The two-time Super Bowl Champion and New Jersey native’s Foundation provided food and resources to 1,200 pre-identified families at its annual signature community outreach event
Today, 2x Super Bowl Champion and 3x Pro-Bowl New Orleans Saints Safety Malcolm Jenkins and The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation (TMJF) hosted its signature community outreach event, Get Ready Fest™, at the CityPlex12 theatre in Newark, NJ co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. Since 2014, TMJF has organized Get Ready Fest™ to support hundreds of pre-identified families experiencing hardship by providing food, health and wellness products, and essential resources. It has now served more than 10,000 families and approximately 40,000 individuals to date.
At the event, Jenkins and TMJF volunteers personally distributed a week’s worth of groceries to 1,200 pre-identified families in Newark’s Central Ward. The Foundation selected Newark as the location for this year’s Get Ready Fest™ due to the region’s high poverty rates and disproportionate levels of food insecurity. One out of every 3.5 residents in the area live below the poverty level, including 37.7% of students enrolled in elementary schools (grades 1 - 4). The generous support from Amazon, Amerigroup and other regional businesses allowed this event to be a successful milestone in the genesis of TMJF’s long-term commitment to making a difference in the lives of Newark’s residents.
Gwendolyn V. Jenkins, President and CEO of The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation, welcomed families and introduced Newark’s Mayor, The Honorable Ras J. Baraka who gave remarks in addition to her son, Malcolm.
“As a New Jersey native, this community has been an important part of my upbringing. My mother and her family were raised here. It’s important that we come together to serve the needs of our friends and residents and help them thrive. I’m grateful for our volunteers, the City of Newark and generous partners like Amazon and Amerigroup for supporting The Foundation and our Get Ready Fest™ families,” said Malcolm Jenkins, Founder and Chairman, The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation.
In addition to supplying the families with food and personal items, Get Ready Fest™ offered a multitude of services and resources with the support from community partners. Amazon’s staff provided job placement opportunities for employment while Amerigroup distributed information about health insurance and health care benefits.
Additional services provided by various community partners included:
Community information and resources about housing and rental assistance, emergency food services, home safety, homeless prevention, rapid rehousing, victims assistance, reentry services for formerly incarcerated individuals
Administering COVID-19 vaccines
Medical health screenings and behavioral health screenings with additional follow-up services
Newark Public Library programs, applications and library cards
Financial coaching, income support, career development, employment opportunities, job training
Youth programs, education opportunities, college campus visits and helpful parent information for beginning of the school year
Giveaways, activities, games, apparel, and items such as snacks, water, toiletries, masks, hand sanitizer, etc.
"I'm excited for the Get Ready Fest to come to the great City of Newark! Ensuring that our residents have the basic needs in our City such as fresh and healthy produce and food for their families is extremely important. I'm thankful to the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation for selecting the City of Newark to host this impactful and much needed event," said Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver.
Community partners assisting with the event included Better Life Wellness Center, Caleb Love Foundation, Changing Paths, City of Newark Homeless Coalition, Essex County College, Fibromyalgia Care Society of America, Inc, FOCUS NJ, Habakkuk’s Vision Charitable Ministries, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newark, Integrity House, La Casa de Don Pedro, Lincoln Park Wellness, National Career Institute, New Community Corporation, Newark Board of Education, Newark Department of Health and Community Wellness, Newark Emergency Services for Families, Newark Enrolls, Newark Public Library, Newark Workforce Development Board, Newark YMCA, NJCRI, Office of Early Childhood, Newark Board of Education, Papa John’s, Project My Brother's Keeper, PSEG, Raise the Flag, Rutgers Speech-Language Pathology Clinic, Soldier On, The Salvation Army, United Community Corporation, Unstoppable Girls, and Urban League of Essex County. St. James Social Service Corporation was TMJF’s lead liaison to identify vulnerable families for the Get Ready Fest™ event.
