In The News

Jon Bon Jovi’s JBJ Soul Foundation, Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey and Volunteers of America Delaware Valley announced Monday they have launched an innovative new program called “Chance for Change” that provides a digital avenue for customers to donate safely and effectively to help those in need. They also announced a new partner in their longstanding effort: New Jersey Transit. The Chance for Change platform will be accessible online and through QR codes available on posters at NJ Transit facilities, digital advertising screens, on social media and on the NJ Transit mobile app. The various platforms will provide a secure platform for NJ Transit…

Forced labor and sex-trafficking are on the rise in New Jersey, and the state now has an independent unit within the state police department handling such cases. “You could say it’s an epidemic in New Jersey, it is growing quite rapidly,” said Detective Sgt. Rick Hershey, who supervises the New Jersey State Police Human Trafficking unit in South Jersey. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 170 human trafficking cases were identified in New Jersey by investigators in 2023 from calls to the hotline, up from 137 cases in 2022 and the largest total since 2019, when 247 such cases were identified. Cassidy Egan,…

NJ Transit, Jersey Shore rocker Jon Bon Jovi’s Soul Kitchen Foundation and two other charities launched a more helpful solution for people in need who are asking riders for spare change. The program, “Chance for Change” allows passengers to donate electronically to charities that will use the money to get help from everyday necessities to substance abuse counseling to housing for the unhoused and others in need. Officials speaking at a launch event at the Red Bank train station Monday called it a better option than giving a person cash for a one time, well-intentioned handout for coffee or food. The program…

https://www.fox29.com/video/1499616

This great day was a long time coming. In 2020, when the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey saw its first leadership change in 25 years, one of the organization’s new priorities was assuring it was giving back to the community. That came with a shift in its mission, vision, strategic priorities and a renewed focus on recruiting nonprofits and other community-based organizations to its membership base. Another aspect of this new direction was adding programming to the chamber’s already packed slate of more than 120 events per year that encouraged its more than 1,200 member companies to give back and support…

Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Manchester) delivered the following remarks at a Human Trafficking Symposium today in Freehold: “Forced labour in the private economy generates $236 billion in illegal profits per year, a new report (published on March 19, 2024)  from the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found… “Forced commercial sexual exploitation accounts for more than two-thirds (73 per cent) of the total illegal profits, despite accounting for only 27 per cent of the total number of victims in privately imposed labour… “These numbers are explained by the huge difference in per victim profits between forced commercial sexual exploitation and other forms…

A substantially expanded scope of responsibility now being assumed by the Evesham Township Police Department, both as a provider or facilitator of social services through a new three-way partnership and in its having been gifted some cutting-edge crime-fighting capabilities, was outlined at the April 10 meeting of the township council. The department’s recently acquired human and high-tech proficiencies have not only broadened the dimensions of the services it offers but are now making many aspects of its job much easier and more efficient, according to Police Chief Walt Miller, who told the council members that some of these developments are…

Living in seedy motel rooms along the Black Horse Pike and walking the streets of Atlantic City after nightfall are young victims of human trafficking forced by captors to prostitute themselves. Essentially they’re slaves, experts say. – Advertisement – But help has come since 2020 from the Volunteers of America Delaware Valley (VOADV). The organization partnered in October of that year with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to create and implement the Atlantic City Human Trafficking Pilot, according to VOADV Senior Vice President Amanda Leese. “As a provider of social services in New Jersey, we cannot ignore human trafficking,”…

 Volunteers of America Delaware Valley ( VOADV) has launched their new Tri-County Navigational Resource Center located in Vineland to continue serving the residents of Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties. The office will provide both Safe Return and Navigator program services to community members in need. Both programs are designed to ensure an immediate, direct approach to service delivery and one-stop linkage to critical social services. As such,  VOADV is able to aid individuals and families in navigating reentry services, housing assistance, employment and job-readiness services, substance use and mental health referrals, legal assistance, and more.  “The new Tri-County Navigational Resource Center location creates a centralized one-stop for service delivery to the residents of Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem,” said  VOADV President and CEO Daniel L. Lombardo. “The direct, immediate…

CAMDEN COUNTY, Nj – People experiencing homelessness have an opportunity to work and earn some cash and a free lunch in Camden County. The Work Now program is a partnership between Camden County and Volunteers of America (VOA) Delaware Valley. Five days a week ten people experiencing homelessness can sign up to pick up trash for the day and earn $75 and a free lunch. David Williams, 36, started working for the program over a month ago and, with the VOA’s support, now has a full-time job. “They don’t downplay us because some of us are homeless, don’t have jobs or whatever….