 December, 2008 COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AWARDS The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s African American Community Fund Committee has awarded two grants as a result of applications received during its most recent grant cycle. Recipients include the Northern Indiana Center for History and Companions on the Journey. Companions on the Journey, a local ministry that helps former prisoners as they reenter society, received a grant of $7,500 to develop a new outreach effort: a weekly support group that builds personal and social resources. The project will engage local community members as lecturers and mentors, helping ex-prisoners to become active citizens who work as change agents, encouraging the community to challenge existing stereotypes of race and class. The Northern Indiana Center for History received a grant of $7,000 to support interpretive tours of Underground Railroad sites in Michiana for secondary students and interested adults. Center staff will photograph the tours and document the participants’ comments and reactions, which will become a basis for a future exhibit at the Center. These tours will increase the public’s awareness of the Underground Railroad's relevance to current civil liberty issues. The Foundation’s Special Project Challenge Grant Committee awarded eight grants as a result of applications received during its most recent grant cycle. Recipients include the Robinson Community Learning Center, South Bend Heritage Foundation, O’Hana Heritage Foundation, Inc., Family & Children’s Center, University of Notre Dame, Youth Service Bureau, Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth of Indiana, and Prevent Blindness Indiana. The University of Notre Dame’s Robinson Community Learning Center received a $40,000 grant ($20,000 a year for two years) to build on the Youth Justice Project, a juvenile court diversion program in which more than 350 young people have participated in the past three years. In a pilot program called the High School Mediation Initiative, the RCLC will partner with Clay High School to connet high-risk youth offenders with staff and volunteer mediators in the school system. Student offenders who participate in this new program may be able to have their suspensions reduced. South Bend Heritage Foundation received a grant of $31,650 to provide counseling to homeowners in financial distress and to create a fund to provide modest financial support to clients facing foreclosure. Homeowners will be able to receive help with budgeting, financial planning, and working with lenders. Depending on their financial circumstances, some homeowners may be eligible for small "rescue" loans from the new fund to provide short-term emergency financing, making it possible for them to negotiate with lenders to prevent foreclosure. This grant will also fund a security system for SBHF's administration building, insuring the safety of clients and staff. O’Hana Heritage Foundation, Inc. received a grant of $30,000 to help complete construction of A Rosie Place. The first of its kind in Indiana, this South Bend home will provide short-term respite care for medically fragile children. A Rosie Place will also be a community resource and training center that provides education to parents and siblings of medically fragile children, as well as physicians, nurses, and social workers. O'Hana has worked closely with the State of Indiana to follow licensure guidelines, and will be licensed as a speciality pediatric hospital when its doors open in early 2009. Family & Children’s Center received a grant of $17,500 ($8,750 a year for two years) to create the position of Educational Services Coordinator. This person will work with an estimated 2,000 students and their families annually to increase the number of South Bend and Mishawaka students who enroll in Indiana's 21st Century Scholars Program. Currently, fewer than 15% of eligible FCC students are enrolled in this program, which offers academic and other support along with college scholarships to youth who meet income, academic, and good citizenship criteria, compared to 50% of eligible students in the region. The University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business received a grant of $15,000 to support a certificate program for senior managers of local nonprofit organizations. The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County will cosponsor the program. Over ten days of training spread throughout 2009, national experts will share insights and advice on leadership, management, financial vitality, and governance with a select group of 40 nonprofit executives from St. Joseph County, helping them to better respond to the unprecedented economic, organizational, and programmatic challenges created by the current recession. The Youth Services Bureau received a grant of $5,000 for supplies and materials for a parenting resource room at Porch Light Transitional Living, a residential program for 16- to 21-year-old women who are either pregnant or parenting a young child. Porch Light participants live in a 24-hour supervised supportive environment where they receive counseling and education to develop parenting skills, independent living skills, and job skills. The grant will cover books, magazines, and developmentally appropriate toys and learning activities that will help parents nurture their young children. Specialized Alternatives for Family and Youth of Indiana received a grant of $5,000 to retain Juli Alvarado MA, NCC, LCP, a relationship coaching expert, to conduct four two-day training sessions with at-risk pre- and post-adoptive families, at-risk foster care family placements, and at-risk primary family reunifications. These training sessions will provide an emotionally safe and nurturing environment for 80 parents and children (10 and older) to deal with trauma-based experiences, develop healthy family dynamics, and increase the stability and permanency of these families. Prevent Blindness Indiana received a grant for $4,850 to support Vision Tracker, a new program that ensures that children with potential vision issues are seen by an eyecare professional. In 2008, PBI screened nearly 1,000 children in St. Joseph County, finding vision problems in more than 250. These children received $250 vouchers for follow-up care and glasses, but in many cases, the vouchers were never used. With Vision Tracker, blind and visually impaired callers will use adaptive technology to follow up with at least 40 percent of these children’s parents and guardians. Calls will be documented to help understand the barriers to pursuing follow-up care and improve future service. For 15 years, the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County has been connecting people who care with causes that matter. The second largest community foundation in Indiana, the Community Foundation serves the people of St. Joseph County through initiatives and grant-making in the areas of arts and culture, health and human services, youth and education, community and economic development, and parks and recreation. |
