While just founded in 2018, The House On Steven Avenue Fund Inc. (“The HOSA Fund”) is building on a longstanding family tradition of community support and outreach that began in the home of Roy & Barbara Osborne in the early 1960s. With no more than an elementary school education, the Osbornes worked tirelessly to provide for and help shape the futures of not only their immediate family, but also their extended relatives and friends. Their small four-bedroom house on Steven Avenue in Tinton Falls, NJ served as a refuge for many – neighbors seeking encouragement, teens needing shelter, and southern transplants who landed in the North with not much more than hope for a better life.

What little they had the Osbornes shared freely – a hot meal, a warm bed, or even a suit for a first interview. Through the loss of Roy’s eyesight and the deaths of two of their eight children, they never stopped serving others. The couple expanded their outreach in 1984 when they founded Bethel Church of Christ in Red Bank, NJ. In addition, Roy was a longstanding member of the New Jersey Blind Citizens Association and Monmouth County Association for the Blind. He and his loving wife worked tirelessly as volunteers to raise funds and awareness about Retinitis Pigmentosa and the services available at Camp Happiness in Leonardo, NJ.

Barbara and Roy served as pillars of their community until their deaths in 2009 and 2015, respectively. Now, as direct beneficiaries of their selflessness and sacrifice, their direct descendants are taking up the charge.

THE VISION

Co-founded by attorney Delisha J. Grant and Damarcus Adisa, and with the support of other family members, The HOSA Fund is committed to the advancement of communities through financial and programmatic initiatives geared toward youth enrichment, young adult job readiness, and economic support of families in need.