The F.M. Kirby Foundation is a true Cheshire Champion, having enabled us to consistently upgrade our health care facility for four decades. Since Cheshire was founded, the F.M. Kirby Foundation has donated over $825,000 in funding towards capital projects. In 2021, the Foundation awarded Cheshire Home a $20,000 grant to fund a new air conditioning unit with additional U/V filtration and ventilation system.
This was the latest of many projects supported by the Foundation, including the expansion of the Physical and Occupational Therapy Center, renovation of the main entrance of our facility and reception area, dining room, terrace, shower suites, nursing station and a host of other projects!
F. M. Kirby is a family foundation with deep roots in our local community. Its philosophy of financial support reflects its belief that “when people are united in a charitable cause, which is right and good, the impossible becomes possible.” Dedicated to encouraging independence and self-determination for all people, the foundation supports education, health and medicine, the arts and humanities, civic and public affairs, and religious, welfare and youth organizations.
The Hyde & Watson Foundation located in Warren, New Jersey, has been a very generous supporter of Cheshire Home since the late 1980s and has awarded Cheshire over $260,000 since then. We dedicate these funds to upgrades to our health care facility. Our most recent grant of $15,000 was toward the purchase of a new call bell system. The new system will allow the staff and residents to communicate properly and efficiently with its updated technology.
In the past, the Foundation also supported the construction of a new nursing office, and the renovation of our lobby, dining room, living room, and corridors, and the exterior painting of our health care facility. They have also helped in funding new hospital beds, refrigeration unit and upgrades to our security camera systems.
The Foundation dedicates itself to capital projects such as renovations, upgrades, and equipment purchase. It also offers limited support for scientific research, education, social services, the arts, health, religion, and humanities, to Essex, Morris, and Union Counties.
Mimi Washington Starrett Foundation is a grantmaking foundation supporting nonprofit organizations that have a meaningful impact on the well-being and economic development of the greater Morris County community. They focus in areas of health, addiction, and homelessness; animal welfare; equal education opportunities; access to the arts; and environmental and historical preservation.
In 2022, the Foundation awarded Cheshire Home $25,000 to help replace our outdated HVAC system.
Kessler Foundation is focused on helping change the lives of people with disabilities by preparing them for the workplace and conducting rehabilitation research. Kessler Rehabilitation Institute and Kessler Foundation have built a strong bond and connection with Cheshire Home over the years.
The Foundation has helped fund Cheshire since the early 2000s, awarding over $330,000 to our organization. Most recently, Kessler awarded a $40,000 grant to support the newly developed Work From Home (WFH) Vocational Program to help provide residents with the programs and services they need to gain skills that can be utilized in the at home/remote workplace. Kessler Foundation has made a true impact on Cheshire’s Community Resource Center for many years now and has helped change the lives of so many residents.
Union Foundation has been Distinguished Donors to Cheshire Home since the late 1990s. Their funding focuses on capital items such as equipment to building funds, which is exactly how they have supported Cheshire for many years with over $110,000 in total. Most recently, the Foundation granted Cheshire $9,900 to help fund the purchase of a new UpperTone Machine for the Physical Therapy Department and thermal scanners for the building. The new equipment gives residents the abilities to work specific muscle groups at a time while focusing on their personal goals to build strength, all from the comfort of their wheelchair. The thermal scanner will ensure everyone entering the building is safe, easily being able to scan for temperature, mask presence and facial recognition. Being able to identify safety threats and COVID-19 exposures is a key component to keeping the staff and residents safe at Cheshire Home.
Over the years, the Union Foundation has funded additional equipment for the Physical Therapy Department, laptops and monitors for the nursing system, renovations to our group homes, shower room and bathrooms, and purchase of equipment for the Community Resource Center.
Craig H. Neilsen Foundation has returned to the Cheshire Home Family of supporters and is a true Cheshire Champion. Located in California, the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation supports individuals with spinal cord injuries, and those who care for them, to help them live full and productive lives as active participants in their communities.
Their funding is dedicated to supporting both programs and scientific research to improve the quality of life for those affected by and living with spinal cord injuries.
In 2021, the Foundation awarded Cheshire Home $75,000 to help fund renovations to the kitchens at Cheshire Home, Cheshire II, and Cheshire III. The new kitchens will include state-of-the-art adaptive equipment and assistive technology to help teach young adults with spinal cord injuries to cook for future independent living. Our occupational therapy department will assist in helping residents build the strength they need and the dexterity of muscle groups to help relearn the physical skills needed for cooking.
