Encouraging Responsible Parenting and Sportsmanship
|
Responsible Sports is offering grants of $2,500 to non-profit youth sports organizations or educational athletic programs to promote responsible parenting and sportsmanship. Coaches and parents complete online coursework and subsequent quizzes for a chance at the grant awards. 6 to 7 grants are awarded depending on organization class, but applying organizations can only receive the grant once. Additionally, sport organizations must be registered with Responsible Sports and are encouraged to contact an administrator with the organization if not already in the database. Deadline is on-going.
The Whitefoord Approach to Community, Health and Education
|
At a glance it can be hard to see the impact of the breadth of services offered by the Whitefoord Community Program (WCP) on the cluster of Atlanta neighborhoods they serve. The non-profit runs four health clinics in nearby schools, offers child development and pre-K services, after school programs, digital media training, summer reading and math workshops and even a Bike Rite health initiative.
In a time of tight city and state budget, more and more municipalities are looking for ways to deliver services to the communities that need them. In Atlanta, one such program, the WCP, has been in place for years and could prove to be a model for the nation. Through grants and other funding the project has proven sustainable. Through community involvement it has proven useful and effective.
Look a little closer at the project and you’ll see the evolution of a community support system that weaves together family, health and education. What stated with a one-square mile area and a single health clinic in Whitefoord Elementary School on the east side of Atlanta more than 15 years ago has evolved into a system that reaches into a number of communities in that area of the city.
All of these services work in tandem from just about the time the child leaves the womb until he or she graduates high school with one goal in mind: providing the children of this inner-city community with the tools they need to complete their education.
Clarence Jones, director of the WCP's Beyond School Hours program, has been with the organization since shortly after it's founding.
At nine weeks, infants can enroll, space provided, in the WCP’s Child Development program and start gearing up for their formal education. Unlike traditional daycare, this nationally accredited child development program employs HighScope Curriculum, a style of early childhood teaching and learning focused on active participation and educational development.
Teens: Recognition of Outstanding Teen Volunteers
|
Teens around the nation are encouraged to apply for the Prudential Spirit of Community Award for exceptional volunteer work that positively impacts their communities. Applicants must be in school, in grades 5 to 12 to apply. The top awardees are recognized by each state and awarded $1,000. Of the 102 state-level winners, a handful will be selected for national recognition in Washington, a $5,000 award and gold medallion. Nominating schools or organizations receive $5,000 grants for national placing.
Georgia’s Governor’s Office of Children and Families Gains Footing with New Executive Director
|
Newly appointed executive director Katie Jo Ballard will be the first to tell you that the Georgia Office of Children and Families (GOCF) has a heck of a job. Since 2008 the organization has been charged with implementing “a spectrum of prevention, intervention, and treatment services for all children” in Georgia.
That means identifying effective programs and delivering funding across four areas of service: youth development, family violence, juvenile justice, and prevention programs.
“We’re looking for people that can provide 360 kinds of care for a family,” says Ballard. “Like really wrap themselves around a family and support them in every aspect.”
The GOCF doesn’t deliver any services directly. Rather, the organization distributes a combination of federal and state funds to community-based programs through a competitive grant process.
Since taking office in mid-August, Ballard has been trying to wrap her head around everything the organization does. The agency offers so many grants in so many areas, and some of those grantees offer sub-grants, she says, so there’s a lot to take in.
“I’m a very visual person, so I’m actually going out there and trying to visit sites so I can see what they do,” she says. “That’s what’s been the most rewarding to me, actually meeting a survivor of domestic violence, meeting a child that survived sexual exploitation, hearing those stories and how our programs have helped them… That’s the best part, but it’s also the hardest.”
Down And Dirty: Gardening Grants
|
The Youth Garden Grant Program (YGGP), supported by The Home Depot Garden Club, will award more than $50,000 in home depot gift cards for youth-oriented gardening programs before year’s end. Five grantees will receive $1,000 gift cards, and 95 others will get $500 cards. Most non-profits, community and education organizations may apply. Applicants must plan to with at least 15 children between the ages of 3 and 18 in the coming year. While this specific grant is for the 2011 year, YGGP offers a new round of grants each year.