The Russell Berrie Foundation is pleased to announce a $1.5 million grant to support the expansion and long-term sustainability of the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative (BVMI). This legacy investment reaffirms our commitment to ensuring the organization is positioned for strength as it grows and evolves to meet the health care needs of Bergen County’s working uninsured.
A Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative provider examines a patient.
For more than 16 years, the Foundation has been proud to support BVMI’s model of free, comprehensive, high-quality care by supporting its diabetes prevention and treatment services. Their extraordinary team of volunteer physicians, nurses, social workers, and other providers have achieved remarkable results; BVMI’s benchmarks in diabetes outcomes consistently exceed national rates in controlling patients’ blood glucose levels over time, reflecting the clinic’s unwavering dedication to excellence.
In Bergen County, about 40,000 people live without access to quality health care. This number is expected to rise dramatically with cuts to ACA subsidies and Medicaid, resulting in a surge in demand that BVMI is working to meet through an ambitious expansion plan. In early 2026, it will open a second clinic — the BVMI Russell Berrie Healthcare Center — at Unity Health Partnership in Garfield. With this added capacity, BVMI will continue to provide exceptional care to patients in southern Bergen County, embodying Unity Health’s philosophy that individuals and families should be able to access the interconnected health and social supports they need under one roof.
The new Garfield clinic reception area.
“Equal access to quality healthcare is a guiding principle at BVMI, and we simply could not improve the health of our uninsured neighbors without the partnership of The Russell Berrie Foundation,” said Amanda Missey, president & CEO. “Thank you to the Trustees at the Foundation for joining us in this next chapter in BVMI’s mission at Unity Health Partnership in Garfield, enabling us to serve more of Bergen County.”
The Garfield clinic equips BVMI to double the number of patients it cares for annually, growing from 1,000 today to more than 2,000 by 2029. With this grant, the Foundation is honored to help secure BVMI’s next chapter — one defined by expanded access, greater capacity, and continued excellence in caring for our community’s working uninsured.