2025
Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award
Honorees to be announced in April
We thank everyone who nominated someone for this prestigious award that recognizes changemakers who are creating positive impact in their New Jersey communities. We know that each special person who was nominated is making a difference for others every day.
The 2025 Honorees will be announced in April. Please check back then or sign up below to receive email updates.
Making a Difference
Established in 1997 by the late Russell Berrie, and managed and hosted by Ramapo College of New Jersey, the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award honors Garden State residents whose outstanding community service and heroic acts have made a substantial impact on the lives of others.
Learn more about this unique award and the impact it’s had for nearly 30 years.
The 2024 Making a Difference Honorees
Past Honorees
From the Blog
The work of our past honorees, who have tackled important issues, continues to make profound differences for NJ residents. Learn more about these remarkable individuals through their stories.
Meet Fraidy Reiss – Changing the Destiny of Young Women in Forced Marriages
Fraidy Reiss, founder of the nonprofit organization Unchained At Last, is working to end forced and child marriage and create laws prohibiting it throughout the entire U.S.
Meet Quadeer Porter: Improving the Lives of Newark’s Young Men
Quadeer Porter established Brothers Building a Better Nation (BBABN) to help Newark-area men at risk for self-harm by eliminating the systemic barriers to mental health services. BBABN clients get access to a therapist of color and resources to alleviate housing, addiction and other social issues, especially for those who were formerly incarcerated.
How Making a Difference Award Honorees are Uplifting Lives in South Jersey
Since 1997, 67 people from South Jersey counties have received the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award. Erik Estrada of the Camden County-based Community Foundation of South Jersey serves on the MADA advisory board and shares insights about changemakers and their impact in South Jersey.
Recent Press & Media
