IPCF awards grants to 11 local
nonprofit programs
Lincoln Women's Club and United Way of
Logan County among recipients
Send a link to a friend
[January 07, 2023]
Eleven local nonprofit programs have been awarded a
total of $58,015 in grants thanks to the Women to Women Giving
Circle and Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP) at the Illinois
Prairie Community Foundation.
The Women to Women Giving Circle seeks to improve the lives of women
and children in Central Illinois and focused its grants for 2023 on
programs that that open doors to provide opportunities to women and
children who are marginalized and have faced barriers in our
community. Women to Women grant applicants were asked, but not
required, to collaborate with another nonprofit organization on a
program addressing the focus.
Youth Engaged in Philanthropy grants were selected by 16 area high
school students and focus on youth-oriented programs with priority
given to organizations that include youth in the application
process.
Recipient organizations sharing the $50,000 Women to Women awards
are:
· Community Health Care Clinic in collaboration with Center for
Youth and Family Solutions – $18,000 for “Integration of Behavioral
Health Services into the Primary Care Setting at CHCC” which aims to
improve a patient’s commitment to improving their physical health
and feeling of well-being and functioning with the integration of
behavioral health into the clinic setting.
· Dreams Are Possible in collaboration with Heartland Head Start and
Milestones Early Learning Center - $15,000 for “Offering ‘Earn While
You Learn’ Training to Young Moms at 2 Local Childcare Centers”
which aims to reach young mothers, while their children are in care,
to help them consider training/education/employment options to
pursue; moms will gain confidence and consider pursuing alternative
fields due to the broader exposure.
· Milestones Early Learning Center in collaboration with United Way
of McLean County - $10,000 for “Crisis Childcare Fund” which aims to
provide childcare assistance at Milestones for 12 marginalized women
and their children facing a crisis situation so that they may
continue attending school through the Workforce 180 program.
· United Way of Logan County - $7,000 for “Dolly Parton’s
Imagination Library in Logan County” which aims to improve school
readiness and educational success for the children of Logan County,
leading to improved literacy readiness scores for kindergartners
within our community, improved graduation rates and higher numbers
high school graduates attending college.
Recipient organizations sharing the $8,015 Youth Engaged in
Philanthropy awards are:
· GFWC Lincoln Women’s Club - $1,500 for “Water Safety” which
aims to train all lifeguards at the Lincoln Park District Aquatics
Center in spring 2023 and provide economically disadvantaged
children the chance to learn to swim by offering free paid-for group
lessons for beginning swimmers.
· Girl Scouts of Central Illinois – $1,250 for “STEM Outreach
Program – DeWitt County,” an outreach program focused on delivering
science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills to 50 girls
in DeWitt County while also strengthening the development of social
and emotional learning competencies promoting resiliency among the
youth served.
[to top of second column] |
· McLean County Children’s
Advocacy Center - $1,300 for “Child Safety Matters – A Day at
the Zoo,” a one-day event allowing local children to participate
in learning activities and have fun at Miller Park Zoo, while
local social service agencies provide adult caretakers with
education, information and tools on how to keep children safe.
· Project Oz – $1,200 for “Youth Action Board,” a
youth-led peer-prevention and leadership program that brings
together students from five Bloomington-Normal area high schools to
develop and present substance use prevention activities and messages
from a youth perspective to educate their peers and parents, while
encouraging community involvement in prevention activities.
· Sonshine Daycare - $1,065 for “Playground Equipment” which will
give children 5 and under more opportunities to exert their
independence through the purchase and installation of new playground
equipment; upgrade will not only benefit the children at Sonshine,
but also visitors to the Mt Hope Funks Grove Park District.
· Sunnyside Community Gardens & Food Forest – $500 for “Rooted
Summer Apprenticeship” which will employ several teens aged 14-18
within a 2-mile radius of the garden in west Bloomington to help
with the responsibilities of the garden; program also introduces
teens to careers that would involve college or a direct path from
high school to career.
· Vespasian Warner Public Library - $1,200 for “Literacy Through
Play: A Destination for Families” which will allow the library to
enhance the children’s space so that it is engaging and inviting for
everyone; funding will purchase a modular seating set that can be
used for family reading, gross motor play and more.
Since 2011, the Women to Women Giving Circle has awarded $474,363 in
grants. The mission of the group is to provide education about
issues affecting women and to provide grants to projects and
programs aimed at improving the dignity of women and children in
McLean, DeWitt, Logan and Livingston counties.
Since 2014, Youth Engaged in Philanthropy has awarded $98,015. As a
part of our community's youth, YEP strives to connect those who care
about youth with the monetary means necessary to pursue their
vision.
About Illinois Prairie Community Foundation
Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, now in its 25th year,
encourages and facilitates philanthropy in McLean, DeWitt,
Livingston and Logan counties by connecting donors who care with
causes that matter to them. The Foundation currently manages funds
including endowments and donor advised, fiscal sponsorship and
scholarship funds. More information is available at
www.ilprairiecf.org.
[Michele Evans
Grants & Communications Director
Illinois Prairie Community Foundation]
|