Oasis is a non-profit organization in Paterson, New Jersey, dedicated to assisting impoverished families who strive to achieve economic independence by providing educational programs to equip women and children with the skills they need to become self-sufficient.  We provide a “hand up, not a hand out” by offering Adult Education classes for women and educational enrichment programs for at-risk youth in the community, completely free of charge.  All programs are designed to help these families succeed in the workplace and in the public education system.

 
In the short twelve years since opening our doors, Oasis has grown from a soup kitchen serving meals to women and children to a “safe haven” where women living in extreme poverty are welcomed with open arms and encouraged to advance their education with the goal of becoming self-sufficient.  Over the past twelve years, not only has our meal program increased from 6,000 meals served in 1997, our first year of operations, to over 63,000 meals served this past fiscal year, BUT we were forced to relocate our operations to a larger facility to accommodate the growing numbers of women and children who have sought enrollment in our Programs!  

Oasis achieved many milestones during our 2008/2009 fiscal year including:

·         Over 350 women registered for Pre-GED, GED, ESL and Computer Training Classes,

·         83 Children attended our After-School and Summer Camp Program,

·         63,415 hot meals were served to needy women and children attending our educational programs and to women in the community during Community Lunch,

·         12,306 volunteer hours were contributed to all programs,

·         12,352  clients were referred to Oasis by partner agencies for basic needs,

·         4,900 women were served by our Clothing Distribution Center

·         3,182 food bags were distributed to Oasis families in need.

Today we are the ONLY non-profit organization in the area providing Adult Education classes that ALSO provides students with a hot nutritious meal, on-site supervised child care for their preschool children, After School and Summer Camp Programs for their school aged children, access to a Food Pantry for weekend care packages and access to a Clothing Distribution center all offered at no charge.   Our Pre-GED literacy program for women is the only educational program offered free of charge in Paterson for women functioning at an elementary education level.  Oasis’ unique and innovative approach to advancing the literacy and economic condition of this community enables our students to remain focused on their education.