The 400 members of Madison’s first service club are investing $145,485 in grants for educational projects and programs geared to improve the outcome for academic success for children in the community. All are high-impact organizations working to help keep students from falling behind. These grants align with the club’s priorities around youth and academic success.
The following organizations are receiving the educational grants from the Rotary Club’s associated Madison Rotary Foundation:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County will receive $28,485 to broaden its mentoring initiative by training high school students as mentors for younger children;
- Elver Park Neighborhood Center is receiving $37,000 to grow its programming for children;
- The Playing Field is receiving $50,000 to train 10 of its lead teachers in the Conscious Discipline Curriculum, a trauma-informed approach. The grant will also extend this curriculum training to 100 teachers from other early childhood centers; and
- Vera Court Neighborhood Center is receiving $30,000 to support a new academic initiative that will enable staff to collaborate with school personnel and volunteers to establish an evening tutoring and homework program for students at-risk of falling behind.
In addition, eight Innovation Grants are being provided for smaller, faster-to-fund amounts for organizations that want to evaluate, test, launch, expand, or improve a project. The grants of $5,000 each are being awarded as follows: CLIMB USA toward an investment education program; Specialty Care Free Clinic for its video interpreter services; Solace Friends for hospice volunteer management services; YMCA of Dane County for outdoor play equipment for young children; Journey Mental Health for play-based therapeutic resources; JustDane for Madison East High School’s lunch hour support services to improve safety; Porchlight to expand its eviction prevention programs; and Free Bikes 4 Kidz Madison for an educational workforce training program.
