The Center for Community-Based Learning (CCBL) was granted $30,000 from the Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement to support the development of a Services to Seniors Resource Center (SSRC) at Montclair State. Housed within the CCBL, the SSRC will be a comprehensive multi-purpose resource center dedicated to providing richer, more diverse social and learning environments for senior citizens, and greater integration of seniors within the larger community, beyond the care facility’s walls.

The SSRC will provide students with an extensive supply of materials and activity guides and information by research and professionals in the fields of geriatric care; host open workshops geared toward students seeking creative ideas for working with seniors; and conduct on-campus orientations featuring interactive workshops led by activity coordinators and senior citizens from partner organizations. "Support from the Wallerstein Foundation will make a significant and timely contribution to improving the quality of services that our service-learning students provide to our local partner organizations that serve senior citizens," said Freyda Lazarus, director of the CCBL.

The Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement makes grants primarily for health and human service organizations for the aged in New Jersey and New York. The SSRC merges the Wallerstein Foundation’s philanthropic resources with MSU and its local non-profit community partner’s technical expertise in gerontology, service-learning and intergenerational learning to achieve the shared goal of improving the lives of some of the most marginalized citizens in our society by promoting more effective service and care for the elderly.