United Way Honors RWJBarnabas Health For ALICE Advocacy

Press release from United Way of Northern New Jersey:

Jan. 26, 2021

RWJBarnabas Health will be awarded the ALICE Impact Award for championing the ALICE movement during United Way of Northern New Jersey’s Winter Gala to Celebrate ALICE on February 11.

The livestreamed fundraiser, which will feature Broadway performers and a silent auction, will support the nonprofit’s work to advance economic equity for the individuals United Way calls ALICE. The term stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed and represents many of the workers who have been hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The inequities faced by ALICE workers have been on display throughout the pandemic, as many of these essential workers have been on the front lines of this crisis as our supermarket workers, home health aides, office cleaning staff, and child care teachers.

“United Way is proud to honor RWJBarnabas Health as a changemaker for ALICE as it has taken concrete action to nurture both the health and financial wellness of its employees, patients, and communities,” said United Way of Northern New Jersey CEO Kiran Gaudioso. “RWJBarnabas Health serves as an example for how others can work to affect change within their sphere of influence.”

From the crafting of an enterprise-wide strategic plan that promotes ALICE-friendly initiatives, including career ladders and pay advance loans for their employees, to the education and recruitment of peers to the movement, the state’s largest integrated health care delivery system has set itself apart as a leader, Gaudioso added.

“RWJBarnabas Health is proud to partner with the United Way of Northern New Jersey and advance efforts in support of ALICE,” said Barry H. Ostrowsky, President and CEO, RWJBarnabas Health. “We view these initiatives as an integral part of our mission to improve the health and well-being of our wonderfully diverse communities and are truly humbled by the receipt of this award.”

The event will also recognize United Way’s retired CEO John Franklin with the inaugural ALICE Hero Award. Franklin believed that the ALICE research could lead to redefining financial hardship and improving live for ALICE and all in New Jersey and across the country.

Throughout his 20-year career with United Way, Franklin led the project from its inception in Morris County into a multi-state grassroots movement. Today, some 650 United Ways in 21 states, corporations and foundations are all using the same methodology to document financial need and work to secure equity for ALICE.

For more information about United Way’s Winter Gala to Celebrate ALICE, visit: https://uwnnj.org/wintergala.

This press release was produced by United Way of Northern New Jersey. The views expressed here are the author's own.