Foundations Community Partnership awards $160,000 in grant funding to Bucks County nonprofits

The Foundations Community Partnership’s Board of Directors has announced $160,000 in grant funding to support 16 Bucks County nonprofit organizations. Foundations Community Partnership, formed in 2007, is a philanthropic grantmaking foundation supporting the behavioral health and human service needs of children and young adults in Bucks County.

“The Board of Directors is pleased to support these worthwhile local organizations that are making such a difference in the community,” said Joseph Stella. MD, Chair of Foundations Community Partnership Board of Directors, in a press release. “Our grant program provides funding to the groups that are fulfilling unmet needs for underserved children and families in Bucks County.”

The grants included $100,000 in Bucks Innovation and Improvement Grants (BIIG) and $60,000 in Capital Grants.

Six organizations received Capital Grants from Foundations Community Partnership:

• Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22 will use the funding to provide rehabilitation equipment for brain injured children and youth, offering students universal opportunities to continue their recovery in a safe environment.

• Chandler Hall will use the grant to build an interactive intergenerational playground, which will be used by elder residents and children to explore new possibilities for growth and learning.  Chandler Hall offers a wide spectrum of services for individuals at all stages of the aging process.

• Woods Services will use the grant to refurbish an old and unsafe basketball court used by over 100 adolescent residents facing behavioral health challenges. Woods Services empowers individuals with disabilities to achieve their highest potential and live a fulfilling life.

• R.J. Leonard Foundation provides support for young adults who are aging out of the foster care system. They will use the grant to provide a Fellow Management and Resource portal that will allow them to better manage services, recruit additional fellows, recruit and train mentors, and offer ongoing service and management of fellows.

• Livengrin will use the grant to purchase and install a backup generator at their Bucks County residential treatment facility to ensure electrical capacity for three patient residences. Livengrin has helped more than 125,000 patients and families struggling with the disease of addiction to find help, hope, and healing.

• Doylestown Hospital will use the grant to improve technology at Children’s Village, providing computers and software equipment to its preschool program, which serves over 200 children.

BIIG grants were awarded to the following nine organizations and programs:

• Aark Wildlife and Education Center will use the grant to expand their summer camp, which serves 120 children in kindergarten through eighth grade, including special needs children.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County will use the funding to implement an Autism Spectrum Disorder Mentoring Initiative, which will focus on providing “High School Big” mentors to children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

• Child Home and Community will use the grant towards their Fatherhood 101 program, which is designed to meet the unique needs of teen fathers in Bucks County.

• Pearl S. Buck International will use the grant to expand their educational activities for children with special needs. These activities include Special Needs Family Day, Summer Culture Camps, and International Picnic, which allow adopted and other children to identify with their birth culture and strengthen their sense of personal identity.

• Wood Services will use the funding to teach students with behavioral health challenges health and fitness strategies and how to make better lifestyle choices that will decrease depression, aggression and other negative behaviors.

• One House at a Time will use the grant for their Beds for Kids program, which provides beds, bedding and bedtime items for children and youth who don’t have proper bedding at home.

• Special Equestrians will use the grant to advance and enrich experiential learning for transition age youth with ASD/ID in their Equine Assisted Learning program. The grant will help Special Equestrians enrich existing day programming and unique equine experiences, which offer satisfying physical activity, opportunities for connecting without words, and a sense of personal achievement.

• The Cancer Support Community Greater Philadelphia: Gilda’s Club will offer Straight Talk about Center peer support groups in area schools for 40 teens ages 12 – 18 who have cancer or know someone with cancer.

• The Peace Center’s Girls Unlimited program will use the funding to provide their highly successful relational aggression program to 300 participants from Centennial School District and Bristol Township.

• Valley Youth House will use the grant to provide a Mobile Drug and Alcohol Therapist for Bucks County Youth in Transition, which services adolescents ages 12-21.

Additionally, applications for Foundations Community Partnership’s Partnership in Youth Services Grants (PYS), opened July . PYS provides grants totaling from $3,000 to $5,000 to nonprofit organizations based in Bucks County that are dedicated to helping solve community problems, promoting a positive impact on local youth, and enhancing the quality of the lives of children, youth and their families in Bucks County. Applications are due September 1.

Image via Flickr User Bex