Anne Kelligrew St.Clair – PR Chair
917-560-6441 ~ annestclair@optonline.net
Grant Application for 09-10
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Junior League of Summit Awards 2009 Community Grants
Approaching its 80th anniversary, The Junior League of Summit (JLS) announces its 2009 community grants. Four community focus grants and eight community impact grants were awarded. The League is also excited to announce that, for 2009-2010 and in honor of their milestone anniversary, it will double their available grant pool. Details and deadlines will soon appear on the JLS website – www.jlsummit.org.
2009 Community Focus Grants:
- $1,000 to the Santa Claus Shop (Summit Helping Its People). 2009 will be the 43rd year the all-volunteer Santa Claus Shop opens its doors to needy local families and senior citizens in Summit, Berkeley Heights and New Providence. During two days in December, over 350 households (1,200 individuals) shop for a free new clothing item for each family member, a toy for each child under 18, a new houseware item and a grocery gift card.
- $895 to Summit High School PTA for Flip Video Project – Expanding Technology Across the Curriculum. Flip handheld video cameras will be managed by school librarians for use across all curricular and extra curricular activities, allowing for collaborative work among students, more creativity in learning world languages and ease in practicing public speaking skills. The JLS grant will fund five Flip Video Cameras.
- $1,000 to BRIDGES Outreach for Meet our Friends. Bridges exists “to bring the housed and the homeless together in community.” Meet our Friends connects youth volunteers from schools, houses of worship and civic organizations in our suburban area with homeless people in NYC, Irvington and Newark. Homeless speakers meet with young people to educate them on the plight of the homeless. The program includes regular ‘runs’ into the cities to deliver lunches, clothing and toiletries to those in need. The JLS grant will purchase a laptop and printed materials for use during Meet our Friends presentations and reports to volunteers and parents.
2009 Community Impact Grants:
- $1,500 to Court Appointed Special Advocate of Union County (CASA). CASA recruits and trains community volunteers to act as advocates for children who have been removed from their homes due to neglect or abuse. These advocates are the “child’s voice” in the court and child welfare system. The JLS grant will fund the training program for 15 new advocates who must complete 42 hours of training each.
- $1,420 to Chatham’s Washington Avenue Elementary School PTO for “Get the Picture: Cameras and the 21st Century Classroom”. The PTO would like to add digital cameras to the existing technology at the school and to teach the children about the safe use of technology. The JLS grant would fund an assembly on Internet Safety for 2nd and 3rd graders and purchase three digital cameras.
- $3,200 to the ECLC Foundation Pride Center. The ECLC provides education, recreation and supported employment to disabled members of our community. The PRIDE Center works with adult clients who function at the level of 8-12 year olds. The JLS grant will purchase two computers, software and a smartboard to allow for computer training. The focus is to teach safe use of the internet so these individuals know how to protect themselves.
- $1,232 to New Providence’s Salt Brook School PTA for Smart Board. Several Salt Brook classrooms do not have Smart Board technology. The JLS grant will fund a mobile 77” interactive whiteboard, allowing many teachers and students access to this technology.
- $3,500 to the Summit YMCA for Homework Help. Providing five new computers and two printers to be used at the YMCA After School Child Care program for the Homework Room for 4th and 5th graders and at the YMCA staffed Summit City Youth Center, which serves minority teens from low income families who do not always have access to computers at their homes.
- $1,500 to Chatham’s Lafayette Avenue School CyberSkit. The CyberSkit Stories video series is designed for fourth and fifth graders who will act out social issues facing them such as cyber-bullying. Several teams of students will write, film and edit their own videos. The JLS grant will fund cameras, tapes, accessories and editing equipment.
- $3,200 to the Connection’s Kinderquest Program. JLS grant will provide two iMac computers, two printers and software to the two Kinderquest program rooms run by the Connection at Summit’s new Primary Centers. Kinderquest is an enrichment program for the other half of a kindergarten student’s day.
- $2,450 to the New Providence Education Foundation for High School Smart Boards. New Providence High School’s Social Studies Department seeks to enhance instruction through Smart Board Technology. JLS grant will fund a Smart Board, Bluetooth Wireless Tablet, Speakers and Accessories.
The Junior League of Summit is a nonprofit, charitable and educational organization of women who are committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. For more information about the Junior League of Summit, call the League office at 908-273-7349 or visit www.jlsummit.org.
Photo: The 2009 Junior League of Summit Grant Recipients: from left to right: Nicole Chase and Mary Quigley of The Washington Avenue School PTO of Chatham, Eric Yates of The Lafeyette Avenue School of Chatham, Lois Bhatt of Bridges Outreach in Summit, Heather Alonge of the ECLC Foundation of Chatham, behind her Dominic Prophete of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Union County (CASA), Shniece Perry of the Summit Youth Center, Lucinda Mercer of the Summit YMCA, Amanda Grant, JLS President 2008-2009 and Jayne Graepel of the Connection for Women and Children of Summit.
