Montclair, NJ

Montclair NJ Non-Profit Awarded National Business Grant

Investing In Women has awarded a $500 “stimulus package” to a woman owned business, The Underground Railroad To Success. The URS was started by Tanisha Cunningham to teach independence to foster children. This grant will give the non-profit a chance to market their business.

Montclair NJ, November 9, 2009- Investing In Women www.iiWomen.com has awarded their first grant to a woman owned business in the USA. The recipient of the award is Tanisha Cunningham, founder of The Underground Railroad to Success (www.railroad2success.com). The URS is a non-profit that provides a service to foster children aging out of the system to live independently as adults while becoming an integral part of society. This is great for foster children and also has a positive affect on our society as a whole.

“Aging out” is the term used for children who go into foster care, but are never returned to their families of origin or adopted by others. They stay in the system until they turn 18, or graduate from high school, and for the most part, are left to fend for themselves as best they can.

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We're going for unique next weekend in Montclair, NJ and surrounding towns by holding the first ever Condo Crawl. In just a week, more than 30 agents signed on to represent their current condo listings next Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1-4.

We've gotten the popular local editorial blog, Baristanet.com, to sponsor us. They've put up a banner ad and a PDF listing addresses and descriptions of all the opens (check it out at baristanet.com/crawl) and local papers are also featuring the event. Our cute crawl signs will be staked in front of every open.

It's kind of like speed dating for condos -- efficient shopping and comparison with a blast of availability. Anyone who's been saying it's time to downsize or perhaps to make that first move into the market will be able to compare and contrast withough stretching out the activity. We know that Mr. and Ms. Condo Owner don't mind the attention.

Will the people come? That's the idea, but we've got to make it happen. Agents committed to participating I hope are blogging their brains out right now to each of their circles of influence. We're Twittering, schmoozing on Facebook, spreading the word. Who knows, maybe it will end up being a mondo condo crawl.

Located just 13 miles from mid-town Manhattan, Montclair began as a mountain retreat and artists' community in the 1900's. Today, numerous eclectic restaurants, theatres, and shops make this a ‘destination town' for surrounding communities throughout northern New Jersey. Sophisticated young urbanites reaching child-rearing years, many from Manhattan and Brooklyn, move here drawn by the town's gracious tree-lined streets, diversity of population and lifestyles, and cultural opportunities.

Numerous well known public figures live in Montclair, and many residents are members of national media and entertainment industries. The town has an excellent public schools system along with several private and parochial schools. Montclair is home to Montclair State University, as well as an excellent Art Museum, a baseball field where the Jackals play home games, and the Yogi Berra Museum.

Montclair's largest commercial area is Bloomfield Ave, which includes a movie theater, many shops, banks and other services, and a large variety of both affordable and upscale eateries. Bloomfield Avenue is also home to the recently renovated Wellmont Theater (circa 1922), which has hosted renown musicians and entertainers including BB King and Tony Bennett. Other smaller commercial centers along Bellevue Avenue, Watchung Avenue, and Walnut Street also offer shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues frequented by the community.

There has been some new condo development here recently, but homes are for the most party single-family detached, circa 1880's through 1930's. Most lots are about a quarter acre but grander homes can occupy a half acre or more. Many splendid turn of the century houses are designated historic landmarks.

Commuter transportation is superb, with extensive bus routes, as well as six train stations along the Montclair Boonton Line, plus the newly completed NJ Transit commuter rail hub, Montclair Connection, which goes directly into Manhattan.

Although Montclair is almost completely developed, various town and county parks and gardens dot the landscape. These include the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, dedicated to cultivating and displaying a rich variety of irises, as well as Brookdale Park, the second largest park in Essex County, and reputedly designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the renowned landscape architect who created NYC's Central Park. Learn more about Montclair, its neighborhoods and homes at http://www.homesandlandnnj.com/flippy

Walter Springer

wspringer@homesandland.com

I found this charming and heartening video on Brendan King's blog:

www.agreatertown.com/needham_heights_ma/entrepreneurs_can_change_the_world_00092685

Hope it picks up your spirits in these dreary times, as it did mine.