20
Oct
2018
Mayfair Farms
481 Eagle Rock Avenue
West Orange, NJ  07052
United States

About our NJ VSA Winner for District 7505...

Sister Donna Minster – NJVA Awardee District 7505 – 2018 from the Rotary Club of Camden New Jersey

Sr. Donna has spent much of her adult life focusing on the needs of the poor and disenfranchised in Camden County. For the past 24 years, she has been the Director of the Department of Children’s Services. In this time, Sr. Donna has overseen the administration of funds for child and early care for tens of thousands of children.

Sensitive to the needs of low income families, Sr. Donna has spent considerable effort working to improve child outcomes by fostering quality early care and education and professional development initiatives for the work- force. Partnering with various public and private agencies throughout the county and across the state, she advocates for children from the earliest age. She insists that it is our collective responsibility to do all that we can to protect, inspire, educate, and nurture children!

Prior to her tenure at the Department of Children’s Services, Sr. Donna spent five years as the Executive Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Child Development Centers for Infants through Pre-K. Among her many accomplishments during this period, Sr. Donna founded the Sikora Child Development Center, a child care center catering to drug exposed infants and the treatment of their mothers. Sr. Donna also spent some 18 years as an Early Child- hood Educator in the parochial school system (primarily Holy Name School in Camden City) where she taught Preschool and First Grade.

In addition to her leadership position with the Department of Children’s Services, Sr. Donna is a member of CITE, NAEYC, and several other organizations dedicated to the wellbeing of children. She is an officer for Child Care Aware of New Jersey and the Covenant for Children, Youth, and Families, and she collaborates with HopeWorks where she actively promotes Trauma Informed Care to community partners, peer agencies, and child care centers.

Sr. Donna has garnered many accolades for her involvement in the Camden community and her professional affiliations and community activities are plentiful, but it is her dedication to the well-being of children and the desire to ensure early care and education opportunities for low income families that is so inspiring. Sr. Donna is a constant beacon and a tireless crusader for children and families across Camden County and her contributions will be evident for many, many years to come.