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The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund

Introduction to Grant Projects

Mercy Home for Children (recommended by overseas office)

PLANT, GROW, GIVE

Activity grant

Project Description

This project encourages people with developmental disabilities to participate in the community by conducting practical instruction on creating an urban garden. The participants grow and harvest their own produce in these gardens which is then donated to collaborating local organizations and used to provide healthy food for the elderly and single parent families in Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau, New York.

Grant year
FY2013 Activity Grants
Grant term
2 years
October 2013 - September 2015
Grant amount
3,507,200 yen
Activity region
New York, USA
One of the participants of the program displaying his produce

Overview of the Organization

Kay Crumlish, Executive Director
Representative
Kay Crumlish, Executive Director
Establishment
1862
Establishment purpose
Mercy Home's mission is to ensure the quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities through the recognition of each person's inherent dignity and right to a life filled with learning and love. Our mission is fulfilled in practice through our core values: respect, trust, teamwork, care, and compassion. In 2013, our 151st year, Mercy Home has evolved from its origins as an orphanage to meet the wider needs of the community. In the 1970s it partnered with the OPWDD (The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities; formerly OMRDD) to provide a resdiential program for children with severe developmental disabilities. In 1978 it established 13 group homes. Currently it manages six interim care facilities, and seven Individual Residential Alternatives programs for 109 participants, and provides services such as Medicaid Service Coordination, the Mitsui Creative Arts Program, the JPS Creative Arts Program, Melodic Soul, and small-scale day rehabilitation programs to 200 children, youths, and adults. All programs are provided completely free of charge.
Main area of activity
New York, USA
Staff
156 full-time staff members, 144 part-time staff members and 109 full members
Annual operating budget
2,185,907TL in 2012 (100.55 million yen; JPY46/TL)
WEB site
http://www.mercyhomeny.org
Collaborating organizations
Carlo's Legacy, Brooklyn Grange Farmers, The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Main areas of activity

Recent activities

  • Accepted into OPWDD's distinguished Compass program as part of the top 1% of all service providers in New York
  • Expanded College of Direct Support training to include newly appointed and mid-level management
  • Held a joint exhibition with the Young Professionals Organization and Brooklyn's Pratt Institute. It displayed exhibits created by Pratt postgraduate students and Mercy Home's Gifted Artist program members
  • Developed the Plant, Grow, Give program to create urban gardens in three locations in Brooklyn and Queens
  • Provided a meaningful volunteer experience through Greenpoint Reformed Church
  • Provided a volunteer experience for extremely severely disabled individuals operating a soup kitchen and food pantry through Carlo's Legacy