Mission

The New Jersey Bonner AmeriCorps program is committed to helping nonprofit organizations build the sustainability of programs beyond the presence of AmeriCorps support to meet community impact objectives. The program is utilized to provide participating Members with a positive and meaningful service experience designed to assist in developing marketable job skills and instill in them, a life-long service ethic. 

The New Jersey Bonner AmeriCorps Program has full-time, part-time, and minimum time AmeriCorps positions. Each New Jersey Bonner AmeriCorps member will receive a living allowance and an education award upon successful completion of their term of service. The living allowance amount varies upon the type of slot and on where you serve.

History

For more than 18 years, the New Jersey Bonner AmeriCorps Program has utilized the talents and interests of college students and community members, the resources of institutions of higher education and the expertise of community-based organizations to address issues related to youth literacy, college access, food security, and job skilling training.

The program began as a larger initiative to assist New Jersey institutions of higher education build the capacity of their Bonner Leader Programs. The support of AmeriCorps members has provided institutions with additional funding, the experience of civic engagement and service in a community, and an education award to low-income college students. Simultaneously, the program provided a means for the Bonner Foundation to expand its involvement in social service initiatives around the local central New Jersey area.

Through the Crisis Ministry Program, the Bonner Foundation has cultivated long-term community partnerships across the state of New Jersey by providing $700,000 annually in grants to hunger-relief programs. This has resulted in cultivated community partnerships, which have lasted over a decade. The New Jersey Bonner AmeriCorps program provided the perfect cohort experience for piloting new programmatic initiatives such as those through Community Based Research and Policy Options. Once the projects reached greater scales, they were absorbed by various AmeriCorps VISTA programs around the state of New Jersey and beyond. 

In 2012, the NJ Bonner AmeriCorps Program became more focused on integrating long-standing community partnerships and helping alleviate the hardest challenges local communities were facing. This focus has provided AmeriCorps Members, Program Managers, Campus Directors and Staff, and Community Partners the ability to dedicate almost 10 years to positively impact the livelihood and opportunities available for the overarching communities.

Quick Facts

Where is the Bonner Program located: Mercer and Middlesex County, New Jersey

Number of NJ Bonner AmeriCorps Members: 40

Highlighted NJ Bonner AmeriCorps Initiatives: College Access, Education, Job Preparedness, Food Security