Westfield Rotary Grant Supports More Than Bootstraps Students

The New Jersey nonprofit helps low-income, first-generation students navigate higher education through mentoring, guidance and financial support. The grant will help fund monthly stipends for high school students and their college student mentors, allowing them to participate while meeting financial responsibilities.

This is the sixth award More Than Bootstraps has received from the Rotary Club of Westfield.

“More than Bootstraps is the type of visionary group that Westfield Rotary wants to assist,” said Club President Jim Hely.

Founded by longtime Westfield resident and college professor Audrey Fisch, the organization is now in its seventh year of programming. It continues serving students in Passaic and has expanded its work to Plainfield. During the 2026–2027 program year, it is serving 92 high school and college students across the two communities.

The program pairs high school students with college mentors who graduated from Passaic Public Schools or Plainfield High School. Those mentors attend institutions ranging from Princeton to Kean University and bring firsthand experience to conversations about preparing for college.

Working with their mentors, High School Fellows follow a curriculum covering higher education, financial aid, communication with families and personal development. Student well-being and the ability to make informed decisions are also central to the program.

More Than Bootstraps launched in Westfield on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2020. Early support from residents and organizations—including Temple Emanu-El, the Westfield Rotary Club Foundation, Union Innovation NJ Alliance and the Westfield Foundation—helped establish its first group of five College Student Leaders and six High School Fellows.

According to the organization, all 17 of its college students who have reached graduation have earned their degrees within four years. Some members of the original High School Fellows group have also graduated from college.

“This grant from the Rotary Club enables our students to empower each other to succeed,” Fisch said.

For more information or to support student stipends, visit www.morethanbootstraps.org/donate.