The fund helps groups including food banks, tutoring programs, housing assistance programs and more.
While all of the beneficiaries said they were grateful for the help, many said they would have liked to see the fund continue because their needs have not yet been satisfied. Concerned about fundraising efforts, they did not want to be identified.“Now, as we have moved from pandemic to endemic, NJPRF will wind down, as was always intended. By any measure, it was overwhelmingly successful,” she said.
The first lady, known as a prolific fundraiser, is chairwoman of a group called Stronger Fairer Forward, He said New Jersey is still feeling the impact of the pandemic and it probably will for years, noting that with the fund’s shutdown, “maybe something else has to fill the void.”