The Devils Youth Foundation, with the support of its marquee brands, the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center, issued a record number of grants, both in money donated and nonprofits supported, having a significant impact throughout New Jersey.
According to a Tuesday announcement, this year, the Devils Youth Foundation provided 24 grants worth over $890,000 to organizations having an impact in New Jersey through community outreach programs that support over 20,000 youth. The organizations include: Arts Education Newark; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties; Boys & Girls Club of Newark; Challenged Athletes Foundation; Coalition for Food and Health Equity; Community FoodBank of New Jersey; Educational Arts Team; Express Newark (Rutgers); FOCUS Hispanic Center for Community Development Inc.; GreenLight Newark; Hockey in New Jersey; Jazz House Kids; La Casa de Don Pedro; Mentor Newark; Newark Boys Chorus School; Newark Community Street Team; Newark Day Center; New City Kids; Oasis — A Haven for Women and Children; Playworks; Record High; Save the Music Foundation; Special Olympics of New Jersey; and United Community Corp.
Starting with the 2023-24 Devils season, the Devils Youth Foundation will highlight two organizations each month and bring awareness to how the foundation partners with each organization to create meaningful experiences for the youth.
Also, with the intent of increasing its community impact, the foundation has named Christopher James, vice president of government affairs for RWJBarnabas Health, a new board member. His appointment was announced by Allison Blitzer, chair of the Devils Youth Foundation.
“We are pleased to have Christopher join the Devils Youth Foundation Board,” Blitzer said. “Chris brings a unique knowledge of the New Jersey charitable landscape and we look forward to working with him to grow the foundation. I also want to thank RWJBarnabas Health for their continued support in bringing Chris and their entire organization into the New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center family.”
“I am honored to be appointed to the board of the Devils Youth Foundation,” James said. “This organization has a tremendous impact on the lives of many of our local youth and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of this for our communities.”
Since its inception, the Devils Youth Foundation has raised over $3 million through marquee events (including the Champions Gala, Devils Sweep the Deck Gala and Martin Brodeur’s “MB30” Charity Golf Invitational), ongoing and seasonal online auctions and merchandise sales. The funds have been distributed to over 50 organizations and have helped over 60,000 children in Newark and throughout New Jersey.