Recent Children and Family Grants

Organizations that serve low and moderate-income families received many of The Rhode Island Foundation's recently approved "Children and Families" grants. In its first grantmaking session of 2002, the Foundation's Board of Directors approved grants totaling $1,130,100.

The largest grant, $100,000, was awarded to the Rhode Island College Foundation for fourth-year support of The Poverty Institute's research and advocacy related to education and job training, welfare reform, and tax and budget reform on behalf of low and moderate income families in Rhode Island.

ADVOCACY AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Seven additional grants were made to organizations working in the area of policy and advocacy:

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, $75,000, to continue its work to improve the health, education, safety, and economic well being of the state's 225,000 children through such efforts as its recently-released, seventh annual Factbook.

The Rhode Island Quality Institute, $50,000, to continue to support this joint venture by business, health care, insurance, academe, and government to improve health and health care in Rhode Island.

Gray Panthers of Rhode Island, $40,000, to support expansion of a statewide community organizing effort on behalf of low and moderate-income elders in Rhode Island, with a focus on the importance of the elderly vote.

Ocean State Action Fund, $35,000, for fifth-year support of the Health Care Organizing Project that represents consumers in the ongoing statewide discussion of the state's health care system.

Childhood Lead Action Project, $30,000, to support the launch of its Right to Know Campaign, a grassroots and parent led advocacy effort to increase awareness about and abatement of lead-infested homes in Rhode Island.

George A. Wiley Center, $30,000, for fifth year support of lead advocacy group's community organizing campaign with a focus on Newport and Washington counties.

RI Parents for Progress, $20,000, for a bilingual Hispanic Community Organizer to work with the Latino community on issues of job and welfare advocacy and on basic human needs.

FAMILY SUPPORT
Five of the Foundation's grants address family support issues. These include:

The Providence Center, $70,000, for a program to improve the family reunification and permanency planning process for children from birth to age five and their families who are involved with the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

Rhode Island Legal Services, $45,000, for the Battered Women's Legal Assistance Project that provides legal representation to battered women in partnership with the Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Rhode Island Association for Retarded Citizens, $40,000, to develop two new statewide programs, ArcLink, an Internet consumer resource detailing services, provider information, resources, and more; and the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network, a program that assists parents plan for the future of their children with disabilities.

Central Falls Family Self-Sufficiency Foundation, $37,100, for its program to enable single heads of households in public-supported housing to attain economic self-sufficiency, for a summer youth employment program, and for an afterschool reading program for children.

Warwick House of Hope Corporation, $20,000, for second year support of case management services for persons in the agency's transitional housing units.

HEALTH
Five funded projects are working to improve children's physical and mental health. These include:

Health and Education Leadership for Providence, $55,000, for evaluation of its Mental Health and Wellness Initiative, intended to improve the student support system at its pilot site, Hope High School, Providence.

Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island, $50,000, for sixth-year funding of the Teen Clinic in Providence and toward its planned satellite clinic in Pawtucket, the latter geared to increase services to Latino teens.

Rhode Island Hospital Foundation, $50,000, for third-year support of the Draw a Breath/Providence School Partnership, as a portion of the match required by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for this school-based program to provide education, support, and case management to children with asthma and their families.

Pawtucket School Department, $25,000, for third-year funding of its two school-based dental clinics that, in collaboration with Providence Smiles, intend to provide dental services to 2,200 of the neediest students in Pawtucket.

Women's Health & Education Fund, $15,000, for fourth-year support of its Contraception Access Project which provides contraceptive services and medical counseling to low-income Rhode Island women.

YOUTH
Five programs geared specifically toward youth received support. They include:

YMCA of Westerly-Pawcatuck, $50,000, for continued support of the Arcadia YMCA, a satellite facility in Richmond, through funding for the program director's salary.

The Golf Foundation of Rhode Island, $25,000, for second-year funding for the "Friends of Button Hole" Scholarship Program to provide education, recreation and mentoring to low income children and youth at the nine-hole, par three golf facility.

United Way, $25,000, for support of America's Promise - Rhode Island, a program focusing on assisting young people to become successful adults through such efforts as mentoring, community service, and job training.

Chelsea Park, $20,000, toward the construction of a community park and playground on the site of the future Exeter Free Library.

Office of the Child Advocate, $18,000, to develop and publish a handbook on juvenile rights, specifically written for juveniles, as well as their advocates and service providers.

CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Helping children getting the best start possible in life is the focus of three Foundation-funded programs. They include:

Children's Friend and Service, $40,000, to establish an Early Start Program in Providence that offers young children and their families access to comprehensive early child development services.

Connecting for Children & Families, $35,000, for continuing support of the Woonsocket Children's Initiative, which strives to ensure that children in the city's Fairmount section start school ready to learn and meet with academic success in elementary school.

Federal Hill House Association, $30,000, for the Bundles of Joy Family Resource Center, a comprehensive program serving parents, primarily those of low income in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence, expecting their first child or parenting children between birth and age four.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGNS
The following three organizations received grants of $25,000 each toward ambitious capital campaigns, two in Warwick and one in Providence:

Kent Hospital toward construction of an expanded Pediatric Unit within the Warwick hospital's Emergency Department.

Socio-Economic Development Center toward furnishings for their new facility on Elmwood Avenue, Providence.

Warwick Shelter toward the purchase and renovation of its current family shelter facility in the Conimicut section of Warwick.

In addition to the preceding grants awarded in the area of Children and Families, one grant was awarded in the Arts. VH-1 Save the Music Foundation was awarded $25,000 for its program to provide musical instruments to four elementary schools in the Providence School District.

The Rhode Island Foundation Board of Directors will hold two additional grant-making meetings this year, in August when the focus will be on economic/community development projects, and in December when the focus will be on projects in education and in the arts.