Jersey Shore Magazine

65 Another mural, created through the Engage Toms River Community Mural Project program, at Simply Skin on Water Street in Toms River. Jill Ocone schools across Monmouth and Ocean counties. He added, "It is widely believed that kids become more con- fident, more creative, and more likely to succeed in other facets of their lives when there is a larger emphasis on the arts in their school lives." The anticipated results, from the joint investment in exposing culture and the arts to youth through improving education, are expected to be excit- ing. This program, as well as many future programs, will be housed at the new Jay and Linda Grunin Arts and Education Building at the Count Basie Theatre, which was announced at the official groundbreaking on September 20, 2017. Fulfill NJ, formerly known as the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, fights and plans to defeat hunger in New Jersey. With help from its Impact2 partnership with the Grunin Foundation, Fulfill provided over twelve million meals in 2016. Today, over 50,000 children in Monmouth and Ocean Counties do not have enough to eat every day. Fulfill is committed not only to providing food to neighbors but also many life-changing programs such as culinary training, SNAP enrollment assistance, affordable healthcare, tax refund assistance, mobile pan- tries, and more. With the Grunin Foundation's support, Fulfill wants to eliminate hunger while making the Jersey Shore community stronger and more self-sufficient. What started out as a very small festival to celebrate teen arts in New Jersey has turned into one of the big- gest teen arts festivals in the nation thanks to the Grunin Foundation's partnership with the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival. Jay Grunin said, "This is the premier event for arts students across the state to come together to showcase their talents in the arts including theater, dance, visual arts, creative writing, music, and filmmaking with a chance to win an arts scholarship. Professional adjudicators at the festival provide in-depth critical reviews and analysis of the students' works and perfor- mances." Young artists from around the state are provided the opportunity to receive feedback from profession- als, attend workshops, learn about colleges with art programs and schol- arships in the field, and participate in open mic sessions with professional writers over the three-day spring festival. Grunin added, "The arts are a vital part of our community and economy, and we are proud to partner with so many incredible orga- nizations, including Ocean County College, to bring these esteemed students, teachers, and professional artists under the same roof year after year." In 2016, Jay and Linda Grunin knew it was time to give back to the place that started it all and mold- ed their lives. Working together with New York University School of Law and Ashoka, a pioneer in the field of social entrepreneurship, the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship was established last year. Jay Grunin explained, "Linda and I celebrated our fiftieth reunion at NYU School of Law with the dedication of the Grunin Center continued on page 66

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