Eight separate organizations will benefit tremendously from the generosity of the remarkable St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club Foundation — a 37-year old tradition that this year is sharing nearly $60,000 within the community of Michigan’s Great Southwest to help out on multiple fronts.
The St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club Foundation has named the grant recipients for the 2017 funding cycle, and this year, a total of $58,000 has been awarded as determined by the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club Foundation Board of Directors.
Established in 1980, the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club Foundation has awarded more than $830,000 in grants to area causes. 2017 Grant funding has been awarded for the following projects:
- Citizens Mediation Service, Inc., $7,000 to provide justice for low-income divorcing couples. The grant funding will allow this program to deliver state court approved Domestic Mediation training for 15-20 volunteer mediators who will provide mediation services for low-income, self-represented litigants seeking a divorce through the Berrien County Family Court.
- Curious Kids Museum, $15,000 for early childhood language development and literacy enhancements to exhibits at CKM. These enhancements will provide opportunities for parents to interact with their children in ways that support and enhance early language development.
- Sarett Nature Center, $9,500 for a bird of prey enclosure and to house two great horned owls and a hawk. Funding will also be used to make improvements to the Independent Learning Center.
- Second Harvest Gleaners Food Bank of West Michigan, Inc., $7,800 to fund eight Mobile Food Pantries in Benton Harbor which will provide an estimated 60,000 pounds of food to families in need.
- Senior Nutrition Services, Region IV, $8,000 for Meals on Wheels of Southwest Michigan No Senior Hungry program which delivers meals to home-bound seniors in St. Joseph and Benton Harbor.
- Southwest Michigan Soccer Club, Inc., $5,000 to assist in growing the TOP Soccer program for children with physical and intellectual disabilities.
- The Bark Angels, Inc., $5,000 for the Kids and Dogs program to shine a light on the physical, emotional and social needs of the children in our community who utilize this program.
- Winning Inc. of America, $8,200 to support Project Learn which provides literacy intervention as part of the Boys & Girls Club of Benton Harbor summer program which serves over 500 children between the ages of 6 and 14.
To be eligible, a grant request must have been for a minimum of $5,000 and submitted by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or governmental unit within the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor area. Emphasis was given for efforts that seek to provide better opportunities for youth and special needs populations. Requests for sectarian religious projects and programs, national fundraising efforts, political organizations or funds for program deficits or previously incurred obligations are not eligible. Grant applications are accepted each fall to be considered for St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club Foundation funding.
The mission of the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club Foundation is to improve lives in the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor community by supporting that focus on:
- Improvement of health…
- Support of education…
- Economic and community development…
- Rotary International initiatives that have local impact…
The resources of the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor Rotary Club Foundation come from gifts made by Rotarians and other individuals, families, businesses and local organizations. A volunteer Board of Directors from the club sets policy and approves all grants.
Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary club membership represents a cross-section of the community’s business and professional men and women. The world’s Rotary clubs meet weekly and are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds.
