GLASSBORO, N.J. – Gerald Shreiber, president and CEO of J&J Snack Foods Corp. of Pennsauken, has committed $3 million to make The Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program of Rowan University.
The program will be self-sustaining and will bring certified therapy dogs to Rowan University’s Glassboro campus.
“It is a pleasure for me to give back to the community,” Shreiber said in a press release. “I can think of nothing better than (the experience of) our young students striving for education, complemented by therapy dogs.”
“This gift will ensure our continued ability to deliver resources to enhance the health and well-being of our students and the entire Rowan community,” Rowan President Ali Houshmand said. “The social, emotional and physical well-being of our student body is always at the forefront of what we do.”
The program will help Rowan health care facilitators support students to help reduce anxiety and depression through events, initiatives, and services.
“A dog therapy program will enhance the general health and well-being of Rowan students and address emerging experiences of stress, loneliness, depression, and anxiety,” Dr. David Rubenstein, Rowan’s vice president for Health & Wellness said.
The University will hire a full-time coordinator to oversee the program, including managing volunteer handlers and dogs while they are on campus, as well as a permanent fenced outdoor space that is dog-friendly.
The program is scheduled to begin in Fall 2019.
Shreiber established the Gerald B. Shreiber Scholarship in 2014 to recognize the academic achievements of students who are majoring in entrepreneurship in the William G. Rohrer College of Business. To date, he has contributed $300,000 to the scholarship fund, and 30 recipients have received financial awards.
In 1971, Shreiber bought a bankrupt soft pretzel company and made it into J&J Snack Foods. Currently, the company owns the brands SUPERPRETZEL, ICEE, Luigi’s and Minute Maid, and employs over 4,000 people and has more than $1 billion in annual sales.
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