BJ's Charitable Foundation, as part of its quarterly giving schedule, announced today that it will distribute 78 grants totaling $546,434 to nonprofit organizations. The recipients focus on hunger prevention, self-sufficiency, health care, or education and primarily benefit needy children and families residing in the communities BJ's Wholesale Club serves. Grants were submitted in time for the Foundation’s October 9, 2009 deadline.

"Basic-need services continue to be an area of high demand for organizations throughout our footprint," said Jessica Newman, manager of community relations for BJ's Wholesale Club. "BJ's Charitable Foundation will maintain our support for these essential necessities to help provide vital assistance within our local communities throughout the new year."

Below is a list by state of the nonprofits that were awarded grants from BJ's Charitable Foundation:

Connecticut
Bethel Recovery Center (Bridgeport) - $5,000 to replenish the supplies of food, diapers, personal care items and clothing in the food pantry. Bethel Recovery Center is a residential support system for homeless women and children and since 1991, has seen more than 585 homeless women and their 109 children.

Griffin Hospital Development Fund (Derby) - $5,000 to support car and booster seat education, installation and inspections. They fund’s aim is to assist 500 families with car seat checks, adjustments and installations and provide more than 100 families with a free car seat during 2010.

Mercy Housing and Shelter Corporation (Hartford) - $5,000 to purchase nutritious food for families in the Family Services Program. The organization provides counseling and support for parents to stabilize and strengthen their families, while becoming self-sufficient. Children also receive adequate nutrition and support to develop properly for school.

Visiting Nurse Association of Central Connecticut, Inc. (New Britain) - $10,000 to support the Care Call Program. The program provides case management, intensive outreach, and home visitation and connects women at risk with the support and services, including prenatal care, maternal and infant nutrition, housing, transportation and assistance with navigating the health care system.

YWCA New Britain (Hartford) - $5,000 toward the Sexual Assault Crisis Services Program to cover the costs of prevention, education and support group materials. Funding will impact 50 clients through crisis intervention services and 500 youth through the prevention education program.

Delaware
CHEER, Inc. (Georgetown) - $5,000 to support the installation of handicap ramps and equipment in senior's homes. CHEER serves Sussex County's over-50 population through a full range of programs at seven CHEER Activity Centers and two independent senior centers.

Food Bank of Delaware, Inc. (Newark) - $17,500 to aid in the transportation, storage and delivery of fresh produce to member agencies. Last the food bank distributed over 2.1 million pounds of fruits, vegetables and fresh foods.

Ministry of Caring, Inc. (Wilmington) - $5,000 to provide food and beverages to the Child Care Center, which provides quality, affordable daycare at five sites for children of homeless and low-income families and is currently serving 177 children.

Florida
Broward Partnership for the Homeless, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale) - $7,200 to help provide meals to feed families with children. The Food Services Program provides three nutritious meals each day to homeless families with children who reside at the Center.

Catholic Community Services (Miami) - $4,000 to support room and board, case management and administration for one residential unit at the New Life Family Center. The center provides shelter housing, food, clothing, case management, transportation and other tools to assist individuals and families in attaining self sufficiency.

Habitat for Humanity of Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) - $10,000 to support the organization and help enroll 20 families in the program. Habitat for Humanity works to provide decent, affordable housing to families in need, making homeownership available for 279 families in the area since its inception.

Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition of Broward County, Inc (Fort Lauderdale) - $5,000 to purchase fifty "Crib Kits" that include a new Graco Pack 'N Play crib, fitted crib sheet, Respironics pacifier and educational materials. The total program will impact 500 children this year. Clients that benefit from this program are low-income, pregnant women or families that do not have a safe place for their newborn infants to sleep.

Hearing and Speech Center of Florida (Miami) - $10,000 to provide hearing, speech, and language screenings to children for The Health Screenings Program, More than 5,000 children from birth to 5 years were screened in 2008, and half of the children who were screened were not insured or under insured.

Intervention Services, Inc. (Maitland) - $10,000 to support the Village Transitional Housing Program through food, pantry and hygiene items, transportation and bus passes, as well as work attire. The Village Transitional Housing Program helps prevent homelessness for youth between the ages of 18-23, who have aged out of the foster care system.

Jubilee Center of South Broward (Hollywood) - $5,000 to purchase food, serving plates and utensils for its soup kitchen and food pantry. In 2008, the soup kitchen served 74,736 meals, and its food pantry distributed 29,079 bags of groceries.

Kids in Distress (Wilton Manors) - $5,000 to purchase 568 packages of diapers for families served in the Family Support/Abuse Prevention programs. Kids in Distress is the largest provider of foster care homes in the Broward and Palm Beach County area.

Liga Contra El Cancer, Inc. (Miami) - $20,000 to provide free papanicolau (Pap smear) examinations and cancer awareness education to 267 women in South Florida. The cost of each exam is $75, and all funds will go towards the exam, lab work and follow up.

Luz Del Mundo (Oakland Park) - $5,000 to support the salary of a Case Manager/Community Outreach Coordinator and Medical Assistant for the Health Care Outreach and Prevention Program. The Health Care Outreach and Prevention Program for Medically Underserved and Uninsured provides services like health tests and screenings to those uninsured and who are not eligible for government benefits and/or who receive little or no health care due to certain barriers.

Miami Bethany Community Services (Miami) - $5,000 to support program supplies and field trips for the BEST Program, which provides out of school services for 78 general population children who are 5-14 years old and who come from low-income families residing in Miami. The program engages students in academic and recreational activities including literacy, physical fitness and family involvement

SOS Children's Villages Florida, Inc. (Coconut Creek) - $7,500 to provide mental health therapy, behavioral step system program and medical care. The Children's Health Services program fulfills the need for the foster children at SOS to receive all necessary and appropriate care for their overall physical and mental health and well-being. Eighty children will be impacted over the course of the current year.

The Salvation Army of Lee, Hendry and Glades Counties (Fort Myers) - $5,000 to purchase meals, three gas grills and a stackable washer and dryer for Sally's Café and Marketplace, which is a Client Choice Pantry and Eatery allowing clients to both dine in and "shop for" needed food items. The food pantry served more than 10,000 clients by providing 33,400 food bags to families and individuals seeking emergency food assistance in 2008.

Maine
Mercy Hospital (Portland) - $5,000 toward its transitional housing program called McAuley Residence. Funding will specifically support The McAuley WELL (Women's Expenses for Living & Learning) program and pay for five months of living expenses for four residents attending school including food, transportation, personal care items for their children and childcare while the residents attend evening classes.

Maryland
Community Dentistry on Wheels, Inc (Largo) - $5,000 to provide oral health education, awareness and preventative treatment to underprivileged youth. Community Dentistry on Wheels uses its Mobile Dental van to visit schools, housing projects, public parks, government and private children/ youth centers.

Rebuilding Together Howard County (Columbia) - $5,000 to purchase building materials, pay skilled tradesmen and recruit 60 volunteers for project worksites on National Rebuilding Day. -

Massachusetts
Adelante, Inc. (Lawrence) - $2,000 to pay a portion of the wages of the teachers and program coordinators for the School Success Program, which helps young people prepare for and succeed in a rigorous secondary educational environment. Test preparation, academic enrichment activities, and guidance and financial assistance enables these students to attend a tuition-based high school and enter a path to college.

AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod (Provincetown) - $3,000 to purchase food for the Nutrition Services Program, which was created in an effort to assist individuals who are physically, mentally or financially unable to prepare their own meals.

Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK) (Boston) - $15,000 to assist the Community-based Services Program with the purchase of food and other incidentals, as well as help pay the rent of the Boston office. Since 1994, ATASK has operated New England’s only multilingual shelter, advocacy services, education and outreach programs for battered Asian women and their children.

Bethany Hill School (Framingham) - $5,000 to support the salaries and wages, food, books and software expenses for the Adult Education Initiative focused on improving life and/or job skills for its residents. The residents may be developmentally delayed and under the supervision of the Justice Resource Institute, may have escaped domestic violence or may have recently regained sobriety.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay (Boston) - $5,000 to support one-to-one mentoring relationships at the Bromley-Heath Housing Development, targeting the unique needs of youth and families in the public housing sector.

Bread & Roses Housing (Lawrence) - $5,000 to help sustain staff benefits and to provide for supplies and materials for Family Support & Advocacy Program, which supports affordable homeownership opportunities for families traditionally excluded from the housing market.

Cor Unum Meal Center (Lawrence) - $5,000 to purchase food for the prepared meals program. The Cor Unum Meal Center provides free, nutritious meals in a safe environment, 365 days a year. The Center has served more than 450,000 meals since it opened in 2006.

Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation (Dorchester) - $5,000 to support salaries for TechnoBay instructors. TechnoBay is a computer skills training course offered to families, older teens and adults; designed to improve academic skills of children ages 9-18, promote and encourage family bonding, and improve employment opportunities for adults, parents and children over the age of 14.

Esther R. Sanger Center for Compassion (Quincy) - $3,000 to support Mary Martha Learning Center's GED program expenses. The focus of the 6-month intensive residential education program is to enable women to get their GED.

Greater Boston Food Bank (Boston) - $10,000 to purchase high-quality fruits, vegetables and dairy products for the Kids Café program, which feeds 1,600 children daily, providing three daily hot meals five days a week. Kids Cafés are located in Allston, Brighton, Chelsea, Charlestown, Dorchester, Fall River, and South Boston and with a location in Brockton to open shortly.

Hessco Elder Services (Sharon) - $10,000 to support funding for the costs associated with the in-home installation of grab bars in clients bathrooms, providing safety and support, as falls in the bathroom are a leading cause of serious injury for seniors. Most of Hessco's clients are on a fixed income, and the purchase and installation of a grab bar is not an option.

Perkins School (Lancaster) - $15,000 to fund activity supplies and certified instructors in the Building Esteem and Talent Through the Arts (BETA) program, which serves children with emotional and psychiatric disabilities, behavioral challenges and cognitive limitations. BETA allows students to experience the advantages of music, dance, theater and visual arts.

Self Esteem Boston Educational Institute, Inc. (Jamaica Plain) - $5,000 to support self-esteem mentoring and development sessions at women's homeless shelter programs. The organization serves 7,500 clients annually, and 90% of them are low-income women who typically live in shelters and transitional programs.

St. Francis House (Boston) - $10,000 to purchase of ties, socks and underwear for the Fresh Threads clothing distribution program. St. Francis House is Boston's second largest distributor of clothing to the poor, responding to nearly 700 clothing requests per month. In 2009, St. Francis House had clothed guests at over 13,000 appointments -- a 13 percent increase from 2008.

The Bridge of Central Massachusetts (Worcester) - $5,000 to purchase pedometers and school gym equipment for the G. Stanley Hall School, a special education day school in Worcester for children in grades 6-12 with mental health issues. Approximately 30 percent of students suffer from obesity due to medication side effects.

The Italian Home for Children (Jamaica Plain) - $5,000 to purchase one lap-top cart, 12 laptops and associated needs for the portable computer lab of The Italian Home School, which serves a maximum of 68 children each day throughout the year and an additional 12 children in the specialized after-school/school vacation program. Teachers at the school assist students in developing the necessary academic and behavioral skills, as well as coping techniques that assist students in their social and emotional development before they are able to successfully mainstream into a public school system.

Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (Roxbury) - $5,000 to fund scholarships, trainers and materials for Camp Atwater Program, which is a quality residential camp experience within a safe, nurturing environment away from urban violence and distractions. Children will learn to problem solve, make social adjustments to new and different people, learn responsibility and gain new skills to increase their self-esteem.

Wayside Youth & Family Support Network (Framingham) - $2,500 to purchase athletic equipment for the Wayside Campus' physical education department, a newly designed facility to integrate health and wellness into daily therapeutic and educational activities for adolescents with special learning needs.

Whitin Community Center (Whitinsville) - $5,000 to support the purchase of supplies for the Youth Outreach Program, which provides free programs and services to at-risk children ages 5-17. It provides these children with an opportunity to play together, develop friendships, build self-worth, and develop a sense of fair play, team spirit and cooperation in a safe and supervised environment.

North Carolina
A Child's Place of Charlotte, Inc. (ACP) (Charlotte) - $15,000 to fund two student liaisons to work with homeless children in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg elementary schools. Student liaisons works closely with ACP social workers to confirm transportation and school attendance for the homeless and at-risk children, ensure students are properly dressed and have adequate school supplies. In addition, the liaisons program distributes snacks to the children, identifies dental and medical care, advocates for the child at the school, and coordinates volunteers to supply required educational and emotional support.

Assistance League of the Triangle Area (Raleigh) - $5,500 to purchase program supplies for Operation School Bell, which provides children in need with appropriate support to increase self-esteem and to encourage regular school attendance. Operation School Bell provides new and appropriate clothing, shoes, underwear, socks and jackets, as well as literacy and tutoring programs, personal hygiene kits, school supply kits, books and backpacks.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Charlotte (Charlotte) - $5,000 to fund Enrollment Staff and Match Support Specialists to place children into Project Big Charlotte program. The programming aims to prevent juvenile delinquency by establishing mentoring relationships between trained mentors and youth who lack positive role models in their single-parent households. In the last two years, the agency supported 3,729 children with a mentor.

Charlotte Community Health Clinic (Charlotte) - $10,000 to purchase medical supplies for low-income, uninsured, Mecklenburg County residents, who are at least 19 years old.

Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC) (Carrboro) - $5,000 to purchase food for its Smith/Monk Food Pantry Fund. The fund is used when there is not enough donated food available to operate the IFC Food Pantry and Community Kitchen.

Presbyterian Hospital Foundation (Charlotte) - $5,000 to support the purchase of medical/surgical supplies, books and subscriptions, as well as computer and household supplies for the Community Care Cruiser. The cruiser is 40-foot recreational vehicle that serves as a mobile doctor's office and provides comprehensive primary and preventive medical care to youth (ages 0-17) who can not afford medical care.

New Hampshire
Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter (Nashua) - $8,000, for which half will be used to help 40 families pay back rent or utilities and the other half of funding will be used to purchase milk and eggs for food bags impacting approximately 800 - 900 families in the soup kitchen.

New Hampshire Food Bank (Manchester) - $15,000 to purchase emergency food for its Food Distribution Program, which helps to feed more than 95,000 New Hampshire residents who live at or below poverty level.

New Jersey
Boys & Girls Club of Vineland (Vineland) - $5,000 to support salaries for the Power Hour Program as well as snacks and incentives (prizes and activities for completing assignments). Power Hour provides children ages 6 through 13, with homework help and tutoring after school.

Children's Aid and Family Services, Inc. (Paramus) - $5,000 to support The Baby Basics program, which provides low income and working poor families with free formula, diapers, wipes, bath products, clothing, cribs, car seats and other needed supplies for infants and toddlers. The grant will be used to purchase diapers and formula.

New York
Bethany House (Roosevelt) - $12,000 to provide rent subsidy payments, utility payments, emergency food, clothing, medications, transportation, and interim day care costs, as well as move in/relocation costs for its Emergency Assistance Fund that assists the financial needs of homeless women and children

Bethesda House (Schenectady) - $10,000 to purchase food for its three food programs: Emergency Food Pantry, Daily Community Meals and Residential Meal Program. The Bethesda House serves a minimum of 150 meals daily at its Soup Kitchen totaling 40,000 meals annually, the Emergency Pantry serves an average 140 households monthly which equals to 35,000 meals annually and provides an additional 20,000 meals through their Residential Meal Program.

Dunbar Association, Inc. (Syracuse) - $5,000 to purchase food for its emergency food pantry. The emergency food pantry, during the past year, provided food to 1,836 households and over 4,200 individuals: 1,505 of which were children and 500 were senior citizens.

ENACT (New York) - $5,000 for materials and partial salaries/stipends for instructors of its Dropout Prevention Program that will impact children from Middle School 399 in the Bronx.

Exalt Youth (Brooklyn) - $5,000 for program graduations and travel/metro cards for its Educational Youth Internship Program that assists youth in avoiding repeat criminal justice involvement and pursue their education and employment goals.

Fund for Public Schools (New York) - $7,500 to purchase books for third-grade students at the PS 45, PS 166, and PS 105 as part of the My Own Book program. The program's purpose is to enhance child literacy in disadvantaged communities by empowering third-grade children to select, purchase and read their very own books.

Groundwork (Brooklyn) - $7,500 to support specialist salaries and to purchase supplies for the Youth Education for Tomorrow (YET) Program, which is a 90-minute balanced literacy program comprised of independent student reading and teacher reading, oral language, vocabulary and comprehension activities, writing and reading games..

Jewish Community Council of Canarsie (Brooklyn) - $9,308 to purchase fresh produce, as well as salary support of the food pantry coordinator. The center impacts 1,200 disadvantaged clients throughout southeastern Brooklyn

Meals on Wheels Programs & Services of Rockland, Inc. (Nanuet) - $5,000 to purchase one year's worth of meals for 10 individuals waiting for the Homebound Meal Delivery Program. The organization promotes the well-being of New York's elderly by providing hot meals and special services to qualified individuals.

Mercy Center Ministries (Patchogue) - $2,500 to purchase diapers and wipes for babies at its Mercy Residence -- a non-denominational organization for displaced young women ages 16-21 and their children.

New York City Coalition Against Hunger (New York) - $10,000 to support outreach of the Benefits Access Program, which provides necessary information about SNAP/EBT to those in need and connects them to both private and public food services. The organization works to ensure that all low income New Yorkers have enough to eat and is working to develop long-term solutions to poverty.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center (Roslyn Heights) - $5,000 to support the salaries of the professionals who operate the Spanish and English language workshops for both pregnant and parenting teens and their families.

Posse Foundation, Inc. (New York) - $10,000 to support the program expense for the Dynamic Assessment Process. The foundation works with disadvantaged public high school students and has a scholar recruitment method designed to identify young leaders who might be missed by traditional admissions criteria of elite colleges but who can excel at selective colleges and universities.

Rebuilding Together Long Island, Inc. (Massapequa) - $5,000 to fund the building supplies for wheelchair access ramps for disabled clients. The organization brings together volunteers and communities to improve the homes and lives of low-income homeowners

Resource Center for Independent Living (Utica) - $5,500 to support emergency funding for at- risk youth and their families as part of its Main Street Program. The program works to increase the stability and self-sufficiency of participants who share the following characteristics: they are often jobless, their mental and/or physical health is at risk of being compromised due to personal choices, and they have stressful and ever-changing home environments.

School Sisters of Notre Dame (Woodhaven) - $4,000 to purchase program supplies for the GED and Literacy Programs to prepare underserved women who have dropped out of high school. The center serves an average of 60 women per year.

WomensLaw.org (Brooklyn) - $5,000 to support the expenses of eight workshops covering advertising, supplies, reference books, laptop and projection screen, food/snacks, transportation and partial salaries for program coordinators for the Latina Outreach Project. The program was created to reach women who are less likely to use online services and provides information on domestic violence issues, resources and legal options so that the women can make informed decisions.

Pennsylvania
Chester County Community Dental Center (Coatesville) - $5,000 to bridge the gap between reimbursements from Medicaid and actual cost of dental services for children and adults who have encountered barriers in accessing care in Chester County.

Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County, Inc. (DAP) (Media) - $5,000 to support the purchase of supplies and provisions for DAP, which offers domestic violence prevention and intervention services to the victims of domestic violence and their children within Delaware County.

PathWays PA (Holmes) - $7,926 to purchase Pack n' Plays, High chairs, folding booster seats, and 3 in 1 car seats, as well as spring mattresses for 16 of the Center for Families program clients. Center for Families was established to fill a need to help homeless women "“ many of whom had experienced some form of severe abuse or neglect "“ reunite with their children.

Rhode Island
Crossroads Rhode Island (Providence) - $10,000 to cover the costs for security, heating and cooling, hot water, janitorial expenses, snow removal and shower and laundry facilities at the emergency shelter for homeless individuals and families.

Virginia
Action in Community Through Service of Prince William, Inc. (Dumfries) - $10,000 to purchase a shed, refrigerator/freezer and food for the food pantry, which serves 100 families per day in the Prince William area.

Peninsula READS (Newport News) - $10,000 to buy materials for English for Speakers of Other Languages and Basic Literacy classes and to support the program coordinators' salaries. Of the adults living on the Peninsula, approximately 10,000 have less than a ninth-grade education, and 27,000 have less than a 12th grade education. The classes teach adults through personalized instruction and provide them with the skills they need to participate fully in society as workers, family members and citizens

Seton Youth Shelters (Virginia Beach) - $10,000 to support food and household supplies, transportation, rent/utilities, clothing/hygiene supplies and educational materials for two youth shelters; one for boys and one for girls. These children are often victims of physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect.

United Community Ministries (Alexandria) - $5,000 to purchase food for meal service for Basic Needs Program that supports low income residents in Alexandria.

About BJ's Charitable Foundation
BJ's Charitable Foundation was established with the mission to enrich every community BJ's Wholesale Clubs serve. The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that primarily benefit the underprivileged in the area of basic needs (hunger prevention, self sufficiency, education and health). For more information about BJ's Charitable Foundation please visit,
www.bjs.com/charity.

BJ's Wholesale Club

BJ's Wholesale Club

About BJ's Wholesale Club

Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's is a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States. The company currently operates 207 clubs in 15 states.

BJ’s provides a one-stop shopping destination filled with more top-quality, leading brands including its exclusive Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen brands, which are all backed by BJ’s 100% money-back guarantee; more fresh foods from USDA Choice meats to premium produce to delicious organics in many supermarket sizes; and more great value and amazing savings every day. BJ’s is also the only membership club to accept all manufacturers' coupons and for greater convenience offers the most payment options.

Giving back has always been at the very core of BJ’s culture, too. Through local clubs, volunteerism, BJ’s Feeding Communities and BJ’s Charitable Foundation, the company supports and enhances programs that provide vital services within each community it serves. Additionally, BJ’s is focused on preserving the Earth for future generations through a wide array of responsible sourcing and sustainability efforts. For more information, visit www.bjs.com/community.

To check out all the MORE BJ’s has to offer, visit www.bjs.com and for exclusive content find us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

About BJ’s Charitable Foundation

BJ’s Charitable Foundation was established with the mission to enrich every community BJ’s Wholesale Clubs serve. The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that primarily benefit the underprivileged in the areas of hunger prevention and education. To learn more, visit www.bjs.com/charity.

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