$30,000.00 to La Casa De Amistad, Inc.
La Casa de Amistad is a community center focused on serving the
Latino community of St. Joseph County. They provide educational
programs including pre-k reading readiness, English as a New Language,
GED and citizenship classes, as well as running a food pantry, computer
programs and information and referral services in Spanish and English. They
are requesting funds to supplement their operating budget to assist
in carrying out their mission and to help meet their organizational
goals. They provide vital services to our local Latino community
and are taking steps to build their donor base and think more strategically
about their future.
$25,000.00 to United Way of St. Joseph
County
The United Way of St. Joseph County requested funding for the People
Gotta Eat Initiative. People Gotta Eat (PGE) was created in
Fall 2008 to respond to the dramatic increase in the number of hungry
people in St. Joseph County. This increase was a direct result
of the national and local economies. Emergency kitchens, food
pantries and local shelters experienced increases ranging from 40%
- 85%. In 2009 the 12 largest food pantries averaged 9,800
families per month. Food pantries were not able to respond
to the need and turned to the United Way for assistance. The
PGE fundraising effort was implemented by United Way to augment the
spiraling need for food. While the collective fundraising is
very positive, member pantries also believe a key component is the
strong network that has been created among local food panties.
$20,000.00 to St. Margaret's House
St. Margaret's House requested a grant to supplement its operating
budget. The grant would ensure the continuation of work of
providing immediate services, educational programs and a community
of support to women and children of St Joseph County who live 125%
below poverty. St. Margaret's House is a vibrant community
center with impressive leadership and volunteers. Expected
outcomes include: 23,000 main meals of the day will be served,
over 100 women will receive multi-session parenting classes, 20 women
will make concrete plans toward self-sufficiency by graduating from
Bridges Out of Poverty classes and 450 different women who suffer
from mental illness will receive day services and support throughout
the year.
$18,000.00 to El Campito Day Care Center
El Campito, Inc., an independent non-profit child development center,
is asking for support for their Parents as Teachers program (PAT)
which they have been providing for more than 10 years. The
program is offered free of charge to participants and is open to
anyone who lives in St. Joseph County and who has children from prenatal
to Kindergarten entrance. PAT provides personalized home visits
using the acclaimed PAT curriculum, a monthly playgroup and a monthly
parent meeting, health and developmental screenings, and a referral
network. Currently, they are serving about 60 families. All
services are provided in both Spanish and English.
$15,000.00 to The Apprentice Academy
The Apprentice Academy is requesting $25,000 in funding for the
vocational training and education of high school age and adult students. The
Apprentice Academy works with local business and industry partners
to develop courses that provide training in the most in-demand jobs
in the region. These partnerships are also utilized to assist
graduates in securing and retaining employment. Partnerships
with the South Bend Schools and Vincennes College provide remedial
education, GED assistance, and dual college credit in many of the
offered courses to high school and adult students.
$13,500.00 to RiverBend Cancer Services
The RiverBend Cancer Services is requesting funds for Wellness Programs
which will help people with cancer in our community thrive both during
and after diagnosis and treatment. Programs are designed to
promote physical, financial and emotional wellness during and after
treatment. New in February 2010, Living Well with Cancer offers free
weekly information and education to people with cancer and their
families. Later in 2010, they will introduce Cancer Transitions:
Moving beyond Treatment, a program designed by the Lance Armstrong
Foundation and the Wellness Communities, which will help cancer survivors
make the transition from active treatment to post treatment care. This
six-week program is for survivors who have completed treatment in
the last 24 months and is designed to support, educate and empower
people in the transitional period after treatment is over. RiverBend
serves families at 200% of poverty.
$12,500.00 to Habitat for Humanity of St.
Joseph County
Funds are requested to support the third Rock the House Project,
2011 School House. In strong collaboration with the local public
and private school systems, Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County
will build a home for a local family. During the 2010-2011
school year, student, faculty, and staff volunteers will work shoulder-to-shoulder
with a hard working St. Joseph County family to help them achieve
the goal of homeownership. The results of this project will
be another responsible homeowner family that will live in a safe,
decent, and affordable home, and a community of young people that
will learn social responsibility and service by building the home
and actively participating in raising funds for the project.
$10,000.00 to Boys & Girls Clubs of
St. Joseph County
Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County is requesting support
for a one-year Coordinated Community Engagement Initiative designed
to leverage community resources to support the mission of Boys & Girls
Club of St. Joseph County. The initiative will reach out to organizations
that can provide well-qualified volunteer tutors and mentors to work
with underserved Club Members, primarily pre-teens and teen from
low-income, minority families. The initiative will also serve to
introduce potential donors to the Club to help sustain programming. This
is the Club's first systematic, organized effort to build a stronger
volunteer network to support their strong programming.
$7,500.00 to Unity Gardens Inc.
The Unity Gardens, Inc. is requesting funds to support its collaborative
network of 28 community gardens originated to increase the availability,
awareness & accessibility of healthy, locally grown food. The
gardens provide food for those in need & bring diverse people
together to grow, harvest, share, and eat healthy food. The
mission is to improve community health, physically, socially, and
economically. Through empowerment and facilitative education, the
Unity Gardens is a vehicle for economic recovery as well as health
care promotion.