PARSIPPANY, NJ (Aug. 14, 2024) — More than 200 clients of the nonprofit NewBridge Services will receive hygiene kits through a community-focused initiative by Gilead Sciences, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical leader. Sixteen volunteers from the Quality Assurance team at Gilead filled 240 drawstring bags with toiletries including nail clippers, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, lip balm, combs, razors, granola bar, bandaids, antibacterial ointment. Each bag also included a handwritten note of encouragement for the recipient.
NewBridge Executive Director of Counseling Viki Ferlauto said “the volunteers were welcoming, generous, and their commitment to helping community shone through.” Ferlauto spoke with the Gilead staff about all NewBridge does to help children, adults and seniors overcome adversities through mental health counseling, housing and education. Based in Morris County, NewBridge serves children, adults and seniors in Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties. The hygiene kits will be given to clients from any NewBridge program who needs them, Ferlauto noted.
The Gilead service project was coordinated by Anna Perrotti, partnerships manager at Life Science Cares New York. Life Science Cares is a nonprofit that connects life sciences companies to nonprofits that are addressing poverty in our communities. Life Science Cares New York is the organization’s fifth affiliate, having launched in 2022 and works with corporations and nonprofits across the New York metropolitan area.
`Discovering Treasure’
“Being linked with Gilead through Anna Perrotti, was like discovering treasure only five minutes from our newest NewBridge Services location in Parsippany,” Ferlauto said. NewBridge recently moved its Morris County counseling center and Child and Family Services, as well as its alternative education and career program NewBridge JobsPlus to offices at 99 Cherry Hill Road.
“Thank you, Viki Ferlauto, Head of Counseling Services, for coming out to speak about the incredible work at NewBridge!” Perrotti said. “The collaboration between Gilead Sciences and NewBridge Services showcases the powerful impact that community partnerships can have.”
For more information about NewBridge Services programs, send a note to services@newbridge.org. To donate to NewBridge, please go to newbridge.org./donate. To learn how to get involved with Life Science Cares New York, contact Perrotti at anna.perrotti@lifesciencecares.org.
About Gilead
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.
About LSC
Life Science Cares (LSC) activates the financial and human capital of the life sciences industry and partners with nonprofits to disrupt the cycle of poverty and inequality in our communities. Now operating in five US life science hubs (Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area, and New York), LSC has invested $16 million and tens of thousands of volunteer hours in community organizations providing access to basic needs, access to education or access to opportunity. Life Science Cares Switzerland, the first international LSC effort, launched in April 2024. Learn more at https://lifesciencecares.org.
Article courtesy of the County of Morris.