b'Discover Why Home Baker Square, a newly expanded gathering spot in Maplewood Village, is under Sellers Trust Stacie Levy.development with help from a $10,000 grant awarded to the Maplewood VillageAlliance. Photo credit: Mason Levinson.Reliable Advisor. Resourceful Advocate. and related disabilities through thebeing classified, even in a communityYour Partner in Real Estate Success.developmentofemploymentanddeeply committed to diversity, equity social skills that empower them toand inclusion, said Kimberly Takacs, lead the most fulfilling and inde- Together We Bloom founder and exec- Stacie Levy stacie.levy@compass.com pendent lives possible. utive director. Jessica Mingus, the non- Licensed Real Estate Salesperson M: 917.686.3821 | O: 973.310.6816FamilyConnectionsreceivedprofits board president and a mother Stacie Levy is a licensed is a real estate salesperson affiliated with Compass.$10,000 to support Pride+, a pro- of a neurodivergent child, agreed. Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws.gram for LGBTQIA+ middle andWhatTheMaplewoodFounda-high school aged youth and theirtion did for us in giving us a seed grant, families throughout Essex County. it really is a message to the community MaplewoodVillageAllianceand also to other foundations that this received $10,000 to help beautifyorganization is legitimate, says Min-BakerSquare,anexpandedgath- gus. To be surrounded by hundreds ering spot at the corner of Maple- of people at The Woodland and see the wood Avenue and Baker Street. energy and passion about making our SouthOrange/MaplewoodCom- communitybetter,andthentohear munity Coalition on Race receivedthewordsneurodivergenceanddis-$7,000todevelopanddeliverabilityspokenmultipletimes,thats anti-biasandanti-racismtrainingnever happened anywhere. It means so andresourcesforresidents,localmuch to so many people to have that organizations, businesses, and com- affirmation. FoundationsIts time for the healthy &munity leaders. TheMaplewood SouthMountainYMCAreceivedtrustees held a January retreat, duringrestorative sleep you need!$5,000todeveloptheEnviron- which they discussed goals for 2024; mentalEducationPilotatSeththeywillsoonsharethemwiththe BoydenSchool,providingafter- community.Profetasaysthatheex-schoolexperiencesthatteachpects to raise at least hundreds of thou- The best mattress store weve ever been in.children about how their daily livessands of dollars for the town hes called impact the environment. home since he was two years old. We love our new mattress!Seed grant recipient Together WeIt does give people an opportunity Bloom,foundedinAugust2022toto leave a legacy, he says. For SusanLearn why we empoweryoungchildrenwithdis- and me, we feel we have that notion inare the rightabilitiesandtheirfamilies,receivedour blood, too.choice for $5,000 for its disability justice, equity,Mason Levinson, a two-decade reporteryour family.and belonging initiatives. at Bloomberg News, is director of con- Twins$598& up | Fulls$798& up TheneurodivergentanddisabledtentatMaplewood-basedPRfirmQueens$998& up | Kings$1,298& upcommunity includes hundreds of Ma- RoseComm.Hiswife,Rosemary plewood and South Orange families,Ostmann,iscommunicationschairofethicalmattress.com|387 Millburn Ave|(973) 250-6104yet there remains stigma attached toThe Maplewood Foundation.feature story /15'