2015 Brings PEI Kids Renewed Support from PACF

Lawrenceville, NJ – March 16, 2015 –Princeton Area Community Foundation (PACF) has awarded PEI Kids a total of $50,000 in grant funding for 2015 through two  of its programs – the Greater Mercer Grants program and The Fund for Women and Girls. The Greater Mercer Grants program’s general operating grant will support PEI Kids’ operational needs throughout the year and enable the organization to continue providing professional services at no charge to children and their families.

Funding from the Fund for Women and Girls will be used to further PEI Kids’ project “Protecting our Daughters from Sexual Abuse Through Education and Support”– a unique collaboration of the agency’s Enough Abuse child sexual abuse prevention campaign and its Crisis Intervention counseling program for victims of child sexual abuse.  The project aims to prevent child sexual abuse through community education and provide counseling and support for girls who are victims of child sexual abuse, including counseling for their mothers/caregivers and bi-weekly Mother/Daughter Support Group sessions.

“We are grateful to have such strong community support from PACF and the Fund for Women and Girls as well as from other donors who value PEI Kids’ work and are committed to the future of Mercer County’s children,” says PEI Kids Executive Director, Roz Dashiell. “This support is much appreciated and is vital to our mission of promoting and maintaining a safe environment for children,” she added.

Using the Enough Abuse curriculum, PEI Kids offers free, community workshops for Mercer County groups and community members to educate them on preventing, recognizing and responding appropriately to child sexual abuse. PEI Kids’ therapeutic support groups for child victims of sexual abuse and their families are open to current and prior clients/families of PEI Kids and to girls and their caregivers in the community who are dealing with related issues.

About PEI Kids
PEI Kids’ mission is dedicated to promoting and maintaining a safe environment for all children. PEI Kids’ aspiration for the children of Mercer County, NJ, is “Safe Kids, Sound Futures.” Currently serving approximately 14,000 children and their families each year, PEI Kids began in 1985 when, while working at a rape crisis center, its founders discovered there were no local services tailored for children who had been sexually abused. Since that time, its services have expanded to include Prevention/ Education and Intervention programs relating to personal and online safety, physical and sexual abuse, understanding physical and educational differences, bullying prevention , anger management, gang prevention, and the overall well-being of the child.  PEI Kids is also the lead agency of the Greater Mercer Coalition to Prevent Child Abuse, and the agency provides support services to children in foster care and their families. To learn more about PEI Kids, please call 609-695-3739 or visit www.peikids.org.

About the Princeton Area Community Foundation
The Princeton Area Community Foundation (PACF) is a public charity serving central New Jersey. The Foundation enables individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to create permanent charitable funds that help their communities meet the challenges of changing times. PACF invests and administers these funds, awards grants and scholarships, and provide an array of services to promote philanthropy and supports the local nonprofit sector.

Its Greater Mercer Grants program  is a competitive program benefiting residents of Mercer County, New Jersey. The Community Foundation incorporates social justice into its grant-making by supporting programs and organizations that strive to create opportunity for and with people with the fewest societal resources. The Fund for Women and Girls, founded in 1998, is a passionate group of donors dedicated to supporting girls and the women who raise them throughout the Greater Mercer County region.

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