BJ's Charitable Foundation distributed 86 grants totaling $579,032 to nonprofit organizations that focus on hunger prevention, self-sufficiency, health care, and education and impact needy children and families who reside in the communities BJ's Wholesale Club serves.

"BJ's Charitable Foundation takes great pride in supporting local community organizations that provide an array of services from literacy programs to health screenings to meal services," said Jessica Newman, manager of community relations for BJ's Wholesale Club. "We look forward to giving back to even more nonprofits throughout the rest of the year and ultimately providing meaningful support to those who need it most."

Below is a list by state of the 86 organizations that received grants through BJ's Charitable Foundation.

Connecticut
Covenant to Care for Children (Bloomfield) - $9,000 to support program services and salary expenses for the Critical Goods Delivery Program Staff. The program provides quality new and used furniture, appliances, clothing and infant items donated by individuals and corporations to Connecticut's children and youth who are neglected, abused or at-risk; servicing over 24,00 children each year.

Literacy Volunteer of Greater New Haven (New Haven) - $6,000 to support salaries and wages for three program managers in the Adult Literacy Program. The program managers assist with the training, placement and supervision of new tutors who provide free literacy tutoring for adults needing to improve their reading, writing and oral communication skills. Last year, they trained 191 tutors who worked with 452 adult students at 35 community sites in the Greater New Haven area.

Thames River Community Service, Inc. (Norwich) - $5,000 to purchase supplies for the Thames River Family Program, which is a two-year transitional living program designed to support single mothers' efforts in attaining self-sufficiency and stability for their families.

Youth Continuum, Inc. (New Haven) - $5,000 to purchase supplies and pay personnel costs for the Career Education and Coaching Program at its MacMullen Education, Training and Enrichment Center. Homeless youth can access community-based internships, job readiness training, interview preparation, one-on-one tutoring and cultural enrichment activities through this program.

Delaware
Claymont Community Center (Claymont) - $5,000 to tutor 20 children through Beginning the Education Journey program; an after-school academic tutoring program, providing a minimum of 40 hours of tutoring to help students improve their academic performance by one grade level.

Read Aloud Delaware (Wilmington) - $5,000 to purchase books for the Volunteer Reading Program, which operates at 114 sites through Delaware and impacts 7,000 children each year. The program helps to maintain Read Aloud Delaware's mission to ensure that each preschool child in Delaware is regularly read to one on one.

Florida
Christians Reaching Out to Society, Inc. (Lake Worth) - $5,000 to provide funding for four emergency food pantries. The food pantries serve those awaiting food stamps because of job loss, excessive financial burdens, flight from domestic violence and other crisis situations. The food pantries provided emergency food assistance to 32,944 individuals through November 2009.

Community Smiles (Miami) - $7,500 to purchase lab and dental supplies for the Improving Smiles program that provides preventive, restorative and highly specialized oral health care to low-income, uninsured families. Through this project, treatment is provided in the areas of orthodontics, oral surgery and regular dental procedures. In 2009 the organization served about 450 patients a month.

Covenant House Florida (Fort Lauderdale) - $10,000 to purchase materials, as well as provide community outreach and supplies, for the Y.E.S. (Youth Enrichment Services) Opening Doors to Opportunity program. The program is designed to teach disadvantaged homeless youth under age 21 daily life-skills and job readiness training.

Florida's Vision Quest, Inc. (Orange City) - $10,000 to support comprehensive eye exams, eyeglasses, as well as fuel for the Vision Quest Mobile Unit, a self contained mobile optometric office. The mobile unit visits local schools to offer children care on site and serves a minimum of 2,500 local students in Central Florida.

Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, Inc. (Bradenton) - $15,000 to purchase formula, cereal and baby-related essentials for the emergency Baby Baskets Program, which provides these items to families in need who have children under the age of two. In 2009 the program provided an estimated 1,750 baskets to local families.

New Beginnings of Lake County (Minneola) - $5,000 to support utilities, job training, counseling, transportation and personal items for the 17 individuals residing at the shelter. New Beginnings of Lake County strives to transform and restore the lives of women and their children and men, who have lost their job and home or those faced with other economic struggles and potential homelessness.

Orlando Health Foundation (Orlando) - $15,000 to support lab tests and prescription medications for the Teen Xpress program, a mobile medical home that provides access for teens who would otherwise not receive adequate healthcare; the program served 1,109 teens last year.

Our Lady of Light Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (Fort Myers) - $5,000 to purchase food to be included in packages distributed to clients through the Nutrition Improvement Initiative. The organization supplies needy families with packages of basic groceries to feed a family of four.

Sarasota Family YMCA (Sarasota) - $4,100 to support the ACT/SAT 3-Day Training for the Y-Achievers™ program. Y-Achievers empowers minority youth to set
and attain positive goals in their education and personal lives.

Starting Over Enterprises (Miramar) - $15,000 to support the acquisition of a new van to distribute food to approximately 200 people daily in Broward County.

Trinity Cafe (Tampa) - $15,000 to provide food for the Meals Program, which is a three-course hot meal served weekdays, without condition, to the homeless and hungry. The program serves an average of 7,130 meals a month.

Georgia
Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc. (Atlanta) - $5,000 to purchase supplies and equipment for the Auditory-Verbal Therapy Program that teaches children with mild to profound hearing impairments to listen and speak without the use of sign language or lip reading. The program gives children the education to succeed in mainstream schools and experience life without limitations.

Cool Girls, Inc. (Atlanta) - $5,000 to provide supplies for the Cool Scholars program, a component of Girls Club that provides supplemental learning and academic support within core subject areas to economically disadvantaged girls ages 8-adult. Staff and volunteer tutors provide assistance with homework, reinforce current curriculum, teach effective study skills and test strategies. As well the organization arranges academic competitions, guest speakers and educational field trips.

Create Your Dreams (Atlanta) - $5,000 to support expenses for the tutoring program, geared to economically disadvantaged students in grades 3-12 who fail to maintain a 3.0 GPA in school. The goal of the program is to improve students' skills, abilities, and grades as well as enhance students' educational experience.

Families First™ (Atlanta) - $5,000 to provide essential supplies and support for Project GROW, a supportive housing program for families with children who have experienced long-term homelessness and where one or more family members suffers with disabilities of mental illness, substance abuse and/or HIV/AIDS.

Jewish Family & Career Services (Atlanta) - $7,500 to purchase dental materials and supplies for the Ben Massell Dental Clinic, which provides free dental care to more than 8,000 low and no income Atlanta-area residents annually. The team of more than 120 volunteer dentists, as well as dental hygienists and assistants, provides routine screenings and cleaning, fillings, oral surgery, crowns and prosthetics.

Operation P.E.A.C.E., Inc. (Atlanta) - $5,000 to support the purchase of supplies and field trips for the Summer Academic Youth Program, geared towards youth in grades K-12, free of charge. Their goal is to provide consistent opportunities to children and youth to participate in safe-structured activities during peak times after school.

Tiny Stitches (Suwanee) - $5,000 to purchase yarn, fabric and supplies for the Blankets for Newborns program that helps needy newborns in North Georgia get a healthy start in life by providing them with hand-sewn clothing, blankets and other items. The organization has provided more than 4,258 layettes to area newborns since its inception in 1999.

VOX Teen Communications (Atlanta) - $6,000 to purchase supplies and meals for Atlanta teens in the VOX Teen Communications, which provides an alternative learning environment in the after-school time period to keep kids involved and engaged through publishing a print newspaper, interactive website and blog.

Massachusetts
Associated Early Care and Education (Boston) - $5,000 to purchase supplies and materials for the Family Collection Kits for the Road to Reading project, aimed at giving Greater Boston's youngest children in need (birth to age five) the opportunity to reach their full potential by investing in school readiness, promoting healthy development and strengthening families.

Bread & Roses (Lawrence) - $10,000 to purchase food products and supplies for 36,500 annual guests, reaching the poorest and neediest members of the community, including individuals and families who are hungry, suffering from chronic diseases, victims of fire, mental illness and abuse, the unemployed and those lacking sufficient funds to meet basic necessities.

Cape Cod Center for Women, Inc. (North Falmouth) - $10,000 to support administrative expenses, supplies and salaries for the Child Advocate program, which teaches positive parenting skills and goals for child development at the confidential, domestic violence shelter for battered women and their children. The center provides staff, hotline services and shelter 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Cape Cod Council of Churches, Inc. (Hyannis) - $15,000 to purchase diapers and baby wipes for A Baby Center, which provides critical basic needs and ensures good health and safety at no charge to low-income mothers with babies, age birth to three, on the Cape and Islands.

Family Service, Inc. (Lawrence) - $5,000 for salary support toward the program staff of the Big Friends, Little Friends program, a community-based mentoring initiative. It matches at-risk youth ages 6-14 with committed, caring adult mentors. Through the mentoring relationship, young people are given the inspiration and tools to create healthy peer relationships and succeed in school.

Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (Boston) - $5,000 to support program expenses for the Cacique Youth Learning Center for Teens. The center provides a coordinated approach to youth development, as well as jobs to 180 at-risk low-income urban youth ages 13-24 that live in the neighborhood with the highest concentration of public housing in the state.

Interfaith Social Services, Inc. (Quincy) - $7,500 to purchase food and cover transportation expenses for the Pantry Shelf Program whose mission is to provide emergency food for families in financial distress. Last year, the program distributed 20,335 bags of food to more than 15,000 individuals.

Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development (Jamaica Plain) - $5,000 for supplies and portion of staff salary to support the Jobs for Jamaica Plain Program that provides education and one-on-one case management to 70 low-income adults, most of whom are parents and at risk of homelessness. The program gives adults access to needed services that are connected to jobs, education, training and career development.

Mystic Valley Elder Services (Malden) - $2,000 to purchase food for the Supportive Housing Senior Nutrition Outreach Program that delivers free food to elders and individuals with disabilities who cannot afford to travel to an off-site pantry. About 275 individuals benefit from this program each month.

New England Eye Institute (Boston) - $5,000 to purchase eyeglasses for its Fund for Vision, which distributes glasses for free to those who lack financial resources. Funds will provide prescriptive lenses for 65 children and family members.

Project Hope (Roxbury) - $5,000 to purchase linens, towels, food, diapers and personal care products for Family Shelter residents. The residence offers 11 available rooms for women and children in need of emergency housing, with an average daily occupancy of 25 family members.

Raising a Reader Massachusetts (Boston) - $5,000 to purchase program materials for the Raising a Reader programs in Greater Boston and Lawrence. The programs provide simple, ongoing training and rotating red bags filled with books for young families in need to boost kindergarten readiness for at risk children.

ReadBoston (Boston) - $10,000 to purchase books for the Storymobile program. This program enhances the programmatic work of ReadBoston by reinforcing the importance of reading and literacy during the summer months. Every summer the Storymobile travels throughout the city providing children with free books and captivating stories told by professional storytellers.

The Gray House, Inc. (Springfield) - $4,500 to purchase food and non-food items for participants in the Food Pantry that serves an average of 60 families totaling 270 individuals on Thursdays each week. Individuals receive 3-4 days worth of food, such as rice, pasta, cereal and canned fruits and vegetables.

The Literacy Connection/Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston (Brighton) - $5,000 to support staff salaries, materials and text books for The Literacy Connection program. The program teaches low-income, adult immigrants and refugees to read and speak English. The organization has grown to provide literacy training and help with workforce skills to its current enrollment of 174 students from 35 countries.

Thomas Chew Memorial Boys & Girls Club (Fall River) - $10,000 to purchase food for the Kids Café, the Club's meal program that is provided to all youth members regardless of their ability to pay. It is co-sponsored by the Greater Boston Food Bank and provides up to 38,000 meals during the school year with up to 300 children eating a meal at the Club each weekday.

Urban Edge Housing Corporation (Roxbury) - $10,000 to purchase food and supplies, as well as support the costs of transportation and materials, for Urban Edge Food Pantries. The pantries were created to meet the supplementary nutritional needs of individuals and families whose incomes are insufficient to purchase food after paying for rent, utilities, transportation, clothing and other necessities.

Womanshelter/Compañeras (Holyoke) - $10,000 to purchase, clothing, school and infant supplies for clients at the shelter, which was one of the first organizations in the state to provide 24-hour hotline services and shelter to women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Worcester Community Action Council, Inc. (Worcester) - $5,000 to purchase textbooks, workbooks and reading materials for its Job & Education Center program, which serves at-risk, limited income and underserved youth in the area. The Center helps students achieve higher levels of academic success, workforce preparedness and a lifetime of self-sufficiency.

Year Up (Boston) - $5,000 to purchase supplies and materials for the Year Up Learning Community. Year Up is a one-year job skills and educational training program that combines hands-on skill development, college credits and corporate internships for urban, young adults in Greater Boston ages 18-24.

Maryland
Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland (Westminster) - $5,000 to purchase craft supplies and materials for the Activity Program serving low-income seniors at the Hartford and Carroll County Centers.

New Hampshire
New Generation, Inc. (Greenland) - $5,000 to purchase food and supplies for the homeless women, in crisis during pregnancy and to mothers and children residing at the shelter. The shelter serves up to seven women and their babies who stay from 3-9 months.

New Jersey
Children on the Green Morristown (Morristown) - $4,200 to purchase nutritious snacks and lunches for the homeless children participating at the childcare center. The organization funds six slots for 20-25 children annually from three local shelters.

Community Soup Kitchen and Outreach Center, Inc. (Morristown) - $10,000 to purchase food during the kitchen's noontime meal service to help the homeless and impoverished men, women and children. Funding would also support the partial salary of asocial worker and Spanish/English interpreter.

Ocean's Harbor House (Toms River) - $15,000 to fund the purchase of educational software and evaluation for its Skills for Heightened Excellence and Development (SHED) program that serves homeless and runaway youth living in the streets in NJ. The organization houses youth 1-4 weeks, and the SHED program is a curriculum to help them continue their education during the stay.

New York
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rockland County (New City) - $5,000 to support paper costs and program supplies for the Rockland County Mentoring Collaborative, which is an after-school program designed to increase scholastic performance for at-risk high school students from single-parent homes.

Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation, Inc. (Rochester) - $5,000 to support the Emergency Home Repair program that provides safety-related home maintenance to low-income families, seniors and persons with disabilities.

Cayuga Health Association, Inc. (Auburn) - $5,000 to purchase food for the meal delivery program to homebound elderly clients in the Meals On Wheels program. The program delivers nutritious meals five days a week totaling more than 24,000 meals a year.

Children's Health Fund (New York) - $10,000 to purchase food and supplies for Starting Right Initiative, which is an obesity prevention and treatment program for poor and medically underserved children.

FOCUS Churches of Albany, Inc. (Albany) - $5,000 to purchase food for the FOCUS Interfaith Food Pantry. The pantry aims to provide 115,000 meals to 3,500 households.

Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection (Rochester) - $5,000 to support the expense of supplies for the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection program. The program helps the Rochester City School District students, who are at-risk of dropping out, in stay in school and prepares them for higher education or work force.

Northeast Parent & Child Society (Schenectady) - $4,200 to purchase 36 sets of GED books and general supplies for 36 students in YouthBuild Schenectady. The program allows low-income people ages 16-24 to work toward their GED or high school diploma while learning job skills.

South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (Bronx) - $4,000 to purchase books and other supplies for the Education 4 Life program, which grants troubled adolescents the opportunity to increase educational levels and prepare them for taking their GED.

The Hartwick United Methodist Church (Mount Vision) - $3,000 to purchase food for its Food Pantry. During 2009, the pantry directly impacted 145 children, 120 adults and 70 elderly.

North Carolina
Communities in Schools of Wake County (Raleigh) - $5,000 to pay for the salary of a certified teacher for the "In the Know in OUT of School Time Program," which is an academically-focused after school tutorial program focused around individual student case management for children in grades K-12.

Habitat for Humanity® of Cabarrus County (Concord) - $5,000 to fund the salary of a Credit Counselor who will provide guidance and training for families during the various phases of homeownership through its Family Support Program.

The Junior Charity League of Concord (Concord) - $5,000 to provide new school clothes to the economically disadvantaged children in Kindergarten through 12th grade through its Mariam C. Schramm Clothing Room. The Junior Charity League of Concord is an organization of women committed to promoting compassion and volunteerism throughout Cabarrus County.

Urban Ministries of Durham (Durham) - $5,000 to purchase food and essentials for shelter clients in the Journey Family Program. The Program provides comprehensive care to 60 homeless families per year with the end goals of independence, stability and self-sufficiency.

YWCA Central Carolinas (Charlotte) - $5,000 to pay bus transportation for the Youth Development Program on the main campus. The site serves 30 at-risk youth, ages 5-12, from homeless families living on the campus and those living in nearby public housing.

Ohio
Cleveland Reads (Cleveland) - $5,000 to purchase 350 library-quality children's books for the Early Reading Room and Family Literacy Program at the West Side Community House and Merrick House. The purchase will help maintain the organization's mission of granting literacy resource materials and education programs to youth and families in the Cleveland area.

Community Harvest, Inc. (Canton) - $15,000 to replace a refrigerated truck that is used to collect perishable and prepared food from local restaurants businesses. The food is often distributed to local soup kitchens shelters and hot meal program sites to help alleviate hunger.

H.M. Life Opportunity Services (Akron) - $5,000 to purchase home furnishings and emergency direct service assistance in the form of rent, utilities, transportation through for the Transitional Assistance and Guidance (TAG) Program. TAG provides post-shelter after care through case management, impacting to local, homeless and disabled or special needs single-parent families.

Mobile Meals, Inc. (Akron) - $15,000 to purchase meals and supplements for the Mobile Meals program. Unique to Northeast Ohio, this is the only program to provide meals and medically prescribed supplements to children, families, disabled individuals and elderly in need.

Rebuilding Together Summit County, Inc. (Akron) - $5,000 to purchase supplies and materials for Rebuilding Day and Safe At Home project that will improve the home and lives of property owners in need. Rebuilding Day involves painting, de-cluttering, and repairing homes and landscapes. The Safe At Home initiative will install handrails and grab bars, improve lighting, make repairs to plumbing and electrical systems, perform light carpentry and install simple weatherization and security measures.

University Circle (Cleveland) - $5,000 to purchase supplies and materials for educational kits for the Early Learning Initiative, which is a preschool literacy program designed for underprivileged and economically disadvantaged children.

Western Stark Free Clinic (Massillon) - $5,000 to purchase medical, office and educational supplies for the Free Clinic Program. The Program services residents of western Stark County who are 18 years of age or older, who are uninsured or do not have access to insurance.

Pennsylvania
Berks Women in Crisis (BWIC) (Reading) - $10,000 to purchase supplies and materials for BWIC’s Emergency Shelter, which provides supportive services to victims and works to eliminate domestic and sexual violence in Berks County.

Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia (Philadelphia) - $5,000 to purchase snacks and supplies for low-income students in the Young Achievers Program. The Program serves students from the summer before 7th grade through the end of 8th grade, operating year round to offer academic enrichment.

Lourdesmont Good Shepherd Youth & Family Services (Clarks Summit) - $5,000 to purchase food for the Lourdesmont Partial Hospitalization Meal Program, which provides a healthy breakfast and lunch for all their students regardless of the family's ability to pay. The organization serves socio-economically disadvantaged children ages 12-18 with mental health diagnoses.

Maternity Care Coalition (Philadelphia) - $10,000 to purchase supplies and materials for the MOMobile Program that serves pregnant, low-income women and families. The MOMobile brings a range of social services directly to eight Philadelphia-area communities.

Memorial Hospital (York) - $5,000 to provide direct care expenses for Healthy Kids Campaign, which supplies services to children in the Outpatient Clinic. The hospital is a 100-bed, teaching hospital, which cared for 3,500 uninsured or underinsured children last year.

York County Literacy Council (York) - $3,500 to pay for a portion of the salaries for tutors in the Adult Reading Program. The program assists native-born, English speaking adults to improve their reading, writing, spelling, and other basic literacy skills, serving 116 adults last year whom had only completed a 9th grade level education.

Rhode Island
International Institute Rhode Island (Providence) - $5,000 to pay for direct assistance (food, rent, utilities, day care, transportation) through the Refugee Resettlement program. The program provides refugee families with cultural orientation, a first apartment, school enrollment, advocacy and referrals, serving 450 people each year.

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island (Providence) - $5,000 to specifically purchase cholesterol screening kits to decrease risks of coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke through the Family Van Cholesterol Screening program. The Family Van visits low-income neighborhoods, and last year, it visited close to 4,000 clients who were underinsured or insured with three-quarters being unemployed.

Virginia
Chesapeake Health Investment Program (Chesapeake) - $8,032 to purchase cribs for Sleeptight Safe Sleeping Program. The program was created to encourage safe sleeping and reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Childhelp Children's Center of Virginia (Fairfax) - $5,000 to purchase food and scholastic supplies/materials for the Mentor and Tutor Program. The program was designed to integrate mentoring, tutoring and family support services to improve short and long term success for children at risk for neglect and abuse.

Doorways for Women and Families (Arlington) - $5,000 for salaries and miscellaneous expenses associated with the Financial Independence Track (FIT) program. FIT teaches clients to manage their current daily finances and understand and address their debt which often hinder women and families in crisis from living independently.

ForKids, Inc. (Norfolk) - $10,000 to purchase supplies and materials for Haven House and Suffolk House. The two shelters house up to 18 families with 36 children and provide an array of services from childcare to counseling to life skills.

Girls For A Change (Richmond) - $5,000 to support the salary expense for the Program Director in the Girl Action Team program. The program director is responsible for overseeing a free, 12-week, after-school program for low-income girls ages 11-18 who work toward implementing solutions for pressing issues in their community.

Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence (Fredericksburg) - $5,000 to assist ten families in the Hotel Shelter Program with food for approximately one week. The program meets a critical safety need to battered women and children by providing a temporarily secure, secretive and accessible environment while other arrangements can be made to shelter them long term.

SCAN of Northern Virginia (Alexandria) - $3,000 to pay for the salaries, benefits and training supplies for Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program. CASA trains and supports community volunteers in advocating for the needs of abused and neglected children to within the court system.

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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