East Windsor’s Rise Recognized By Council For Serving Community Members In Need

EAST WINDSOR, NJ - Rise, a community action partnership in East Windsor was recently recognized for the work they do in serving residents in need.

Mayor Janice S. Mironov and Council Members issued a Mayoral Proclamation to Rise recognizing May as “Community Action Month.”

Rise offers a variety of community programs and services providing social support and opportunities, including food distribution, thrift shop, workforce training and placement, health and wellness education, tutoring and summer enrichment programs.

“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,” Mironov said.

"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 is the largest social service agency and food pantry in Eastern Mercer County whose mission is to assist those recovering from setbacks and helping them achieve 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 began in 2006, is an outlet for donations and serves the local community while also helping fund the non-profits’ work. They have helped local children by distributing over 1,400 pairs of pajamas and over 1,300 backpacks, in addition to offering youth and teens various programming

They also provide health and wellness services, Domestic Violence Prevention, onsite counseling, health screenings and more

The Mayoral Proclamation 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.”