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Have you wondered how our grants
have worked for the organizations that received them? You’ve come to the
right place! On this page, we highlight reports from some of our grant
recipients:
Circle
of Discipline of Minneapolis
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in the spring of 2005. This
helped them to develop a couple of their programs further: their boxing
training and mentoring program for teenagers, and their Youth Accepting
Challenges (YAC) tutoring and mentoring program. Young people in COD’s
boxing programs not only train for and participate in boxing tournaments,
but must adopt positive lifestyles as well: not using illegal drugs,
alcohol, or tobacco; attending school and studying hard; and serving as
role models and mentors for younger kids in COD programs. The YAC program
is now in two schools in Minneapolis: Sanford Middle School and Roosevelt High.
This program provides academic classes and tutoring to at-risk students,
along with help for personal, family, and cultural issues. COD staff will
also be incorporating more college prep coursework into YAC, to ensure
students are well-prepared for education after high school. And further
good news is that COD has started a college scholarship program called
Power of You! COD Executive Director Diana Spiess, who provided this
update (thanks, Diana!), reports that the Jade Foundation grant came at a
critical time for COD, and has allowed them to do a great deal more for
their clients!
The Native American Community Clinic of Minneapolis
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in 2003. This allowed them to
purchase a new vision screening machine that determines your vision
status as you look into a lens – no eye chart reading required! Since
many of the Clinic’s young clients do not yet read, the new machine has
allowed the Clinic to complete early childhood vision screenings for many
more children than before. (Thanks to Lydia of the Native American
Community Clinic for the update.)
The National Alliance for the Mentally
Ill-Minnesota Chapter (NAMI-MN) of St Paul received a Jade Foundation
grant of $5,000 in January 2003. This allowed them to purchase and offer
the SibShops curriculum in Fall 2003 and Spring 2004. SibShops is a
series of workshops for the siblings of children with mental illness, and
NAMI-MN also offered a parallel dinner speaker series for parents of
children taking part in SibShops. (Thanks to NAMI-MN Executive Director
Sue Abderholden for the update.)
Hoofbeats & Heartbeats,
a therapeutic horseback riding agency in Elk River, MN,
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in January 2003. This allowed
them to improve the accessibility of their property in a number of ways,
including installing a wheelchair-accessible door in their barn and a
more “wheelchair-friendly” surface leading to the barn. Hoofbeats &
Heartbeats was also able to improve their visibility in the community by
developing a website, new brochures, and better signage on their
property. (Thanks to Hoofbeats & Heartbeats President Linda Kreuser
for the update.)
St. David’s Child Development and Family
Services of Minnetonka
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in February 2002. This allowed
them to provide social and educational opportunities for more children in
their Summer Adventure program in 2002, specifically by funding
transportation. This program provides a structured day care setting for
children and youth with disabilities, including field trips and other
educational community experiences. (Thanks to St.
David’s staff for the update.)
Thunder Spirit Lodge (now Thunder Spirit Center at
Chrysalis Center for Women) received a Jade Foundation grant of
$5,000 in February 2002. This allowed them to develop an outreach program
to raise awareness in the community about fetal alcohol syndrome &
effect (FAS/FAE). During the summer of 2002, children and youth who were
clients of Thunder Spirit walked in three community parades, distributing
handmade buttons and brochures about FAS/FAE and telling people their
experiences growing up with FAS/FAE. The Thunder Spirit staff reported
that this led to an increase in calls from new clients looking for help
for their children. The staff hoped also that the increased awareness of
FAS/FAE in the community would lead to better prevention of these
disorders. (Thanks to Angie of the Thunder Spirit staff for the update.)
Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome (MOFAS), of St.
Paul,
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in June 2001. This
provided support for MOFAS’s Parents’ VOICES (Voicing our Opinions
Involving our Children’s Education Services), which gave parents of
children with FAS/FAE opportunities to become more involved in the
educational planning for their children. Staff reported in early 2002
that Parents’ VOICES had been very successful, with many parents of
children with FAS/FAE becoming effective advocates for their children in
the educational system. It was hoped that the resulting partnership
between parents and schools would result in more school success for
children with FAS/FAE. (Thanks to MOFAS Director Joyce Holl for the
update.)
Minnesota Linking Individuals, Nature,
& Critters (MN LINC – formerly Minnesota Linking Youth, Nature,
& Critters, or MN LYNC) received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in
June 2001. This allowed the MN LINC staff to expand their animal-assisted
therapy programs for young people with disabilities, with a particular
focus on their equine-assisted therapy program. Through working with the
horses in the program, young people improved their social, anger
management, and stress management skills significantly. (Thanks to MN
LINC social worker and animal-assisted therapist Tanya Welsch for the
update.)
Health Directed Riding, a therapeutic horseback
riding agency in Grandy, MN, received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000
in November 2000. Because Health Directed Riding had a long list of young
people waiting for their services, they used some of the grant money to
hire a second part-time riding instructor, allowing them to accommodate
more riders. A small portion of the grant bought a portable PA system, to
facilitate communication among staff and riders on the trails, and the
rest of the grant supported general operations. (Thanks to Dawn Brennan
of Health Directed Riding for the update.)
Northeast Residence (NER) Inc., a residential
respite care program in White
Bear Lake, received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000
in November 2000. This enabled NER to buy transport and lift equipment
for children who use wheelchairs, and to train staff to use this
equipment, so that they could expand their services to accommodate these
clients fully. The staff reported that they received many new referrals
as a result of this expansion in their services. (Thanks to Corrine of
the Northeast Residence staff for the update.)
Washburn
Child Guidance Center of Minneapolis
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in November 2000. This
supported their Elementary Day Treatment program for children in grades
K-4 with emotional and behavioral disorders, which provided counseling to
the students and their parents and training for their teachers. This
process taught everyone involved to work together so that the students
could succeed in the regular classroom, with appropriate supports from
the teachers. (Thanks to Deanna Kramer of the Washburn Child
Guidance Center
staff for the update.)
Stewartville Middle School of Stewartville, MN,
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in July 2000. The grant served
as “seed money” for building a fully accessible restroom: the school
originally intended to use the funds for this project, but upon hearing of
the grant, Construction Partnership of Rochester offered to construct the
restroom free of charge! This allowed the school staff to apply the grant
to furnishing a living and lounge area at the school, which was then used
to teach students with disabilities independent living skills. According
to school staff, they and students found this extremely helpful. (Thanks
to Stewartville
Middle School
teacher Mary Knudson for the update.)
Victory Riders, a therapeutic horseback riding
agency in Rogers, MN, received a Jade Foundation grant
of $5,000 in July 2000. This allowed them to buy a new mare for their
programs, and it actually turned out to be a “two-for-one” deal, as the
mare gave birth to a colt in the spring of 2001. The staff were very
pleased about this, and intended to train the colt to participate in
adjunct therapeutic activities until he or she was old enough to ride.
(Thanks to Victory Riders director Shelley DeRosier for the update.)
Reuben Lindh Family Services of Minneapolis
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in March 2000. This supported
their music therapy program for inner-city, at-risk children, by bringing
music therapists into the RLFS preschools. RLFS staff noted that music
can help children with disabilities communicate constructively when other
methods cannot, and that the grant had been instrumental in “making
positive change in the lives of children in our programs.” (Thanks to
Heather Shiell of the RLFS staff for the update.)
Southside Family Nurturing
Center of Minneapolis received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in
December 1999. This supported the Center’s therapeutic programs for young
children who have been abused, neglected, and/or developmentally delayed.
The children received individualized day treatment, with concurrent
therapy for their parents, and opportunities for parents and children to
practice positive interactions. (Thanks to Jean Christie of the SFNC
staff for the update.)
VSA Arts of Minnesota, in Minneapolis,
received a Jade Foundation grant of $5,000 in December 1999. This
supported many opportunities for students with disabilities throughout Minnesota to
participate in arts activities! A few examples: Students from Webster
Elementary learned book-making from an artist at the MN Center for Book
Arts; high school students created a collage quilt; another group of
students learned cartooning; students in Moorhead learned to make Raku
pottery; students at the State Academy for the Blind enjoyed an
Afro-Cuban music performance by the group Conjunto Cespedes; and VSA Arts
staff presented workshops to educators on involving students with
disabilities in the arts. (Thanks to VSA Arts Executive Director Craig
Dunn for the update.)
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