Home ownership is a dream that can seem out of reach for many families in Essex County. For those who live in cramped, run down or unsafe housing, even though they work hard for a living, Habitat for Humanity Newark is announcing its first Family Selection Committee Orientations of 2010.

Potential applicants can attend one of the two orientations on Saturday, March 13^th at the Habitat Newark Volunteer Center, 298 South Orange Avenue in Newark.  The first orientation will be held at 9:30 a.m. and the second one will be held at 10:15 a.m.

Applications will be randomly selected and reviewed under strict guidelines based upon a family’s ability to afford the mortgage, need to change current living conditions and willingness to partner with Habitat Newark.

Applicants must attend one of the mandatory Orientation Meetings and follow the guidelines as discussed at this meeting.

To apply and participate in this program, applicants must have both a clean and current credit history, and have an annual salary between $25,300 and $76,250, depending on the size of the family. Partner families must put in a minimum of 400 hours of ‘sweat equity’ before moving into their home. 

If you are interested in building and owning your own home, please attend our orientation or contact Habitat Newark’s main office at 298 South Orange Avenue, Newark, NJ 07103-2436.

Habitat for Humanity, Newark, which serves all of Essex County has built 69 homes in Newark and has plans to build additional homes in Newark, West Orange and other municipalities in Essex County.

About Habitat for Humanity, Newark

Habitat for Humanity, Newark, founded in 1986, is an ecumenical Christian ministry dedicated to building simple, decent homes with low income families in Essex County. Using volunteer labor and tax deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat for Humanity, Newark has helped 69 low income families move into new homes. Partner families contribute 400 hours of “sweat equity” in their home or other homes financed with zero interest loans.

NEWARK, NJ – Preparation for the 34th Annual Essex County Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off with a press conference today, and it was announced that $2.5 million will go toward improving Essex County Branch Brook Park.

Several state and county dignitaries were in attendance for the announcement of the festival's event line-up as well as the unveiling of three improvement projects for the park.

NEWARK, NJ – Senior citizens in the city are taking steps to learn about crime prevention and 93 year-old Margaret Jackson and 91 year-old Egbert Emanuel Ellis are just two of the Senior Citizen Police Academy's students.

The program holds free classes for seniors ages 55 and older for 10 weeks at the Police and Fire Communications Center. Held on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., the academy trains seniors on crime intervention tactics, how to detect and report criminal activity, firearms instruction and day-to-day operations of the Newark Police Department.

Newark residents will get a chance to take part in the city's first film festival for women next month at the "Breakthroughs in Courage" event hosted by Women In Media-Newark.

The films will be presented by two local filmmakers on Saturday, March 13 at the Paul Robeson Student Center on the Rutgers University-Newark campus from 12 to 6 p.m. The festival is free to the public and will feature the semi-autobiographical film "The End of Winter," the award-winning "The Ultimate Betrayal: A Survivor's Journey" and "Pray the Devil Back to Hell."