Skip to Civic & Community Engagement Center (CCEC) site navigationSkip to main content

Community Partners and Projects

Community Partners and Projects

The Civic and Community Engagement Center (CCEC) promotes, facilitates, and organizes community service by members of the Ramapo College community. In promoting service, the center aims to support a lifetime commitment to civic engagement within the student body.

Our office works with a variety of community service partners and hosts service trips for students to attend during weekdays and weekends so that they can give back to their community. Listed are partners we have contact with and/or have recently worked with:

Bergen County Animal Shelter

The Bergen County Animal Shelter aims to to: promote the humane treatment of all animals, reunite lost pets with owners, encourage adoption, foster care and wildlife rehabilitation, reduce animal populations through spay/neuter (TNR) and education of the public in animal welfare, and support the community in responsible pet ownership. 


Visit the Bergen County Animal Shelter’s Website

Pony Power Therapies

Pony Power Therapies was founded by Executive Director Dana Spett, DSW in 2000 to provide horse-assisted activities to children and adults who need extra support. A lifelong equestrian, Dana discovered therapeutic horseback riding while researching alternative therapies for one of her daughters with mild special needs. Pony Power also offers nature-based activities, both as stand-alone programs and as a complement to activities with horses.


Visit Pony Power’s Website

Ramapo Bergen Animal Refuge, Inc.

RBARI’s mission is to provide a safe haven for animals without homes, offering them compassionate care and the chance to find loving, permanent living situations. As a no-kill shelter, they are dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming animals in need while advocating for responsible pet ownership and animal welfare.


Visit RBARI’s Website

TevaLand Sanctuary Farm

TevaLand Sanctuary Farm offers a variety of educational programs which encourage participants to both heal and be nurtured by nature via a mutually beneficial, hands-on, therapeutic process.


Visit TevaLand’s Website

return to top Return to Top Icon

Andrew Goodman Foundation

The Andrew Goodman Foundation supports youth leadership development, voting accessibility, and social justice initiatives on campuses across the country with mini-grants and programmatic support to select institutions of higher learning across the United States. The organization’s vision is that young people will become active, engaged citizens who ensure a just democracy and sustainable future.


Visit the Andrew Goodman Foundation’s Website

Narrative 4

Narrative 4 equips young people to harness the power of stories to drive change in their communities. Through Narrative 4 resources and tools, people can learn to listen deeply, reflect with care, and act with greater compassion. We are building a global community committed to learning, reflection, and positive change.


Visit Narrative 4’s Website

The Celery Farm

The Celery Farm is a 107-acre freshwater wetland in Allendale, New Jersey, and is open to the public during daylight hours every day of the year. The Celery Farm is maintained by volunteers from the Fyke Nature Association, managed by the Allendale officials in charge of the preserve, the Celery Farm Marsh Wardens


Visit The Celery Farm’s Website

Flat Rock Brook Nature Center

Flat Rock Brook Nature Center maintains a 150-acre preserve in Englewood, New Jersey as a natural sanctuary for plants and wildlife in their urban area, and as a nature preserve available to the public for trail walks, nature study and other passive recreation.


Visit Flat Rock Brook Nature Center’s Website

Hackensack Riverkeeper

Hackensack Riverkeeper defends the Public Trust resources of the Hackensack River watershed through environmental action, advocacy, education and litigation. As a citizen steward for the watershed, Hackensack Riverkeeper promotes responsible, sustainable development and works to remediate centuries of pollution and associated environmental damage.


Visit Hackensack Riverkeeper’s Website

Mahwah Environmental Volunteer Organization (MEVO)

MEVO addresses local environmental concerns, which range from stewarding sustainable community farms; restoring, building, and maintaining low-impact hiking trails in nearby parks and reservations; and supporting environmental remediation efforts in our neighboring community, including the preserved forests of Stag Hill in Mahwah, NJ, the ancestral land of the Ramapough Lenape Nation.


Visit MEVO’s Website

New York New Jersey Trail Conference

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference is a volunteer-powered organization that builds, maintains, and protects public trails. They strive to ensure that the trails and natural areas they steward are sustainable and accessible for all to enjoy for generations to come.


Visit the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s Website

New Jersey Botanical Garden

The New Jersey State Botanical Garden is a part of Ringwood State Park, and is overseen by  New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry and New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection. The organization stimulates a greater appreciation between gardens and people through community gardens and public programming.


Visit the New Jersey Botanical Garden’s Website

Tenafly Nature Center

Tenafly Nature Center protects almost 400 wooded acres of land and all of its inhabitants. They strive to teach future generations to do the same through public programming, as well as volunteer and educational opportunities.


Visit Tenafly Nature Center’s Website

return to top Return to Top Icon

Food Security

Center for Food Action

The Center for Food Action prevents hunger and homelessness and improves the lives of individuals and families living in poverty.


Visit the Center for Food Action’s Website

Community Food Bank of New Jersey

The Community Food Bank of New Jersey fights hunger and poverty in New Jersey by assisting those in need and seeking long-term solutions.


Visit the Community Food Bank of New Jersey’s Website

Community Food Pantry of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown

The Community Food Pantry purchases and distributes groceries and fresh produce to 1,500 food insecure neighbors—around 520 families monthly. Their financial commitment ensures that all people in need receive nutritious food at least once a month.


Visit the Community Food Pantry of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown’s Website

Eva's Village

Eva’s Village empowers individuals by providing them with hope, support and resources to live stable, healthy and productive lives. Through their programs, they uplift individuals experiencing food insecurity, homelessness, substance use disorders, and/or mental health challenges. What began as a modest soup kitchen over 43 years ago has grown into one of New Jersey’s most comprehensive providers of treatment, recovery, and supportive services.


Visit the Eva’s Village Website

The Food Brigade

The Food Brigade aims to ensure that no child or adult in New Jersey goes hungry, and to establish food security for our neighbors facing poverty and systemic inequalities. They accomplish their mission by providing direct food assistance through our network of client-choice Community Markets, and implementing a holistic approach which includes the offering of wraparound services to address the root causes of food insecurity.


Visit the Food Brigade’s Website

Table to Table

It is estimated that more than 3 billion pounds of food are wasted each year in the State of New Jersey. At the same, nearly 1.1 million NJ residents – including more than 250,000 children – face food insecurity. Every day for more than two decades, Table to Table, New Jersey’s first and largest food rescue organization, bridges that gap in northern New Jersey. The organization rescues surplus fresh, nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste, and deliver it for free to community partners serving local neighborhoods.


Visit Table to Table’s Website

return to top Return to Top Icon

Housing Security

Habitat for Humanity of Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties

Habitat for Humanity is a movement of people in your local area and around the world, working together to build more prosperous and vibrant communities by making sure everyone has a decent, safe, affordable place to call home.​ Since their founding in 1976, the organization has helped more than 65 million people globally build their futures on their own terms through access to decent housing. They’ve done this by working alongside people of all walks of life to build, repair and finance their homes, by innovating new ways of building and financing, and by advocating for policies that make constructing and accessing housing easier for everyone. They aim to build homes, communities and hope.


Visit the Bergen County Habitat for Humanity Website | Visit the Passaic County Habitat for Humanity Website | Visit the Morris County Habitat for Humanity Website

Rebuilding Together North Jersey

Rebuilding Together North Jersey believes that a safe, warm, dry, and healthy home is a quality of life that everyone deserves. The organization is dedicated to providing low-income homeowners with critical repairs and modifications needed to live safely in their homes.


Visit Rebuilding Together North Jersey’s Website

return to top Return to Top Icon

Health-Related Services

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.


Visit the American Red Cross Website

Oakland Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center

Oakland Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center is proud to introduce a whole new level of post acute care to the communities of Bergen, Passaic, and Morris Counties. A premier provider of subacute rehabilitation and skilled nursing services for more than a quarter-century, Oakland is a CMS 5-star rated nursing home in Northern NJ delivering unparalleled short-term and long-term care in a newly renovated luxurious setting.


Visit Oakland Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center’s Website

return to top Return to Top Icon

Senior Support

Bright Side Manor

The Bright Side Family is a nonprofit that provides affordable housing, affordable assisted living, and support services that respond to the changing needs and preferences of low-and-moderate-income older adults. In 1990, the organization assumed the management of Bright Side Manor, a historic residential health care facility that had been dedicated to serving seniors since 1916. With this opportunity, the organization was able to offer high-quality, affordable housing for seniors, addressing a critical need within countless communities.


Visit Bright Side Manor’s Website

Conversations to Remember

Conversations to Remember aims to connect older adults, including those living with cognitive decline, with young adult college students to combat the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness. Putting a smile on the faces of older adults, creating a bridge between them and youth.


Visit the Conversations to Remember Website

Mahwah Senior Activity Center

The Mahwah Senior Activity Center provides services for individuals age 62 and over. They offer programs that will allow their clients to age in place and achieve self-development that will afford them personal enjoyment and satisfaction.


Visit the Mahwah Senior Center’s Website 

return to top Return to Top Icon

Child, Adolescent, and Family Support

Families for Families

Families for Families connects compassionate community members with families transitioning out of unhoused situations; providing essential services and programs that support long-term stability and self-sufficiency. They believe in the power of joyful moments and meaningful connections – bringing volunteers, donors, and families together to create brighter futures.


Visit the Families for Families Website

Gigi's Playhouse

Gigi’s Playhouse is committed to changing lives and providing hope through the consistent delivery of free educational, therapeutic, and career development programs for individuals with Down syndrome, their families, and the community, using a replicable playhouse model.


Visit the Gigi’s Playhouse Website

Million Reasons

Million Reasons hopes to make a difference in the lives of children from low-socio economic background by providing social, academic, and career services, thus preparing them to be self-sufficient and productive citizens of the society.


Visit the Million Reasons Website

Mahwah Public Library

The Mahwah Public Library strives to be the heart of a connected community, where people, ideas, and technology come together to inspire learning, innovation, compassion, and cultural growth.


Visit the Mahwah Public Library’s Website 

Toys for Tots

The basic mission of the Marine Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys and distribute those toys to economically disadvantaged children during the winter holidays season and beyond.


Visit the Toys for Tots Website

return to top Return to Top Icon

Ramapo