Press Release

Heat Doesn't Wilt the Spirit of Pre-Mother's Day Picnic:
Mathematica Sponsors Annual Event for
Homeless Kids and Parents

Princeton, N.J. (May 15, 2000)—On May 7, more than 170 people, including homeless children and their families served by HomeFront, enjoyed a spring picnic with a Mother’s Day theme sponsored by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., at the Princeton Meadows Country Club. The picnic, an annual Mathematica event for ten years, gives families a special way to socialize and celebrate Mother’s Day with home-cooked food, activities, and games.

Mathematica staff started the picnic in 1991 as a way to make Mother’s Day special for families who might otherwise spend the day in the motel rooms along the Route 1 corridor that provide temporary shelter to many of Mercer County’s homeless families. Mathematica employees organize the picnic, prepare home-made dishes, fire up the barbecue, and organize craft activities for the kids to make Mother’s Day gifts. Kids enjoyed sack races, softball, playground activities, and arts and crafts.

HomeFront supports homeless families by providing meals, housing assistance, employment services, tutoring programs, and other services, aimed at making them self-sufficient. Mathematica has a long history of working with HomeFront to help improve the quality of life for these families. The company contributes directly to HomeFront each year, including matching contributions for staff volunteer time. Additionally, the Mathematica HomeFront Steering Committee conducts an annual spring fundraiser to raise money to support special activities, which include the picnic; a holiday gift drive; outings to parks, plays, and museums; and collection of clothing, household goods, and back-to-school supplies. Mathematica volunteers also tutor the children of HomeFront families.

A broad array of local businesses donate items for the picnic. This year’s donors included Acme (West Windsor and Lawrenceville), Dunkin Donuts (West Windsor), Edward’s Super Food Store (Ewing), Halo Farm, Home Depot, McCaffrey’s, Pathmark (West Windsor), Pennington Quality Market, Rita’s Water Ice, SuperFresh (Plainsboro), Thomas Sweet, Walmart, and Wegman’s.

Mathematica^®, one of the nation’s leading independent research firms, conducts policy research and surveys for federal and state governments, foundations, and private clients. The employee-owned firm, with offices in Princeton, N.J., Washington, D.C., and Cambridge, Mass., has conducted some of the most important studies of health care, education, welfare, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs in the United States. Mathematica strives to improve public well-being by bringing the highest standards of quality, objectivity, and excellence to bear on the provision of information collection and analysis to its clients.

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