Founded in 1998 as a nonprofit agency, HomeFront is dedicated to fighting poverty and homelessness in Mercer County. The agency provides emergency shelter, transitional housing, food, clothing, furniture and other items to those in need. Counseling, job readiness training, life skills mentoring, tutoring and other services are also offered by the agency, along with preschool and after-school programs for children. In addition to providing services and programs from its headquarters at 1880 Princeton Avenue, HomeFront also manages the Lawrence Community Center at 295 Eggerts Crossing Road.
Certified Video Productions is a full-service video production company serving business and individual clients. Its services include video production for legal services including depositions and testimonials, medical illustration videos, commercial video presentations, editing and consumer services.
Post 414 is the Lawrence Township chapter of the non-profit American Legion, chartered by Congress in 1919. As the nation's largest veterans service organization, the American Legion is "committed to mentoring and sponsorship of youth programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting a strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow servicemembers and veterans."
Post 414 is located on Berwyn Place, adjacent to Lawrence Township's Veterans Park. The post's main meeting is held on the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm, but other meetings are held throughout the month.
The American Legion, both nationally and locally, raises money for the families of wounded and fallen military personnel and holds numerous community activities throughout the year, such as the respected Boys State government education program and youth baseball leagues intended to promote teamwork and sportsmanship.
Young Israel of Lawrenceville, part of the National Council of Young Israel, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation whose synagogue is a converted home on the corner of Princeton Pike and Lannigan Drive. The first worship service was held in the synagogue in June 1991. Young Israel describes itself as "a vibrant, enthusiastic congregation with an intimacy and warmth that is sometimes absent from larger synagogues."
Located on the Lawrence Township side of Brunswick Avenue, between Pine Street and Myrtle Avenue, Covenant Christian Ministries offers worship services on Sundays at 10:30am and Bible study on Thursdays at 7:30pm. The congregation, which previously held services at the Lawrence Neighborhood Center on Eggerts Crossing Road, won approval from the Lawrence Township zoning board in 1998 to convert an abandoned 9,600-square-foot warehouse into this church.
Founded in 1917, Our Saviour Parish is part of the Polish National Catholic Church. Our Savior Church was built in 1967 and is located on Princeton Pike, adjacent to the rear entrance of the Lawrence Shopping Center. Sunday worship services are held at 9am.
Tucked away on Hillcrest Avenue off Johnson Avenue, this church offers worship services on Sundays at 11am. Weekly Bible Study classes take place immediately beforehand.
Accessible from the dead end of Vanderveer Drive, Turtleback Park features a one-mile unpaved nature trail that stretches from Balsam Drive, off Pine Knoll Drive, to Ravona Place, off Merritt Drive. The nature trail follows the Five Mile Run creek. A small bridge crosses the creek near the entry point at the end of Vanderveer Drive. A variety of plants and trees can be seen along the trail.
In 1936, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton purchased a tract of land along Lawrence Road (Route 206) at Lawrence Avenue for the construction of Lawrence Township's first Catholic church. Since 1891, township Catholics had been attending Mass in a private home and in the chapel of Morris Hall, which opened in 1905.
The cornerstone of the old Saint Ann's Church was laid in 1938. That church stood for more than 40 years but was badly damaged by a fire in 1982. The old church was demolished and construction of the current Church of Saint Ann began in 1984. The first Mass was celebrated in the new church on December 21, 1985.
Today, Saint Ann's offers a daily Mass at 7am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at 8am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Saturday Vigil Eucharist Mass is celebrated at 5pm, while Sunday Eucharist Mass is celebrated at 7:30am, 9:30am, 11am and 12:30pm. Other services, such as baptisms and penance, are held several different times each month.
Parish offices, community meeting rooms and classrooms are located within the Faith Development Center, which is attached to the rear of the church.
Saint Ann School, a preschool through 8th grade grammar school run by the Diocese of Trenton, is located on Rossa Avenue behind the church.
This non-profit art gallery was established in 2002 to provide a venue for local artists, provide scholarships, provide educational opportunities and give teachers some tools to help promote local students artwork. The artwork it promotes is Ibero-American Art in various forms. Take some time to visit the gallery on the web and in person.