Clinton Hill Community Action Commemorates Five Years of Service to the Newark Community

Victoria Foundation partner Clinton Hill Community Action (CHCA) recently celebrated five years of community impact in Newark. The South Ward staple – an organization that partners with residents to revitalize the Clinton Hill neighborhood – marked the occasion by hosting a celebratory event and launching its new logo.

"A 5-year Journey of Building Trust" gathered organizational leaders, community residents, and supporters to review CHCA's progress in the community and consider future possibilities in their priorities of food and housing justice, and community building.

The day featured a question-and-answer session with CHCA Executive Director Khaatim Sherrer El, who spoke about the organization and the work CHCA has done in Newark's South Ward over the past five years, which includes organizing community cleanups, starting youth programs, hosting cultural events, holding health programs, opening an award-winning childcare center, and much more.

"Because of CHCA, people are believing again," Sherrer El said. "People are seeing that change and improvement is possible, and it's possible for them – not someone else."

A funder panel, comprised of Sharnita Johnson (Victoria Foundation), Magarethe Laurenzi (Maher Charitable Foundation), and Deb Bentzel (Regional Foundation), shared insights on their partnerships with CHCA. Victoria Foundation's Vice President of Strategy, Impact, and Communications Sharnita C. Johnson said during the panel, "Organized money is powerful, and if we put our resources behind neighborhood efforts such as CHCA, we know the Foundation can make an impact in the community."

Victoria Foundation is proud to partner with CHCA and congratulates the organization on its five years of service to the community.

To learn more about Clinton Hill Community Action, please visit www.clintonhillaction.org.

CHCA ANNIVERSARY – DeNiqua Matias presented CHCA with a commemorative key to the community during the organization's fifth year anniversary celebration. Pictured from left: Patrick Council, South Ward Councilman; Rhenotha Whitaker, Deputy Director of Programs, CHCA; Cheryl Bush, Founding Member of Clinton Hill Community and Early Childhood Center; Khaatim Sherrer El, Executive Director, CHCA; Joan-Marie Foushee', Deputy Director of Operations, CHCA; Dr. Robert Austin, CHCA Board Member; and DeNiqua Matias, Executive Director, Clinton Hill Community and Early Childhood Center.