Extraordinary Residential School for At-Risk Youth Seeking: Trustees, Donors, Volunteers, Partners, and Friends
The Trustees of The Bonnie Brae School are interested in attracting individuals with experience or interest in education, mental health, medical care, fundraising, marketing, and residential care who wish to invest their time and energy toward helping improve the lives of at-risk youth and their families. In addition, the Trustees are committed to increasing the active participation of women and minorites in service to realizing the agency’s Vision and Mission.
Located on 100 beautiful acres in Bernards Towship, New Jersey, Bonnie Brae, which is a Scottish term for “beautiful hillside,” is an extraordinary residential treatment center and school whose Mission is: Empowering youth and families to achieve small victories every day through comprehensive care and education. Our Vision is: Transforming more lives of at-risk youth and their families through a nationally recognized model of care.
In 1916, Judge Harry V. Osborne founded this sanctuary for boys with few alternatives for a safe place to live, go to school, work, grow up and heal. Bonnie Brae receives boys/young men from nearly every New Jersey county. Our residents average over 5 out-of-home placements before arriving with us and have experienced abuse, abandonment, neglect; they struggle with the emotional sequelae to trauma, addiction, physical and sexual abuse.
In our second century of existence, we are looking for individuals who can help us realize our Vision as “a nationally recognize model of care” by helping us develop a more aggressive marketing strategy, enhance our fundraising efforts, expand our aftercare services and explore the viability of our treating girls/young women.
Bonnie Brae offers a strengths-based, trauma-informed, comprehensive care, which includes:
- Residential Living: Residents are provided with compassionate care and a structured living environment.
- Clinical Care: Staff has expertise in helping youth with significant mental health, substance abuse, and family challenges.
- Healthcare: Medical staff provides treatment for illness and injuries, while establishing trusting relationships.
- Education: Specialized education is provided in small classes tailored to meet each boy’s individual needs.
- Recreation: Through sports, arts, and outdoor activities, the recreation teams provide opportunities for youth to learn communications skills, problem solve and develop meaningful interests.
- Work Experience: Youth learn the value of work while gaining essential skills, basic training, and certifications needed to enter into the world of work.
- Community-Based Transitional Living: Young men gain independence by living in the community at one of our three community-based transitional living residences.
- Aftercare: We provide services and treatment that provide a bridge of support for our graduates with their transition from our campus to home or other independent living settings.
- Intensive In-Community Services: Our clinicians visit families in their homes and offer therapeutic counseling as preventive measure and post discharge care.
In our first 100 years, Bonnie Brae has helped over 10,000 boys and their families, with consistently outstanding results:
When boys arrive at Bonnie Brae:- 64% had been runaways
- 67% had been abused, neglected or witnessed violence inside or outside the home
- 70% were taking psychotropic medications
- 95% had school problems including multiple suspensions, expulsions and truancy
- 85% have graduated successfully from our program
- 64% were reunified with their families and 67% felt Bonnie Brae helped them to get along better with family members, friends and other people
- 67% either decreased or were reduced to no psychotropic medications
- 100% of eligible seniors graduated from High School
- 81% are living in the community in stable living arrangements
- 44% are working part-time or full-time jobs in the community
- 73% are enrolled in high school or have graduated
- 26% are enrolled in post-secondary education
- 60% have had no contact with the criminal justice system
For more information, please contact: Director of Development David R. Fox, PhD, at dfox@bonnie-brae.org or visit us on our website (www.bonnie-brae.org), on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter
