In 2004, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey created The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey (The Foundation) to build upon the company’s long history of community involvement and support. The Foundation focuses its philanthropic efforts to support health and cultural organizations that make a positive impact on the lives of people across New Jersey.

Grants (2007 to 2009)

Algonquin Arts in Manasquan received a grant to support its Stage One Intergenerational Music Education Program created to enrich the lives of both senior citizens and young students in their pursuit of learning and appreciating music.

All About Hope in Voorhees received a grant to fund its Taking Charge-For Women Only Program that provides women infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS with basic health information and available services.

American Conference on Diversity in New Brunswick received a grant to support the expansion of its Healthcare Cultural Competency Train the Trainer Program. The program assists physicians, hospital administrators and other health care professionals to provide culturally appropriate health care.

American Diabetes Association in Bridgewater received a grant to support and expand its Project Power Program. This outreach program for individuals in the African American and Latino communities teaches better self-management of diabetes through workshops held at local churches.

American Heart Association in Robbinsville received a grant to support and expand its Health Disparities in Heart Health Program, a community education initiative for high-risk individuals. This program will reach individuals in the Latino community and provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, an emergency medical procedure for cardiac arrest.

American Repertory Ballet in New Brunswick, received a grant to support the Dance Power Program. This school-based program provides dance classes, taught by artists from the American Repertory Ballet, for New Brunswick public school's third and fourth grade students.

Arc of New Jersey in North Brunswick received a grant to support its Cancer Prevention for Individuals with Disabilities program. This program educates individuals with developmental disabilities and their caregivers about the importance of lifestyle changes, family history and screenings for cancer.

ASPIRA, Inc. of New Jersey in Newark received a grant to support a bilingual curriculum for Latino students in Jersey City and Newark, and their parents. The Promoting Safe and Healthy Communities curriculum promotes awareness and education on HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS and STD screening and referrals for treatment are also provided.

Boat People SOS in Pennsauken received a grant to support its Health Awareness Prevention Program that provides culturally and linguistically appropriate education, health, financial, immigration, family counseling and other services to Vietnamese refugees and immigrants in Camden County.

CancerCare in Ridgewood received a grant to support its Early Detection Initiative for Latina Women in Essex County. This program provides underserved women with breast and cervical cancer information, and provides access to screening facilities and referrals for free or low-cost medical care and support services.

Cerebral Palsy Association of Middlesex County in Edison received a grant to support its Augmentative Communication Equipment Lending Program. Non-verbal children use the program’s equipment to improve their ability to communicate.

Community Foundation of New Jersey in Morristown, received a grant to fund its New Jersey AIDS Partnership (NJAP) Prevention Education Program.  The grant enables NJAP to fund community-based organizations that serve locations with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence and incidence rates in New Jersey.  Education, community outreach, testing and treatment referrals, and increasing awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are key program goals.

Embrace Kids Foundation in New Brunswick, received a grant to fund the counseling component of the David E. Zullo Pediatric Palliative Care Program. The program introduces counselors to the medical team to screen and treat patients and their families for depression, and provides psychological and bereavement counseling for patients and families.

Family Guidance Center in Hamilton, received a grant to support its Behavioral Health Services-Depression Recovery Program. The program provides affordable mental health care for low-income and underinsured individuals in Mercer County. Mental health care services include individual and family counseling, psychiatric evaluations and medication monitoring.

First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in Morristown, received a grant to support its Straight Talk At-Risk Teen Education & Prevention Program.  The program provides age-appropriate information on pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prevention to over 4,400 teens each year.

Friends of the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton received a grant to support its Culture in Context Initiative, a multifaceted project focusing on the state’s diverse folk cultures and the role of traditional arts and artists in New Jersey communities.

Hope House in Dover received a grant to support its HIV/AIDS Latino Outreach and Education Program that provides outreach, testing and counseling to the Latino population via a mobile van unit for at-risk clients.

Hyacinth Foundation, a nonprofit corporation in New Brunswick, received a grant to fund its One Conversation Project.  One Conversation, a collaborative effort with the New Brunswick Theological Seminary and the New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute at Rutgers, is a public education, AIDS prevention and community action campaign in Newark. The project educates the Black Faith Community in Newark on the AIDS crisis among African Americans.

Jewish Vocational Service of Metro West in East Orange received a grant to support its Health Prevention and Education for At-Risk Adults Program at the Joseph L. Weinberg Rehabilitation Center. This program provides 110 adults with disabilities with monthly health screenings, individual heath care plans, health education workshops and an annual health fair.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Mount Laurel, received a grant to support its Addressing the Needs of Young People Affected by Cancer Initiative. The initiative provides support and education for families of a loved one diagnosed with cancer, especially a child. It also supports an expanded Trish Greene Back to School Program that helps pediatric cancer patients return to the classroom during and after treatment. 

Link Community School in Newark, received a grant to support the Arts Education Program, with an emphasis on the music education component. The program consists of a school-based music class, an after-school instrumental program and an elective jazz ensemble class. 

Monmouth County Arts Council in Red Bank, received a grant to support the Monmouth County Teen Arts Festival.  The festival provides young artists a venue to exhibit their work. The artists receive critiques from professional artists while attending workshops, performances and exhibits.

New Jersey Foundation of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities in Edison received a grant to support its New Jersey Donated Dental Services Program through which volunteer dentists and laboratory professionals provide comprehensive care to aged or disabled patients.

New Jersey Theatre Alliance in Morristown received a grant to support three regional workshops for artists with disabilities and people with disabilities who are interested in careers in the arts.

Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown, received a grant to support its ARTS (Artists Reaching the Students) Program. The school-based residency programs teach students techniques and processes of visual arts, dance, music, theater and language arts.

Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, received a grant to support the Urban Young Writers Project, which introduces creative writing residencies in playwriting, poetry and prose to 1,500 students in 18 public schools and community centers. 

Puerto Rican Unity for Progress in Camden, received a grant to support Project Salud, which addresses the health challenges facing the Latino population. It provides disease prevention and health education workshops and screenings for diabetes, asthma, and breast and cervical cancers with follow up services for 20 Latino immigrants and their families. The project also provides a health literacy workshop on navigating the community health systems, completing medical forms and understanding prescription instructions.

Puerto Rican Family Institute in Jersey City received a grant to support its Bilingual Diabetes, Weight Management and Depression Program. This program provides Latinos living in Hudson County with interactive educational health and wellness workshops and follow-up treatment plans that help residents manage these complex health conditions.

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Foundation in Pomona, received a general operating grant to support its Depression Screening Program. The program seeks to eliminate the major barriers that prevent senior adults from obtaining treatment for depression by offering seniors information sessions, screenings and a listing of mental health providers.

Ritz Theatre Company in Oaklyn received a grant to support its Creative Access Program. This program enables the deaf community to enjoy a performance through “shadow interpretation” by Certified American Sign Language interpreters who are coached as actors and perform alongside the regular cast.

Roxey Ballet Company in Lambertville received a grant to support its Arts Education Initiative. This program provides dance and artistic training workshops for 65 at-risk Trenton school students with physical, emotional and learning disabilities.

Senior Care and Activities Center in Montclair received a grant to support implementation of the Heart2Heart Congestive Heart Failure Disease Management Program. This program provides ongoing health screening, assessment and monitoring by registered nurses, healthy meals, depression and anxiety screening, socialization and caregiver education and support.

Solutions Pregnancy & Health Center in Shrewsbury, received a grant to support its Straight Talk Disease & Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. The program pairs young volunteers in teams to present age-appropriate information and practical strategies on healthy lifestyle choices to middle school and high school students in Monmouth County.

State Theatre Regional Arts Center at New Brunswick received a grant to support its Artist-in-Residence Program. This program allows for performances by poet Glenis Redmond at 30 sites in New Jersey. The grant also supports a series of in-depth poetry writing and performance classes for at-risk, minority high school students.

Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey in Jersey City received a grant to support its Su Salud Primero/Your Health First! Latino-health documentary. This comprehensive health and wellness initiative for underserved Latino adults includes a documentary, an interactive bilingual medical resource Web page hosted on New Jersey Network’s Web site and an online, health education brochure to encourage prevention and early detection of health conditions.

Surflight Theatre (Joseph P. Hayes Theatre) in Beach Haven, received a grant to support its Surflight To-Go, a touring educational theater that introduces live theatre to students in grades K-12 in Southern New Jersey.  By combining live theater with areas of study mandated by the New Jersey Department of Education Core Curriculum Standards, Surflight To-Go reinforces academic lessons and concepts such as teamwork, diversity and tolerance. 

Today’s Choice Resource Center for Pregnancy & Sexual Health in Newton received a grant to support two teen programs -  Straight Talk Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention Program, and the Wait Training Program. These programs encourage and empower teens with skills to make healthy decisions about their futures, relationships and education.

Trinity Counseling Service in Princeton received a grant to support expansion of its Childhood Intervention Initiative. This program screens and treats students for depression and mental health conditions, including poor coping skills. Because of this grant, a bilingual psychiatrist and a bilingual licensed therapist have been added to the organization’s staff to treat Latino children from the Princeton Nursery School and the Princeton Regional School district.

Women's Heart Foundation in West Trenton received a grant to support the Teen Esteem Program. The female-only school-based program is designed to increase self-esteem and provide physical and nutrition education to 170 Trenton High School students.