Mark Bovenizer is a volunteer firefighter, a single father of two girls, and the founder of the BOV Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to make the biggest impact possible on as many nonprofits as possible.
“Our vision is to spread out giving to as many organizations as we can, focusing on those that aren’t too big,” he explains. “We can make a big difference this way. It’s a great job. I get to see smiles on a lot of people’s faces.”
The Father Center of New Jersey is one of those organizations. The BOV Foundation’s recent donation of $15K to help fund the Healthy Relationships, Healthy Choices (HRHC) program included a driver’s permit program. “I realized that learning to drive is an ‘affordability’ thing. When my own daughter went to get her permit, I paid to get her driving lessons. What if I couldn’t afford it? She wouldn’t learn to drive? It’s little things like that (getting a driver’s license) that make a big impact on people’s lives,” he explains. The driver’s permit initiative, called Broadening One’s Vision (for BOV), has already enabled two or three youths to drive who might not have had the opportunity otherwise.
“When Andre Thomas first pitched Healthy Relationships, Healthy Choices to me a few years ago, we donated $5,000 to get it started. The program, designed for 9th-grade boys, has flourished and now provides an abundance of benefits to youth,” he continues. “Your high school years are when you grow. We want kids to see that it is possible to get great jobs and professions, to learn trades. I love to see their successes. One of the graduates of the program got a scholarship to Harvard; another started his own landscaping business.”
As a single father of two teenage children, Bovenizer knows firsthand the importance of positive role models and a strong support system. His former wife, the mother of his two children and a former television actress, is currently serving time in prison for vehicular homicide.
“The kids (in the HRHC program) see that I can relate to them through my own experiences,” Bovenizer notes. “When I come in for talks, I tell them, ‘You are not a victim. You need to be an advocate for yourself and consult with people you trust.’”
Bovenizer trusts Calvin Thomas and Andre Thomas, HRHC youth specialists, when he makes a donation to TFCNJ. “I know they are doing the right thing,” he says. We thank Mark Bovenizer and the BOV Foundation for doing the right thing every chance they get!
