FOR RELEASE:  June 14, 2023

Mayor Janice S. Mironov and Council Members issued a Mayoral Proclamation recognizing May as “Community Action Month” to Rise, a Community Action Partnership, serving the East Windsor-Hightstown community.  Rise administers a variety of community programs and services providing social support and opportunities to individuals and families, including food distribution, thrift shop, workforce training and placement, health and wellness education, tutoring and summer enrichment programs.   

Mayor Mironov stated, “Community Action Month in May provides an opportunity to recognize and thank local organization Rise as a Community Action Service Center serving large numbers of individuals and families in our community.  Last year alone, Rise distributed over 173,500 bags of food and over 2,500 bags of personal care items at the Rise Pantry.  We appreciate the work of Rise and our community members who donated over 21,500 volunteer hours to Rise in 2022, giving back to help the impactful operations of Rise.”

Rise, a Community Action Partnership, is the largest social service agency and food pantry in Eastern Mercer County whose mission is to assist local families and individuals in recovering from setbacks and achieving their full potential, through partnerships and direct and emergency services.   In 2022, Rise was assisted by over 1,200 volunteers, helped over 2,900 families and assisted over 100 families with food stamp benefit applications.  

The Rise Food Pantry provides non-perishable groceries, fresh produce, personal products, baby items, household cleaning supplies, coats, children’s books and pet products.  Over 7,100 families have been served at Drive-Thru Food Distribution events, over 20,000 hot meals have been served through the partnership with the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and in 2022 nearly 18,000 bags of baby supplies were distributed. 

The Rise Thrift Store, which opened in 2006, is an outlet for donations and serves the local community while also helping fund the non-profits’ work.  Rise has helped local children by distributing over 1,400 pairs of pajamas and over 1,300 backpacks, in addition to offering youth and teen programming, including Summer Enrichment, a week-long overnight Summer Teen Leadership Conference; Rise to College Readiness, which provides support for students applying for college; Rise Youth Entrepreneurship, which creates opportunities for area youth to engage in entrepreneurial ventures; Year-Round STEAM Programming and the Rise Snack Shack, which provides youths and teens free snacks and is located within the Rise Thrift Store. 

Rise also provides health and wellness services including the Medi-Cool program, which provides air conditioning units for low-income seniors and adults with disabilities, the Families Understanding Nutrition program, Domestic Violence Prevention, Onsite Counseling and health screenings.  Additionally, Rise offers the English Language Learner program, which is a needs-based program and helps parents read and write English with more confidence and ease.

The Mayoral Proclamation issued by Mayor Mironov states,  “Community Action Service Center d/b/a Rise extends a helping hand to local families and individuals who are struggling to meet day-to-day needs and promotes community-wide solutions to challenges throughout our cities, suburbs and rural areas through a host of social service programs.  Community Action is celebrating 59 years of innovation, impact, and providing proven results for Americans, including Rise’s work in Central New Jersey to support those in need.”

Mayor Janice S. Mironov and Council Members present Proclamation recognizing “Community Action Month” to Rise, a Community Service Partnership, which provides extensive social services and support to families and individuals in the East Windsor-Hightstown community.  Pictured (from left to right) are: Council Member Peter Yeager;  Council Member Denise Daniels;  Mayor Janice S. Mironov;  Leslie Koppel, Executive Director – Rise;  Nancy Walker Laudenberger, Board President – Rise;  Deputy Mayor Marc Lippman, and Council Member John Zoller.