James Hackbarth, who lived in the town of Maywood for over fifty years, was a retired builder who constructed homes in Maywood and the surrounding Bergen County communities primarily in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He and his wife Pauline thoroughly enjoyed the small town atmosphere of Maywood and were thrilled that they could participate in its expansion and transition during those years.Having often talked of ways to give back to the community the Hackbarths decided their personal desires could best be served by the establishment of The James and Pauline Foundation through the Last Will and Testament of Mr. Hackbarth.
Founded in 2006, The James and Pauline Hackbarth Foundation’s directive is to partner with the Maywood Library by investing in capital projects and equipment as well as cultural opportunities in order for the library to serve as both a community and cultural center for the town. Complementing this mission is the Foundation’s commitment to improve educational opportunities for Maywood resident students.
Since inception, The James and Pauline Hackbarth Foundation has granted in excess of one million dollars for library building improvements, computers and other technology equipment, and support of a greatly expanded community outreach program. In addition the Foundation has funded Maywood school system requests and spent approximately $455,000 in scholarship awards for Maywood resident high school graduates.
The James and Pauline Hackbarth Foundation looks forward to working closely with the Board of Trustees of the Maywood Public Library as well as local educational leaders to enrich the lives of all Maywood residents.
- James Hackbarth, President
- Marc Keane, Esq., Vice President
- Leonard J. Lesniak, M.D., Treasurer
- Mona Rodriguez, Secretary
- Joseph Englert, Trustee
- James Lukas, Honorary Trustee
The James and Pauline Hackbarth Scholarship Program
An essential element of the Foundation’s mission is to assist high school graduating Maywood residents with the financial burden of a college education.
Working through the Maywood Rotary, the Foundation has awarded over $455,000 in scholarships since the program’s inception in 2007.
Any graduating Maywood resident is eligible, and encouraged, to apply for one of these annual awards. In order to consider as many students as possible the criteria is weighted between academic achievement, community service and extracurricular activities, and leadership qualities. The intent is to identify the most well rounded Maywood students.
The scholarship application is available via the Maywood Library website, the Maywood library and your school’s guidance counselor’s office. Please complete the application as directed and mail to the address listed on the last page.
The Foundation looks forward to celebrating Maywood’s best and brightest for the graduating class of 2025 by offering four scholarships of $5,000 each.
The scholarship application is available in the library, or download a copy here.