Archives -The Jade Foundation

Our run in the 2008 Twin Cities Marathon brought in nearly $650…AND our benefit concert on Oct. 11 raised over $550, meaning $1,200 more for the Jade Foundation, and ultimately for MN’s special young people. This was way beyond all our expectations…and we can’t thank our wonderfully generous supporters and donors enough!!!

June, 2008

The Jade Foundation awarded a large grant to the Roosevelt High School Scholarship Fund, helping five graduating seniors in exceptional circumstances to attend college. Jade Foundation CEO and founder, Terry Ventura, reported that the Foundation originally planned to provide grant money for one or two scholarships, but decided to expand the size of the grant due to the number of excellent students who wanted to go to college, but whose circumstances made it very difficult.

(Thanks to Terry Ventura for this information.)

February, 2008

The Jade Foundation served as a Premier Sponsor of Wishes & More’s 2008 Valentine Ball, with a grant of $5,000, on February 9, 2008. Wishes & More, located in Fridley, MN, was founded in the fall of 2004 with the mission of granting the special wishes of Minnesota young people from birth to age 19, with terminal or life-threatening conditions. Besides doing this, Wishes & More (a) provides wish children with “Scholarships of Hope” to help cover their higher education expenses; and (b) provides memorial gifts to the families of children who do not live to see their wishes granted.

Due in part to the Jade Foundation grant, Wishes & More was able to meet their fundraising goal for the Valentine Ball, and grant the wishes of young people such as Brittni, who wanted to attend the Minnesota Twins’ spring training and meet the team. Find Brittni’s story here – it is heartwarming! The guest of honor at the Ball was Tasiyah, a lovely young lady whose wish was to spend her fourth birthday at Disney World. Click here to read her story – it will truly make you smile!

(Thanks to Jade Foundation VP/Treasurer Alan Eidsness and the Wishes & More website for this information)

September 13, 2006

Earlier this year, The Jade Foundation awarded a grant of $10,000 to Adopt A Room of White Bear Lake, MN. Adopt A Room was founded in September 2004 by a group of professionals in medicine, business, architecture, and many other fields, with the purpose of turning hospital rooms for seriously ill children into family-friendly, nurturing “homes away from home.”

As Adopt A Room’s staff state on their website, “Though we can't control the illnesses, we can control the environment - specifically hospital room environments! The children and their families have enough uncontrollable pain and hardship to deal with as it relates to the diagnosis. The room however, is one of those things we can CONTROL and make better!” By providing channels for companies and individuals to sponsor and adopt children’s hospital rooms in order to improve them this way, Adopt A Room strives to create a “win-win-win” situation for the hospitals, the sponsors, and most importantly, sick children and their families.

The Jade Foundation’s grant helped to support the construction of Adopt A Room’s first two children’s suites at University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital – Fairview. These rooms are scheduled to open in the fall of 2006…and you can check their progress on either the Adopt A Room or UMCH – Fairview sites!

(Thanks to Adopt A Room Chairman Brian Schepperle and the Adopt A Room website for this information.)

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April 26, 2005

The Jade Foundation sponsored a performance of “People Like Us: A Celebration of Diversity,” by Theatre for a Diverse Population from Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota, in the rotunda at the State Capitol. The play, written and directed by Theatre for a Diverse Population Director Dennis Lamberson, deals in a very engaging way with life issues including disabilities, ageism, racism and sexual orientation. The company of 24 actors comes from all walks of life, ranging in age from 18 to 83. Eighty per cent of the actors are performers with disabilities. The play is an excellent educational tool to help audiences think about disability and other diversity issues in depth.

In January of 2005, “People Like Us” was one of nine plays chosen, out of 250 productions, to perform at the Region 5 – Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in St. Louis, Missouri. In 37 years, Central Lakes College was the first two-year college from the state to be invited to participate in this national festival. Also, for the development of this program at Central Lakes College, Mr. Lamberson was presented the International Exemplary Leadership Award in March 2005 at the International Chair Academy Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

(Thanks to Dennis Lamberson, Central Lakes College, and Jade Foundation CEO Terry Ventura for this information.)

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November 13, 2004

The Jade Foundation awarded a grant of $10,000 to Wishes & More, a new nonprofit organization founded by Karla Blomberg and other folks with a long history of making life better for Minnesota’s kids with serious illnesses. The mission of Wishes & More, as stated on their website, is to “enhance the life of a child fighting a terminal or life-threatening condition by providing extraordinary experiences... and more.” They will grant wishes for Minnesota children and young people (birth to age 18) with serious illnesses, and also plan to provide other forms of help to these young people and their families. The Jade Foundation grant was presented by Foundation CEO and founder Terry Ventura at the Wishes & More kick-off party held in St. Paul, MN.

The Jade Foundation is a tax-qualified 501(c)(3) charity; therefore contributions are tax deductible to the extent of the tax laws. For information on making a donation, please visit our Donations page. The Jade Foundation raises money directly in the community to make grants to other tax-exempt organizations which provide assistance to children with physical or emotional handicaps or mental challenges and to children affected by drug or alcohol abuse or who are victims of violence.

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February 26, 2002

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(St. Paul, MN) Terry Ventura, Minnesota's First Lady and President and Founder of the Jade Foundation, announced today that a press conference will be held at the Governor's Residence, 1006 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2002. At that time, The Jade Foundation will present grants to three Minnesota organizations and will receive a check from Progressive Beauty Products for $45,000 representing sales of Jade perfume in local Target stores. The grants and gift are both in furtherance of The Jade Foundation's charitable purpose to benefit and improve the lives of Minnesota's young people, birth to age 22, who are coping with physical, emotional, or mental challenges.

The first grant of $5,000 is being awarded to St. David's Child Development and Family Services ("St. David's"). This project grant is to provide "seed money" for the transportation and field trip costs for St. David's Summer and School Break Adventure Program, which is a program of planned daytime activities for children with disabilities, including developmental disabilities and emotional and behavioral disorders. The program serves youth throughout the Metropolitan area and is an innovative and alternative approach to meeting the needs of children and youth with disabilities by providing them with valuable community experiences. In announcing the grant Terry Ventura said, "St. David's has been a long time provider of comprehensive services for children and families in our state. The Jade Foundation is pleased to be able to partner with St. David's in providing the seed money for this Adventure Program for the summer of 2002." Youth participate in the summer program from one to five days a week during the summer months with a program consisting of planned daytime activities for the children with disabilities who are not able to remain home alone or who benefit from a more structured and social environment.

The second $5,000 grant goes to the Pipestone County Interagency Early Intervention Committee and the Pipestone/Jasper schools to enable that program to expand its therapeutic horseback riding to school aged children with special needs. The program currently only serves early childhood special education students up to age 7, but has received many requests for older students to participate, and as of now it has been unable to fulfill those requests due to a lack of funds. The Jade Foundation's grant will assist the several agencies within the Pipestone County area which have been working together to make this program a success. This is the only program for children with disabilities in southwestern Minnesota. It started as a multi-agency coordinated effort and continues to have the support of the entire community. As one teacher explained, "The benefits from the program are tremendous. I had one three-year-old that started my program and did not speak at all until we started the horse therapy program and that was when he said his first word."

Terry Ventura said, "Just reading the letters of recommendations from teachers and others in the community make it very clear that this program has made a difference in the lives of young children and will make a difference in the lives of some older children who are suffering serious emotional and behavioral problems which interfere with their ability to grow and achieve their highest potential, and to have an equal opportunity for success in our world."

The third grant is being made in the amount of $5,000 to Thunder Spirit Lodge, which is an organization which provides direct services to children and families affected by alcohol-related birth defects, commonly referred to as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). Thunder Spirit Lodge is an organization originally located within the Thomas-Dale (Frogtown) neighborhood of St. Paul, which serves youth and families throughout the Metropolitan area. Clients of the organization include families of all cultures raising children with alcohol-related birth defects, including biological, foster, and adoptive families. The emotional burden on the families and their communities as a result of these alcohol-related birth defects, as well as on the child, is monumental. The programs Thunder Spirit Lodge provides include after-school youth programming events, evening teen programming, and summer youth programming for grade school children and teens. In addition, the organization works with family support and in community outreach. The primary purpose of the grant is to assist the organization in funding its community outreach program to include educational programs, advocacy programs, social services, and providing information to other professionals about specialized intervention for alcohol and drug-exposed individuals to prevent both primary and secondary fetal alcohol-related disabilities.

In announcing the grant the First Lady said, "Thunder Spirit Lodge is an organization which deals directly with children who are affected by the problems of the alcohol abuse of their mothers. The plan established for each child involves the parents as well to ensure that all the needs of all of the people involved are met. We are very pleased to be able to make this grant to assist TSL in working with these children and their parents to help them enhance their educational opportunities, and also to work on their self-esteem and social skills."

The Jade Foundation is also very pleased to announce that it will be receiving a $45,000 check from Progressive Beauty Products representing proceeds from the sale of Jade perfume at Target stores, a fund raiser for the Jade Foundation. Terry Ventura said, "We are overwhelmed with the generosity of both Progressive and Target, one for the technical support and assistance and the other for letting Jade perfume be sold in its local stores. As partners we were able to raise $45,000 so The Jade Foundation can continue to provide support for the worthy causes as we did in our three grants today." She continued, "We renew our pledge to all Minnesotans that we continue our mission to help fund organizations made up of dedicated people working to better our children."