Request for Capital Support
Introduction:
Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled of MetroWest, Inc. (JSDD) is the lead, multi-purpose agency located in Essex County, NJ that is dedicated to providing an integrated program of community education, advocacy and services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. JSDD strives to maximize the potential of individuals with developmental disabilities and promotes opportunities for their integration into the Jewish and general communities.
It is a multi-faceted agency providing a full spectrum of services to individuals and families coping with conditions that severely impair the ability to function independently.
History of Organization:
JSDD’s history/mission began in 1984 with the formation of the Commission on Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. In 1989, JSDD purchased, renovated and occupied its first group home in Millburn, NJ. Since 1989, an additional fourteen homes have been added including three supervised apartments. Community based supervised, supportive living arrangements provide 24-hour assistance to fifty (50) men and women in Essex, Morris and Union Counties.
In October of 2004, JSDD opened the doors of the WAE (Wellness, Arts &Enrichment) Center. The WAE Center is an alternative learning program which provides opportunities for people with developmental and acquired disabilities to develop skills and cultivate self-esteem while tapping unknown talents and creating new possibilities for artistic pursuits, wellness endeavors and enrichment activities. Opportunities at the Center have all been developed embracing the belief that learning, creativity and spirituality are a lifelong journey which is different and unique for everyone. The Center currently serves approximately 150 people per year.
Activities and classes include yoga, meditation, conversation group, music, performing arts, creative writing, reading, film appreciation, geography, men and women’s groups, jewelry making, photography and painting in the Center’s professional arts studio. As enrollment and interests expand, service options continue to grow. Additionally, the Center has developed an outreach program to bring yoga and meditation classes into schools, senior centers and other nonprofit organizations
Today, JSDD has an operating budget of $7.5 million and employs more than 130 skilled staff members.
Agency Growth
As a committee of Federation, initially, the part time professional employee occupied a desk in a cubicle at United Jewish Federation of MetroWest. In 1996, when the committee chose to grow its services and become an independent agency, donated office space was occupied, and a part time Administrative Assistant and full time Director of Residential Services were employed. As the agency’s services continued to evolve, 2,000 square feet of office space was retained.
In 2004, when the WAE Center was established, 1,000 square feet of classroom space was rented in a local synagogue. In 2010, bursting at the seams, both within the agency’s administrative office space and the increased demand for WAE Center program, lead JSDD to occupy 7,300 square feet of combined office and program space in West Orange. Providing transportation and daily meaningful creative arts and learning alternatives, the demand continues to grow.
JSDD has experienced steady growth consistent with maximizing available opportunities. The professional staff in conjunction with an involved and dedicated Board of Trustees has worked in partnership over the years to develop services to meet the needs of the MetroWest Jewish and general community of individuals with special needs and their families.
New homes have been developed by leveraging financial resources available through government grants and private donations. The WAE Center holistic alternative learning program is the only one of its kind nationally and was developed with the support of The Healthcare Foundation of NJ. The Center became self-sustaining within three years of opening its doors and has continued to flourish as its philosophy is dynamic in nature and responsive to learning and enrichment needs and desires of its members.
JSDD has always embarked upon growth opportunities carefully and plan-fully, employing realistic expectations for budgetary needs and projections. An involved, knowledgeable and detail oriented Executive Committee, Budget/Finance Committee and Board of Trustees who fully participate in fundraising efforts and approval of program changes has been critical to the success of all the agency’s expansions.
Summary
This new building represents a permanency to our presence in the community and our commitment to continuing to serve and grow the critical services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.
While JSDD’s history began with the first group home thirty-three years ago in 1989 as a committee of United Jewish Federation, the agency’s impact has been profound and has touched the lives of the men and women we support and their families in a significant and meaningful way. Our outreach efforts in promoting the philosophy of inclusion and respect for the ability, talent and potential of the people we support, have begun to shift perceptions of the general community.
JSDD’s Board of Trustees and professional staff spend many hours strategically planning for future growth. Quality of service and fiscal integrity are always the primary concerns as expansion is considered. The many community and funding collaborators that JSDD has worked with through the years have experienced that our commitment to working together and achieving our stated goals have exceeded their expectations.
The potential to partner with you is very exciting for JSDD and we welcome your thoughts in pursuing this project.
Thank you for your consideration.
Case Statement
Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
The Future Belongs to Those Who Believe in the Beauty of Their Dreams – Eleanor Roosevelt
As JSDD celebrates its 20th Anniversary, the roots of this extraordinary organization can be traced back to the passion of a few dedicated professionals and volunteers. They made it their mission to assure that men and women with special needs were included as full participants in Jewish and community life.
Today, JSDD serves fifty (50) people per year in fifteen (15) community-based supervised, supportive living arrangements in Essex, Morris and Union Counties. More than one hundred (100) men and women participate at the agency’s unique, cutting edge WAE (Wellness, Arts & Enrichment) Center – a holistic, alternative learning program with an emphasis on supporting its members as they “Find the Spark Within.”
With a yearly operating budget of $7.5 million and more than 150 employees, the agency has outgrown its current leased administrative offices and program space located in West Orange, NJ. The lease is due to expire in 2020. Within the six years since JSDD has acquired its current space, the Agency has reached its capacity for both administrative hiring and program participants, but the need for additional, high quality services continues to grow.
A property has been identified and existing architectural building design plans for a building have been expanded to include the interior design plans to adequately address JSDD’s current and future growth.
Preliminary estimates include the cost of the land, architectural services, town approvals and building permits, and construction costs.The total campaign, including an endowment to assure the building’s maintenance projections, is estimated to be $10,000,000.
Building Site:
- Address: 310 Eisenhower Parkway, Livingston, NJ 07039
- Square Footage: 17,300 total sf
Growth Potential:
- JSDD’s revenue will increase as the WAE Center will be able to accommodate additional participants:
- Therapeutic support services – physical, occupational and speech therapy
- Training – Quality Assurance; WAE Center Curriculum and Program Replication (offered to other agencies)
- Shared Resource Model – Training in Electronic Health Record and Hosting Services (offered to other agencies)
- Residential Service Expansion
- The building’s architectural plans include a Platinum LEED certification for energy efficiency that will result in a significant cost saving measure in operational expenses
For more information, contact Linda Press at (973) 272-7141 or lpress@jsdd.org
Fact Sheet
Mission
Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled of MetroWest, Inc. (JSDD) is the lead, multi-purpose agency dedicated to providing an integrated program of community education, advocacy and services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. JSDD strives to maximize the potential of individuals with developmental disabilities and promotes opportunities for their integration into the Jewish and general communities.
Who We Are
Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled is a multi-faceted agency providing a full spectrum of services to individuals and families coping with conditions that severely impair the ability to function independently. Developmental disabilities include, but are not limited to, mental retardation, neurological impairments, autism, spina bifida, learning disabilities, epilepsy and cerebral palsy. JSDD serves many individuals with multiple disabilities; their needs span a lifetime.
Residential Services
JSDD’s kosher community residences are special places. From the outside, they look the same as every other home in the neighborhood. Each morning, residents leave for work; each evening they return. What is the difference here is that adults with developmental disabilities are the families who call these houses “home.”
People living in JSDD residences have unique abilities and disabilities. They have hopes, dreams, talent and spiritual connections, as well as a need for assistance and support. Like most people, the individuals served by JSDD want to have the opportunity to participate in the community as fully as possible. The residential programs support them in accessing community activities and resources in the towns in which their home is located and the surrounding communities, as well.
In our homes, everything has been organized to ensure safety, well being and encourage independence and family. 24-hour staffing is provided in each home. During the week, residents go to work, attend a vocational or day program or experience individualized community programs. Planning for evening and weekend activities, as well as holiday celebrations and vacations is done as a group and individual preferences are valued and respected.
JSDD currently supports 50 people in 15 homes in 9 communities in 3 counties in group homes, supervised apartments, supportive living arrangement and with supports in their family’s home.
JSDD’s WAE Center
The WAE (Wellness, Arts, Enrichment) Center is the evolution of pilot programs offered by JSDD to its residents and other members of the community with developmental disabilities. All the programs offered are extensions of opportunities available in the general community.
WAE Center Philosophy
The WAE Center opportunities have been developed embracing the belief that learning, creativity and spirituality is a lifelong journey. That journey is different and unique for everyone. The Center allows for exploration and opportunities for learning, spiritual growth and the sharing of beliefs and ideas respectfully, safely and in an atmosphere of unconditional acceptance between participant(s) and facilitator.
The WAE Center currently serves over 150 members on site and through outreach programs in schools, senior centers and at UMDNJ in Newark
Education and Advocacy
JSDD support and community educational programming is designed to help families navigate the system and become the strongest possible advocates for their family member(s). Towards that goal, JSDD sponsors community seminars that give families the tools they need. In the past, topics have included estate planning, assisted employment, guardianship, sibling support and working with the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities to obtain services.
In addition, JSDD has established an active grassroots advocacy network. This growing coalition of caring individuals monitors legislative initiatives and coordinates activities to keep the needs of individuals and families coping with developmental disabilities on the community agenda.
Coordination of Services
Many agencies within the MetroWest Jewish community are responsive to various needs of people with disabilities. To ensure coordination of services, a Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) meets on a regular basis to identify needs, develop and coordinate services for special populations. The PAC is comprised of professionals from partner agencies of Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ.
Sources of Support
In 1984, the United Jewish Federation of MetroWest established a commission to identify and assess the needs of people with developmental disabilities and their families in the MetroWest community. By 1996, the Commission had evolved into Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled (JSDD) of MetroWest, a full-service agency incorporated in the State of New Jersey as a not-for-profit social service provider.
Residential programs are funded by the New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities. Additional financial support is generated through an annual Friends Campaign, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ and from donations to funds managed by the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest NJ.
As JSDD is providing direct care to our community’s most vulnerable, the agency is also fostering a sense of caring within the community. Heightened awareness of our similarities and differences leads to compassion – and compassion leads to the creation of an extended family, the basis of a true community.
Our community is enriched by the contributions of every member and there is a place for every member in our community. To learn more about JSDD, we invite you to contact us.
Dedication Opportunities
If you would like to partner with JSDD’s Capital Campaign, please print and fill out this Dedication Opportunity card and mail it to 310 Eisenhower Parkway, Livingston, NJ 07039.
Brick Fundraiser Campaign
Leave a Lasting Legacy or Remember a Loved One
JSDD invites you to be part of a special commemorative opportunity by ordering an engraved walkway brick. Purchasing a brick is a thoughtful way to celebrate and honor a special person, family member, or group. You can customize your brick to remember:
- Birthdays
- Anniversaries
- Graduations
- Your family
- Birth of a child or grandchild
- A loved one who has passed
In doing so, you will be making a vital contribution to funding our exciting state-of-the-art facility as well as supporting the adults with developmental disabilities whom we serve. The commemorative bricks, which are available in two sizes, will be embedded in the walkway leading to JSDD Administrative Offices and WAE Center Art Gallery.
Groundbreaking Ceremony
