Junior League of Buffalo Community Grants

Each year the Junior League of Buffalo awards several grants to various non-for-profits through our Community Assistance Small Grants Program. The Community Assistance Small Grants Program provides $1000 grants to community organizations and programs that support our focus area, Families-At-Risk. The 2010 recipients were recently awarded their grant at the Junior League of Buffalo’s general meeting on Tuesday March 23, 2010.

2010 Community Assistance Small Grants Recipients

Child & Family Serviceswww.cfsbny.org

$995 to assist with the program costs for an Economic Empowerment Series offered to women who are victims of domestic violence, specifically for bus tokens to provide necessary transportation to attend presentation; child care; congratulatory items/awards in the form of Visa gift cards for all those who attend all six sessions and successfully complete the program; financial games; and supplies. JLB will be recognized with a press release; a listing in their newsletter; a Facebook posting; and acknowledgment on their intranet to their staff members. Our logo will be listed in the PowerPoint presentation and all materials used during the program. Finally if the project is expanded to other cities throughout the state, JLB will be recognized as a first funder.

Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc.www.chcb.net

$1000 to work collaboratively with the Big Brother Big Sister organization to help young women in high risk home situations develop better self-esteem and decision-making skills and to bolster the relationship between these your women and their volunteer mentors, specifically for the seven week pilot program tools and pre & post assessment tools. JLB’s support will be noted on all flyers and correspondence and in any organizational newsletters. In addition, JLB will be honored at the celebration at the end of the program.

Greater Niagara Frontier Council, Boy Scouts of Americawww.wnyscouting.org

$1000 to assist with the Scoutreach programming which was created to better serve urban youth by establishing working collaborations with varied organizations which can bring the benefits of scouting to inner city children, specifically to purchase new camp supplies such as oars, fishing poles and life jackets for participants of Scoutreach at Camps Scouthaven and Schoellkopf. They plan to publicize JLB by writing an article which will review the success of Scoutreach which will be published in Scouting Magazine.

Harvest House of South Buffalo, Inc.www.harvesthouse.ws

$999 to assist the Baby and Children’s Ministry effort to reach out to families unprepared or unable to afford the proper furnishings for a baby, specifically to purchase crib mattresses to give to families in need either with a crib, or as an incentive – promising a mattress to those able to find their own crib. Clients are encouraged to pass along the cribs and mattresses to someone else in need or donate them back. JLB’s generosity will be announced on their website and in their quarterly newsletter as well as press releases.

Meals on Wheels for WNY, Inc.www.mealsonwheelswny.org

$1000 to assist with Project Safety Net, an educational program that helps identify safety issues in the homes of seniors, specifically to provide nightlights to each person. Grant will be recognized with a press release and card will be delivered with each nightlight informing them that JLB is a funder of Project Safety Net.

Niagara Frontier Radio Reading Servicewww.nfradioreading.com

$1000 to cover a significant portion of the 2010 lease cost of the NFRRS Studio-to-Transmitter Link, essential for transmitting the radio reading service of printed matter daily readings to area blind and print-handicapped persons, who are given “reading radios” (special receivers). JLB would receive on and off-air showcase acknowledgment throughout the year. JLB would be showcased in their monthly volunteer newsnote, its bi-monthly program guide, its website and press releases.

On the Job Ministrieswww.otjministries.com

$882 to assist Soap Works, a business staffed solely by at-risk young women, specifically to purchase necessary equipment that will enable them to produce enough soap to earn profits to hire two additional at-risk young women, part-time after-school.. On the Job Ministries operates small businesses that hire and provide lifeskills training such as how to take responsibility, present themselves well, be entrepreneurial, expand their creativity, and work toward a future that may look very different than their past experience and present realities. To honor our investment in the organization, JLB will be added to a statement to all their marketing materials and soap packaging that tells that they are a proud recipient of JLB’s generous support.

Thanks and gratitude to the members of this committee for all their expertise, hard work and input: Astrid Willis, Jennifer Berryman, RuthAnn Foley, Kathyrn Mori, Sharon Nosenchuck, Mary Therrien, Barb Leisner, Susan Niver Percy, Karen Sperrazza and Colleen White.