It’s the season of giving, and former Fairview Police Chief Frank Del Vecchio is doing just that. He recently donated more than $9,000 so Covenant House in Newark can add a computer lab for the homeless young people it serves.

The money was raised through the Run for Hope Foundation, an organization Del Vecchio founded in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Del Vecchio said that each year the organization picks a different cause, and this year they decided to help the homeless.

“We committed to helping the homeless and young people and this fits the criteria for both because they cater to homeless teens,” Del Vecchio said. “This is a way to help them have a leg up in this world by providing a facility to help them complete résumés and apply for jobs.”

Each year the organization raises money through physical activities, the biggest being a run that Del Vecchio himself takes each year from Ridgewood, where he lives, to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

“A lot of people get involved with the 9/11 run,” Del Vecchio said. “Usually five to seven people will do part of the run with me. Most ride bikes, but that is the primary event that we do each year.”

This year the group made a donation to the Bergen County Homeless Shelter as well as Street2Street, an organization for at-risk youths. The largest donation went to Covenant House, though.

A check for $9,200 was presented to Marcia Mann, development director at Covenant House, to create a computer lab and provide other technological capabilities.

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The Newark center houses 45 young adults between 18 and 21 every night. The computer stations will be put on the second and third floors, with two computers in each area, so that when people head upstairs at 9 p.m. they will be able to search for jobs and perform other tasks, Mann said.

Mann noted that the young adults come to Covenant House at all levels. Some are without a high school diploma; others are looking into college or jobs. The facility gives them tools to further their education or start to build a career, Mann said.

“We offer résumé-building classes and also help with social skills,” Mann said. “Part of holding a job is negotiating with a boss and coworkers.”

With all of that programming during the day — and many of the young people working on top of that — the opportunity to hunt for new jobs, build résumés and do other training programs after hours is helpful, Mann said.

The computer lab will be in Newark, but other equipment will be purchased for the Covenant House in Atlantic City as well as smartboards and fitness equipment, Del Vecchio said.

The Atlantic City Covenent House shelters 28 people and with Del Vecchio’s help will have a new smartboard and a yoga movement software program.

“It truly is fantastic what they are doing down there, and we are happy to help,” Del Vecchio said.

Covenant House holds its own events to raise money throughout the year. The biggest is the peer-to-peer sleepout, Mann said.

Participants set up pledge pages and, on the day of the event, come to the site to meet the young people and see the programming. Then they head outside with a sleeping bag and cardboard, Mann said.

“They sleep in the parking lot so kids don’t have to,” Mann said. “We held one in November and raised $750,000. It is a really awesome opportunity to raise money and to have people get to know our kids. They meet them and see the facility and get to experience what we really do.”

The Run for Hope Foundation’s charitable endeavors won’t stop anytime soon. The organization holds a gala each spring and has teamed up with Ridgewood High School to raise money for those still reeling from the hurricanes that ravaged Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico earlier in the year.

“We learned firsthand after Sandy that months after, when the media quiets down, that’s when people need help,” Del Vecchio said. “It will be about five months later so we are going to find people that still need help to get back on their feet.”

Del Vecchio, a native of Fairview, retired as police chief in 2014. He also served a stint as Bergen County's director of public safety.