Focusing on the Hearts and Minds of Today’s Youth
Hearts of Mercy is a nonprofit organization that provides support, care and guidance in the lives of underserved children in the Barnegat and Manahawkin communities. With our focus on the hearts and minds of today’s youth, we establish close relationships with local elementary, middle, and high schools in order to deepen our understanding of the needs of the children in our program. We provide tutoring, mentoring, access to sports and enrichment throughout the academic year as well as summer camp. With these opportunities, we expose our students to new people, places, and experiences that aid in positive growth and development.
Tutors
Mentors
Family Support
Youth Group
Sports and Enrichment
Outreach Activities
Our History
My name is Kristin Santorelli, founder of Hearts of Mercy. HOM is a 501c3 organization serving youth in Barnegat and the surrounding communities. We stand as advocates for many of our low income children and families. By cultivating relationships between schools, churches, and local organizations, children are supported at home and in school. This becomes particularly important beginning in the challenging middle school years and beyond.
In order to encourage students academic and social development, we offer a
tutoring and mentoring program two days a week during the school year. We also sponsor students in sports programs and extracurricular activities. Through these efforts we are seeing a difference in the children and a renewed hope in their parents. We have become very close with many area families, and we continue to reach out to build trust and lasting friendships. It’s encouraging to know that our community partners are willing to offer their resources to work together with us towards the same goal – strong families and resilient children.
Hearts of Mercy is quickly growing. We are looking for local professionals with a sincere interest in our mission who may be interested in sharing some or their time and talents with our organization. Please click on the button below to be connected to the volunteer page, or contact me at [email protected]
Guiding Principles
Accountability
We hold ourselves and one another responsible for ensuring that our organization maximizes its impact, we do what we say, and will use available tools and resources to make sure we do
Commitment
We are deeply connected with children, their families, and our community. We commit to allowing their voices to guide our work, and to helping them thrive. If our organization doesn’t provide the kind of help they need, we look for other organizations or services that can better meet their needs.
Compassion
We value and strive to recognize and understand the perspectives, feelings, and lived experiences of others, including and especially those most different from ourselves, and to treat one a
Hope
Children and families can lose hope when they experience problems, setbacks, frustration, or disappointments. We help them see the possibilities again by finding achievable ways to overcome challenges, celebrate their successes along the way, and build their self-confidence.
Inclusion
We believe everyone deserves a chance to live their full potential. We believe that our organization and our community are stronger when people with diverse identities, backgrounds, and perspectives have barrier-free access to all of the opportunities that full engagement and participation offer. Each day, we work to make our organization more equitable and inclusive.
Integrity
We take on the responsibility of making sure that the organization governs and operates ethically and legally. We conduct ourselves in a way to build trust in all of our relationships. Our board, staff, and volunteers must act in the best interest of the organization, rather personal or third party interests. We maintain transparency in all we do