America has raised enough money to send over 650 chickens which will produce meat and eggs for the entire community for generations to come. We are continue to send seed packages for the entire community to build family gardens for preserving food for the winter seasons.

We are looking for people to help us by collecting vegetable seeds packages or ordering gardening supplies and drop-shipping them directly to the community at to Focus America Seed Project c/o PO Box 43, Myra KY 41549.

Also, financial donations are being sought to send more chickens, purchase starter feed mix for the baby chicks (which cost $10/bag with at least five bags needed each week until the chicks are larger). We also want to ship 25 pigs to the community before the end of the summer since pigs have large litters and are easy to raise for meat and sale.

Affiliations & Partners

2007-05-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Affiliations, Agencies, and Supporting Partners: Focus America, a NJ Non-Profit Corporation, assists underserved and poverty-stricken communities throughout the USA. We are proud to list the following organizations as companies who have supported Focus America since our inception through sponsoring fund raisers, donated goods or services, collection drives, or community service for their employees.

New Jersey
Assumption Catholic School
Assumption Church
Belleville High School
Belleville Middle School
Birchwood Manor
C3i Inc.
Cascata Spa in Morristown
Chatham Design and Printing
Children on the Green
Children's Hopes and Dreams
Christmas is for Children
Cendant
College of Saint Elizabeth
Daisy Girl Scout Troop #246
Degussa Corporation
Fact NJ
First Choice Women's Resource
Friends of Summit
First Morris Bank
Girl Scouts of USA, Lenni Lenape Council
Grace-The Church on the Mount
Joyful Noise Nursery School
Leathead Consulting
Madison Baptist Church
Market Street Mission Thrift Store
MCJ Foundation
Morristown Medical Group/Premier Medical
Morristown Presbyterian Church
New Community Corp.
Our Lady of Sorrow's Preschool
Panurgy, Inc.
Park Lake School
Pathmark
Passaic High School
Premier Medical Care
Princeton OnLine NonProfit Resource Center
Prudential
Reproductive Medicine Associates of NJ
Riccardi Brothers
Sankyo Pharma
Sharyn Carroll Boutique
Swarthmore College
St. Thomas More Church
Tellurian Networks
Thomas Jefferson School
Ventiv
Verizon
Weichert Realtors
Woodland School

California:
Charity.com

Illinois:
CDW
Peace Memorial Church
Toys for Tots

New York:
Conquest Marketing

Pennsylvania:
116Street.com
LiveOaks Productions

South Carolina:
ChainReaction for a Cure

Texas:
Christmas is for Children

Washington DC:
Blackboard

If you'd like to become a partner or if we have inadvertantly omitted your organization from this list, please email szimmerman@focusamerica.org.

News & Media

2007-05-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

Press Release, 09/22/05:Focus America Completes Project Pencils 2005

Daily Record, 11/24/04:Needy Children find a Santa in Morristown

Drew University News 2004:2004 Awards and Recognition

Press Release, 11/2004:Focus America Partners with Sharyn Carroll Chatham Boutique for Christmas

Inspire Your World Fall 2004:
Project Pencils Collects Tools for Learning for Neediest in Classrooms

Press Release 11/2004: Focus America Announces 3rd Annual Gift Drive

Press Release 08/2004:Focus America to Distribute Free School Supplies at Market Street Mission

Press Release, 07/2004:Focus America Launches National Online Literacy Program

Press Release, 06/2004:Focus America Launches Project Pencils 2004 to Provide School Supplies for Underserved Communities

Press Release, 04/2004:Focus America Announces Spring Fling Week

Press Release, 11/2003: Focus America Celebrates First Anniversary by Adopting 1000 Children for Holidays

Press Release, 08/2003:Focus America Partners with Christmas is for Children

Press Release, 08/2003: Verizon Awards Grant to Focus America for Diversity Mentoring Program

Press Release, 08/2003 : Degussa Corporation Supports School Supply Initiative

Press Release, 08/2003:Focus America Sends School Supplies to Pembroke

Press Release, 08/2003: Focus America Brings Project Pencils to Morristown

Daily Record 07/2003: Montville scout makes education strong point

Press Release, 05/2003 : Montville High School Graduate to Manage "Project Pencils"

Press Release, 04/2003: Prudential Financial, Inc. Volunteers Provide Food for Children on the Green

Press Release, 02/2003:Students Arrange Fund Raiser at China Club

Press Release, 01/2003: New Local Non-Profit Partners With Community Soup Kitchen

Press Release 12/2002: New Local Non-Profit Run by College of Saint Elizabeth Student Volunteers

Contact Us

2007-05-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

Focus America
c/o Seaton Hackney Stables
440 South Street
Morristown, NJ 07960
Founder and Volunteer: Shelly Nice

Why a c/o address?

Since we are run by volunteers, we send our mail to a business (rather than our home address). However, if you wish to mail directly to one of our volunteers, please email info@focusamerica.org or call 862.812.0548.

If you have a specific request to volunteer on a project, please email info@focusamerica.org.

Unfortunately, we cannot help individuals who contact us directly. For holiday support, please contact your local social service agency or church parish office.

We cannot accept clothing or furniture donations unless specifically requested for a particular project.

IRS Letter

2007-05-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

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Please note that we are in the final stages of an advanced ruling and will post our updated IRS 501(c)3 as soon as it arrives. In the meantime, during as we approach our Five Year Anniversary, we take pride in our accomplishments:

Distributing holiday gifts to almost 5000 children
Distributing school supplies for 2500+ children
Distributing winter coats for over 1000 people across multiple states
Distributing food to the homeless in NJ and poor communities in KY
Empowering dozens of underprivilleged children in NJ through athletic programs
Shipping 1000s of lbs. of gently used clothing to Appalachia
Shipping 650 baby chicks to Appalachia to grow for food and commerce
Shipping gardening supplies to Appalachia including thousands of vegetable seeds to help them grow their own food

Most importantly, we did the majority of this through donations of goods and services, not money. Thanks to all of you for your support over the years!