Past Grants
May 2010
- Cannonsburg Challenged Ski Association, You Ski! I Ski! Bi-Ski!, received $3,500.00 to enable paraplegic/quadraplegic children to participate in a winter sport that would otherwise be unattainable.
- Certification of the Incarceration, Helping At-Risk Teens (H.A.R.T), received $3,000 to provide teens with necessary skills to change a negative beginning to a positive future.
- Child and Family Resource Council, Resources Against Violent Encounters (RAVE), received $3,000 to continue to build RAVE's infrastructure and increase program capacity to provide relationship violence prevention programming to youth aged 12-18 in Kent County, Michigan.
- Children's Assessment Center, KIDZ Have Rights Body-safety Program, received $5,000 to teach body safety and sexual-abuse prevention to children in Kent County, seeking to reduce the number of children who are victims of sexual abuse and increase the number of children who report current and past sexual abuse.
- Eastown Community Association, Beyond the Corner, received $3,000 to target 'at risk' youth, ages 6-12, who live in an area of frequent crime and gang activity, and to engage these children in healthy, positive activities to get them off of the streets and create a safer neighborhood.
- Girls Choral Academy, Grandville Avenue Girls Choirs, received $2,000 to support the Grandville Avenue Girls Choirs program, a choir program in urban southwest Grand Rapids for at risk, underserved girls.
- Grand Rapids Public Schools, Academic Games Summer Program, received $1,800 to establish a creative summer program to enrich the knowledge of middle and high school students in the areas of mathematics, set theory, language arts, history, and propaganda.
- Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, 8th Grade Gang Prevention Transition Project, received $5,000 to lead interactive gang prevention workshops with 8th graders transitioning into high school to assist them in overcoming fear, resisting gang influence and helping them to achieve personal and academic success.
- Holy Name of Jesus Parish, High School Youth Group, received $500 to provide workshops for our teens on “real life” issues such as Gang Prevention, as well as social and recreational events aimed at fostering a sense of community and providing constructive activities for area teens.
- Kent / Michigan State University Extension, Exploration Days Pre-College Summer Program, received $1,575 to enable youth who participate in the Mizizi Maji Mentoring Program of Baxter Community Center to attend a summer pre-college program.
- Kids' Food Basket, Kids Helping Kids, received $3,000 to allow children receiving sack suppers from Kids' Food Basket to actively participate in the process, while fostering life skills with students from GRPS Upward Bound program who will facilitate the sessions.
- Oakdale Neighbors, Read-it book club 2010, received $3,100 to improve recreational reading for youth 3rd grade through 12th grade.
- Other Way Ministries, Youth Employment Service (Y.E.S.), received $2,500 to support the employment of 12 teens and 1 teen assistant supervisor for this coming summer, and provide them with valuable work experience as well as life-skills training empowering them for a brighter future.
- Rescue Youth, Rescue Youth 2010-2011 Program, received $3,000 to operate a firefighter mentorship program for another year, accepting additional 6th graders to the program.
- Specialized Language Development Center, Language Links, received $5,000 to target at- risk 1st-3rd grade free or reduced lunch students who are significantly below grade level in reading, writing and spelling but do not qualify for special education services.
- United Methodist Community House, The Youth Connection Project, received $5,000 to motivate low-income inner-city youths to explore the possibilities of higher education, by providing them with the skills and resources to plan for their future.
May 2009
- Arbor Circle Corporation, Day Programming, received $4,000 to provide services to youth ages 12-20 who are not regularly attending school due to issues of homelessness, running away, suspension and/or expulsion with the goal of reconnecting these youth to educational goals such as high school or GED completion which is critical to support a successful transition into adulthood.
- Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, Summer in the City/STEPS, received $3,000 to offer an eight day urban day camp program designed to teach independence, transition and life skills to youth with visual impairment ages 14 – 18 years old through practical experience, mentoring and peer support.
- Camp Fire USA West Michigan Council, Peer Proof, received $1,270 to deliver peer proof curriculum to 4th-8th grade youth in our summer program.
- Child and Family Resource Council, Resources Against Violent Encounters (RAVE), received $3,000 to determine the most efficient delivery methods for the RAVE program in its effort to provide relationship violence prevention programming to youth ages 12-18 in Kent County, Michigan.
- Christian Camps for Inner City Youth DBA: Camp Tall Turf, The Roosevelt Wave, received $2,750 to fund teens from three organizations to take part in a 4 week leadership and community development program in the Roosevelt Park Community on the southwest side of Grand Rapids.
- City of Kentwood, Scholarship Enhancement Fund, received $1,500 to enhance the Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department scholarship program that assists youth who can't afford to participate in programs, activities or events.
- Comprehensive Therapy Center, Community Teens Collaborate at Therapy and Fun, received $3,660 to support a teen mentoring program at Therapy and Fun, where teen volunteers work along side professional therapists helping at-risk children with disabilities to walk, talk, learn and play.
- Grand Rapids Children's Museum, Connor’s Friends: An Evening for Children with Autism, received $2,800 to partner with the Autism Society of Kent County, the Baldwin Foundation, and concerned community members to launch the Connor's Friends: An Evening for Children and Families Affected by Autism.
- Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities, Art in the Neighborhood, received $4,000 to sponsor art and pottery programs at the Cook Arts Center for children in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood.
- Living In Fulfillment Everyday Inc, Life Connect, received $5,000 to provide positive parenting skills, emotional support and to help build self esteem for young ladies ages 12-17. Also to provide love, support, and encouragement and to help equip them with the necessary life a skill to lead productive lives in their community.
- New City Neighbors, Breaktime Bakery, received $4,000 to purchase needed resources that will aid in the function of the bakery and the instruction of job-skills.
- Oakdale Neighbors, Read-it book club, received $3,100 to improve recreational reading for youth 3rd grade through 12th grade.
- Planned Parenthood of West and Northern Michigan, Something to Say, received $4,800 to select, train, and mentor teen advocates who will be informed and articulate voices for comprehensive sexuality education at the local and state levels.
- Specialized Language Development Center, Language Links, received $3,500 to target 1st -3rd grade free or reduced lunch students who are significantly below grade level in reading, writing, and spelling but do not qualify for special education services.
- St. John's Home, Success in School, received $5,000 to help teenagers who were abused or neglected by their parents become more competent and confident students.
- Strategic Outreach Services, SOS Kids, received $2,000 to steer at-risk youth ages ten to fifteen away from gang involvement and criminal activity by using the art and discipline of dance, including ballet, hip-hop and jazz.
- United Methodist Community House, The Youth Connection Pilot Project, received $5,000 to motivate low-income inner-city youths to explore the possibilities of higher education, by providing them with the skills and resources to plan for their future.
May 2008
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth, Kaboom Playground, received $5,000 to allow the Kaboom Playground Organization to build a playground at Camp O'Malley.
- Child & Family Resource Council, Resources Against Violent Encounters (RAVE), received $2,000 to provide relationship violence prevention programming to youth ages 12-18 in Kent County.
- Children's Assessment Center, KIDZ Have Rights-Body-Safety Program, received $5,000 to teach body safety and sexual-abuse prevention to children in Kent County in order to reduce the number of children who are victims of sexual abuse and increase the number of children who report current and past sexual abuse.
- City of Kentwood, REACH Operating Support, received $450 to help fund the REACH Program.
- GR Children's Museum, Summer Banner Project, received $5,000 to eliminate barriers that prohibit inner-city children from Museum experiences during summer months using an Artist in Residence model designed to engage children in the creation of banner art.
- Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanties, Crossing Cultures/Cruzando Culturas, received $2,000 to sponsor a Summer Arts Camp for children in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood.
- Humanity for Africa, Cross Cultural Afro Youth Program, received $5,000 to reach out to the African youth Immigrant community including school aged children, students up to college level, and any young-at-heart community members at risk of cultural crises, risk of school dropout and delinquent behavior.
- Millennium of Agape International Outreach, Inside/Out Youth Prevention & Intervention Program, received $5,000 to support the Inside/Out Youth Prevention & Intervention Program and the Nikeo Sports GR AAU Summer Program for high risk youth.
- Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Young Men's Activity and Support Program, received $2,300 to provide an alternative gathering place for young men who otherwise would stand on the church property or street corners and engage in gang and drug activity.
- New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, New Hope Youth Engaged in Action, received $4,000 to give Delaware Manor Elderly Housing Community two picnic tables through a service project by the Summer Youth Program.
- Oakdale Neighbors, Mars-Bros Chess Club, received $2,000 to develop a chess team among at-risk youth in southeast Grand Rapids that will improve decision making skills, math scores, and compete on local and national levels.
- Specialized Language Development Center, Language Links, received $4,000 to target 1st through 3rd grade free or reduced lunch students who are significantly below grade level in reading, writing, and spelling but do not qualify for special education services and who attend a GRPS.
- Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, ArtWorks Summer Job-Training Program, received $4,000 to maximize the number of students given the opportunity to improve and develop new technical skills, broaden their awareness of creative-class careers, and gain new levels of achievement by learning to be leaders, team-based problem solvers, community volunteers, and active in diverse neighborhood improvement projects.
- VSA Arts of Michigan- Grand Rapids, A Very Special Choir, received $5,000 to give students from three Kent ISD school districts a choral music experience to both express themselves creativity through voice as well as to come together and connect socially with their peers.
- YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids, Visser Family YMCA Arts & Humanities Programs, received $1,000 to provide funding for the newly established Visser Family YMCA youth arts and humanities programs.