Homeworks Trenton, a weekday after-school residential program for marginalized young women based in Trenton, N.J., is celebrating the start of construction for its new base of operations. This facility will service as the organization’s headquarters while providing room and board for the teen scholars seeking to take full advantage of their high school academic opportunities and find new paths to the future.
During the groundbreaking ceremony with Mayor Reed Gusciora in attendance, Homeworks Co-Founder and Executive Director Natalie Tung announced that the Lumena Foundation would contribute a $2 million donation, giving even greater cause for celebration.
“Today’s groundbreaking signifies more than just a new building,” said Tung. “It embodies the dreams, power, and strength of the young women we work alongside. This building will serve as an anchor, allowing us to more closely collaborate with our scholars, parents, and leaders in the Trenton community, and also catapult our organization into a model we hope to scale across the country and world.”
According to the project’s design architect Joshua Zinder, managing partner of Princeton-based JZA+D, the innovative renovation and expansion of the centuries-old structure is on track for completion next year, as is Homeworks Trenton’s fundraising campaign — though there’s still some distance to the finish line.
Once complete, the three-centuries-old historic residence will expand Homeworks Trenton’s current capacity of 20 scholars served to 42. The state-of-the-art facility will offer dorms for the scholars and apartments for live-in staff, as well as a full kitchen, offices, meeting and study rooms, and other amenities. The major expansion and renovation project will transform a three-century-old building into a welcoming dormitory for young women attending public schools nearby.
To make a donation can go to the Campaign for Homeworks House website: https://www.homeworkstrenton.org/campaign
