The Center for Health Education, Medicine and Dentistry (CHEMED) has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund through its 2011 New Jersey grant initiative. One-time grants were given by the Fund to alleviate economic challenges and sustain organizations that favorably impact children across New Jersey. CHEMED was one of 54 organizations selected from a pool of more than 500 proposals from charities requesting funding from across the state.

“We are thrilled that Toys “R”Us has recognized us in this way,” said Dr. Dovid Friedman, CEO. “They clearly support our mission of providing quality health care to New Jersey’s children.”

CHEMED’s mission is to increase access to comprehensive primary and preventative health care and to improve the health status of underserved and vulnerable populations through outreach, disease prevention, and patient education activities.

As a federally qualified health center, CHEMED provides pediatrics, internal medicine, behavioral health, dental and specialty services. Women’s health and radiology services as well as a pharmacy will be introduced in 2011. Since its opening in 2009, more than 10,000 children have visited the health center for health care services.

“Of the many proposals we received, CHEMED demonstrated a distinctive commitment to supporting children in New Jersey,” said Kathleen Waugh, chairman, Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund. “With additional support from the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund this year, we hope that the impact of its meaningful work will be even greater to further our collective efforts in our state to keep kids safe and help them in times of need.”

Grants will support a wide array of unique programs and services aligned with the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund mission of keeping children safe and helping them in times of need. Funding was awarded to nonprofit organizations that demonstrated an immediate and specific need and directly impacted children in the state. Kids in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties will benefit from the impact of the grant initiative through community-based and statewide charities. The $25,000 grant for CHEMED was earmarked to support “Miles of Smiles,” a partnership between CHEMED, the Ocean County Health Department and the Lakewood Board of Education to provide dental cleanings and screenings to local children. To view the complete list of recipients, visit Toysrusinc.com/charitable-giving/2011NJGrants

Toys“R”Us, Inc. has a long history of giving back to the communities it serves by keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. The company and the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund together have given hundreds of thousands of dollars in product donations and monetary grants annually to a wide range of nonprofit organizations in New Jersey. For 38 years, Toys“R”Us, Inc. has been based in New Jersey with more than 4,500 employees across more than 45 stores, regional offices, the corporate headquarters and the company’s largest retail distribution center in the country. For more information about Toys“R”Us, Inc. charitable giving and the Toys“R”Us Children’s Fund, please visit Toysrusinc.com/charitable-giving. [Press Release]