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The mission of the Racine Community Foundation is to enhance the quality of life for the people of Racine County by encouraging and providing opportunities for charitable giving and by managing and distributing the funds in a responsible manner.
Racine Community Foundation Awards
$139,510 in First Quarter Grants
Alliance for the Great Lakes has been approved to receive matching funds for the We All Take Environment Responsibility (WATER) program. The WATER program will help 2,000 Racine students develop an awareness and understanding of how personal daily actions can impact our local watershed. Students will conduct real-life scientific water-quality experiments to reinforce the connections they have with our watershed.
Carthage College will receive support for their 16th season of the Carthage Chamber Music Series. The Series provides a number of on-campus pre-and post-concert programs and guest-artist workshops at area schools, as well as increase awareness of chamber music through the public schools, ensure that elderly and disabled community members have access to the Series, and demonstrate the highest level of musicianship among participating artists.
Developmental Disabilities Information Services, Inc. will receive support to purchase a software system for their Capacity Building Software Project. The purpose of the project is to increase individual case management services to children with disabilities in Racine County. Additionally, the new software will help build administrative efficiencies, monitor costs, facilitate reporting, streamline workload, and increase direct contact with clients.
Focus on Community in support of the Teen Peer Educators (TPE) program which provides research-based prevention programming, asset development and mentoring for high-risk elementary and middle school students. TPE’s are chosen from a diverse, cross-section of high school students who demonstrate healthy, drug-free lifestyles.
Junior Achievement (JA) of Wisconsin, Inc. will receive support for 700 students in the Waterford Graded School District with a first-time-ever grant aimed at expanding programming to Western Racine County youth. JA seeks to increase student knowledge of free enterprise and entrepreneurial skills, provide positive business role models, teach students to recognize opportunities, and create goal-specific actions. JA intends to continue to expand its programming to additional Waterford school districts in the future.
North Beach Playground Group will receive support for the purchase of lighting equipment for the Kid’s Cove Playground on the Racine lakefront. This capital purchase is intended to improve safety, deter vandalism, and extend the summer hours community children and families can use the playground. The light system also provides a motion-sensing feature to aid nearby residents and police surveillance.
Polish National Alliance has been approved for a grant in support of the Polish National Alliance 2012 Polish cultural picnic. This local Racine County annual event features a Catholic Mass in Polish, ethnic food, and traditional Polish entertainment.
Racine Zoological Society will receive a grant to support the redesign and implementation of their highly successful Wildlife Explorers Program that reaches every third grader in the Racine Unified School District. Among other things, the new programming will integrate engineering principles and concepts such as lifecycles, relationships between animal species, animal adaptations, and conservation.
Sustainable Edible Economic Development, Inc. (SEED) has been given a grant to support the development of an interactive website for producers and buyers of local food, educational training, and scholarship for training. Helping local farmers increase production of healthy food and providing a means for local producers and consumer markets to connect are two of the main goals of the organization.
Scholarships, Opportunities and Access (SOAR) of Racine was approved for a grant to expand Education Enrichment Centers from two to five for the second half of this academic year. Requested by parents and school administrators to increase its presence, SOAR provides group homework assistance and mentoring programs, serving close to 100 students by year’s end with many more expected to participate next school year.
Transitional Living Center (TLC), located in Burlington, will receive a grant to stabilize staffing and expand case management hours, as well as to increase shelter capacity and life training programming for clients. TLC provides temporary assistance to people in need of shelter and living essentials and a safe environment for healing and personal growth.
In other business, Mary Beth Mikrut, Executive Director, reported that as of March 23, 2012, the assets of the Racine Community Foundation were $40,592,019. The Board of Directors approved contributions, memorials, and additions to existing funds totaling $3,759,498. In addition, the Board approved advised, designated, field of interest, scholarship, organization endowment, and unrestricted grants totaling $699,563.
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Confirmed in Compliance with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.
