Media Contact:

Dr. Richard Lecher
President and CEO
973-383-7442
[email protected]

Augusta, NJ (September 3, 2019) – SCARC, Sussex County’s primary provider of services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities, is proud to announce that it has again received a $15,000 grant from the UPS Foundation. This important gift helps to fund SCARC’s Summer Experience program, which provides new and exciting indoor and outdoor experiences for teens and young adults with developmental disabilities. For a full decade now, the UPS Foundation has provided SCARC with generous annual grants that have enabled the Sussex County organization to continue to develop new and innovative programming for the young people SCARC serves.

The UPS Foundation grant serves as an integral source of financial support for SCARC’s popular Summer Experience program, which is offered in four sets of two-week-long sessions throughout the months of June, July, and August. The program, aimed at individuals from 15 to 21, is also funded by other generous private donors who make these experiences possible for those SCARC serves. Summer Experience offers access to community-based activities that support socialization, help individuals develop new skills, and expose participants to exciting educational opportunities.

This summer, 40 teenagers and young adults with developmental disabilities had a wonderful time visiting historical sites, enjoying the outdoors, and trying new things. Outings through the program include visits to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Turtleback Zoo, and Liberty Science Center, as well as local water and amusement parks, movie theaters, laser tag and bowling facilities, and state parks!

“SCARC’s commitment to this underserved population aligns with our goal to invest in organizations who embrace those with different challenges, backgrounds, and experiences,” remarked Eduardo Martinez, the president of the UPS Foundation. “We are honored to again support SCARC’s tireless efforts on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities. This is one community organization that clearly has a profound and lasting impact on the lives and futures of those they serve.”

To receive consideration for the UPS Foundation’s grant support, organizations are encouraged to engage UPS employees as volunteers. When UPS employees volunteer 50 or more hours at an organization, that nonprofit becomes eligible for grant nomination by the UPS Foundation’s local Community Involvement Committee. The UPS’s commitment to volunteerism is so strong that the organization pledged that it would provide 20 million volunteer hours to charities throughout the world by 2020 (a goal the UPS is on track to meet)!

SCARC held a UPS Volunteer Day in April of this year, during which time dozens of UPS employees and their families performed “spring cleanup” activities at many of the organization’s group homes and program facilities throughout Sussex County. Over the course of that day alone, UPS’s generous volunteers clocked 178 hours of volunteerism. As a result of their efforts, SCARC received the $15,000 grant, and was able to continue its now-decade-long relationship with the UPS Foundation.

“We love seeing so many of the UPS’s employees return to SCARC year after year,” remarks Richard C. Lecher, SCARC’s president and CEO. “It is directly because of their dedication and commitment to our organization that we’re able to receive this wonderful gift of funding for our Summer Experience each year. The youth engaged in this program enjoy their outings immensely and benefit greatly from it. We are so grateful to the UPS Foundation for granting us the priceless gift of seeing participants’ joyful faces as they experience all that our Summer Experience program has to offer.”

For more information about SCARC’s Summer Experience program or to learn more about SCARC’s work on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities, please contact Dr. Lecher or visit www.scarc.org.

About SCARC, Inc.

Originally established in 1957 by a group of families seeking services for their own children with developmental disabilities, SCARC has grown to serve more than 650 adults and children with developmental disabilities each year, offering a wealth of opportunities for them to live with purpose and value in the community. Currently, the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offers employment, recreation, and family services and operates many group homes, supported living apartments, and day programs throughout Sussex County in order to fulfill its mission to provide high-quality services and supports to people with developmental disabilities and their families. Please visit www.scarc.org to learn more.