Kiwanis Foundation Grant Awards Approved for 2021/22

This year the Richmond Kiwanis Foundation will give away more than $60,000 in grants to our service partners and other community organizations, made possible by Kiwanis members’ continued generosity to our Annual Appeal and the responsible investment and management of these funds.  

At its December 6 board meeting, the Board approved the funding recommendations of our Foundation Partnership Committee in the amount of $62,500. In addition to our continued $10,000 support of our Club’s signature Adopt-A-School program benefitting Carver, Cary and Westover Hills Elementary Schools, 14 gifts will be made to a wide variety of Richmond-area non-profits for projects that benefit children, including four new organizations: ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation, Miracles In Motion Special Needs Dance Troupe, VisArts Center of Richmond, and Downtown Family YMCA.  

Based on its newly developed grant evaluation matrix and thorough discussion, the Foundation Partnership Committee made the following funding recommendations to the Board:   

$2,000 to ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation to support their signature social events for families affected by childhood cancer. This past year has been a challenge for all of us but especially for the pediatric cancer community; kids and families have suffered in isolation and longed to be around others who understand what they’re going through. ASK knows kids and families can find strength through each other and our program team, which is why they are getting creative and resuming social events designed to build community and connection. Kiwanis grant funds will support hosting ASK’s signature social events in the 2022 calendar year, which include Springtime at the Zoo, ASK Night at The Diamond, ASK Family Picnic, ASK Back to School Supply Event, ASK Kourageous Kids Party, ASK Family Fall Festival and ASK Holiday Party. Our social events enable our kids and families to be part of a close-knit community where they can put aside their daily challenges, have fun and be with others on the same journey. Friendships form that instill hope, courage and optimism. Childhood cancer changes the lives of our kids and families forever, but Kiwanis support and kindness will provide them with a community to always count on. 

$5,000 to Blue Sky Fund to support its Explorers program, providing 2,600 elementary students with ongoing, nature-based education that enriches science lessons from the classroom through hands-on outdoor experiences. This program uniquely addresses many of the challenges presented by COVID-19 – from tackling learning gaps that emerged after 18 months of virtual education, to helping students process the trauma of the past year and reconnect with their peers – all in the safest space for them to be during a pandemic: outside. With support from the Richmond Kiwanis Foundation, Blue Sky Fund can provide elementary students from low-income neighborhoods (including students from our partner elementary schools Carver and Westover Hills) with outdoor learning experiences that increase their access to the city’s green spaces, enhance their academic experience, and strengthen resilience skills. 

$2,500 to BSA Heart of Virginia to off-set the cost of Scouting by purchasing the $17 handbook for new Cub Scouts who are recruited from the 23 Title I elementary schools in the city of Richmond. 

$1,000 to Children’s Hospital Foundation to support the 67th Annual Kiwanis Holiday Festivities to provide holiday gifts for the 30 patients in their long-term care unit. Sadly, due to the continuance of COVID-19, in particular the Delta variant, the hospital is unable to have guests or visitors to Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. “We greatly appreciate all that the Kiwanians have done in the past to make the holidays a special time for our patients.” 

$10,000 toward our $50,000 pledge to Children’s Hospital Foundation to support construction of the Wonder Tower, Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU’s new home for inpatient and emergency care, specifically engineered to provide the children of Virginia with world-class pediatric care. 

$5,000 to ChildSavers school-based mental health services to help children build resilience to trauma by providing crisis intervention, psychiatric, outpatient, and clinical services. A partnership with Richmond Public Schools demonstrates that by providing clinical services in a convenient location, they can serve more children, engage with their families and teachers, and achieve improved outcomes. In September 2021, licensed therapists rejoined the physical school communities at Martin Luther King, Jr. Preschool and Middle, Woodville Elementary, Henry L. Marsh Elementary, Fairfield Elementary, Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary, Overby-Sheppard Elementary, George W. Carver Elementary, Blackwell Elementary, Broad Rock Elementary, and Thomas C. Boushall Middle, River City Middle, Huguenot High, and John Marshall High. Each of the 14 schools are federally-funded under Title 1 or Head Start. For the first time this year, ChildSavers anticipates seeing more clients through their school-based program than through their outpatient clinic in Richmond’s East End. 

$5,000 to Church Hill Activities & Tutoring (CHAT) to improve and expand their After School Program. The After School Program’s in-person programming provides students with a safe space to play, recharge, learn, and grow with peers and trusted adults; starting this school year, CHAT added an extra day of instruction and increased program hours, doubling the amount of time spent in programming. In addition to homework help and recreational activities, they have also started a community mentoring program where black professionals from the community share life and career advice with the students. With the help of this grant, CHAT will be able to sustain and expand this program to allow substantially more low-income students in the east end to access resources to foster their learning, growth, and long-term success. 

$1,500 to Greater Richmond Fit4Kids to support “Game On, Girl!,” a comprehensive initiative to empower adolescent girls to be physically active, nutritionally fit, and leaders in their school community! This 10-week, after-school program encourages middle school girls to learn to enjoy a wide variety of sports and physical activities. The program fuels their bodies for success and teaches lessons through sports to help students become effective leaders in their communities. This program serves more than 150 girls at 7 middle schools in Richmond City, Chesterfield County, and Henrico County Public Schools each year. Game On, Girl! Empowers adolescent girls to be confident, strong, and self-reliant and motivates girls to maintain habits of physical fitness and mindful eating.  

$2,000 to HARPS Foundation of Greenspring Music Academy to support their new guitar initiative through their outreach program Sound Experiences, a tuition-free music education program for at-risk youth through partnership with the Southside Club, Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond. Sound Experiences, which celebrated 20 years of service to the neediest youth in our community during the pandemic, is a nationally recognized music education program, providing formal music education conducted by classically trained instructors and peer mentors in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club to serve underserved youth in Richmond’s inner city communities. Funding from the Richmond Kiwanis Foundation to support Sound Experiences will allow them to expand this program to add additional classes to meet student demand and further our mission – to maintain and develop programs and performance opportunities for all children and youth, regardless of financial means or disabilities, utilizing music as a catalyst for personal growth, community service and social change, and bring transformative music education and connection to students even in the aftermath of a global pandemic. 

$3,000 one-time gift to Miracles In Motion Special Needs Dance Troupe for a much needed technology upgrade. This upgrade consists of a new studio laptop, upgraded sound equipment, along with the software and hardware required for these upgrades. This equipment will be used for classes, studio administrative needs and for community performances throughout Richmond community. 

$5,000 to the Relationship Foundation of Virginia’s fatherhood support programing that gives dads the skills they need to take a more active role in the lives of their children. RFVA works with dads before the baby is born with Boot Camp for New Dads. RFVA works with jails and rehab centers to provide programs that help fathers come out better men and role models, and give marginalized men who did not have anyone to learn from the opportunity to be the dad they have always wanted to be. These funds will be used to continue thier current fatherhood programs and recruit a fatherhood coordinator who will help RFVA offer more programs that will give dads the skills they need. 

$2,000 to Sportable’s youth cycling program, including “Cycle Saturdays” and other recreational and competitive cycling opportunities for youth. Sportable creates opportunity and transforms lives of people with physical disabilities and visual impairments through sport. They serve people of all ages and abilities as athletes and offer a wide range of programs to meet their individual needs, interests, and goals. Cycling is a mainstay in the Sportable adaptive programming schedule. Cycling is the most adaptable and, therefore, accessible sport they offer. There is a bike for every size, need, and athletic ability.  

$3,000 to Virginia Museum of History & Culture youth programming. In 2021-2022 the VMHC hopes to serve over 50,000 students, teachers, and adults in preK-12 school field trips to the newly renovated museum and virtual classroom experiences with their state-of-the-art museum space, and innovative and inclusive programing. The funding from Kiwanis and other likeminded civic, corporate, and foundation organizations assists the VMHC with outreach to the teachers who use their programs and plan their field trips around a visit to the museum with docents, curators, and VMHC teaching staff who are prepared to instruct at the level required. The funds requested will assist with 1) field trips (on site) for students from Greater Richmond, 2) HistoryConnects programing (online units for study and SOL preparation), and 3) Virginia History day that involves over 7,000 students across Virginia plus their teachers, the finals to be held in Richmond at the Museum in April, 2022 for over 400 students, teachers, and family members. 

$2,500 to the Visual Arts Center of Richmond to support their Art After School program, free-of-charge arts education for K-12 students attending Richmond Public Schools. Through our partnerships, Art After School serves a diverse body of students that includes many economically vulnerable and historically marginalized families. AAS is their signature community partnership program and provides youth in Richmond with productive, inspiring and safe out-of-school programming and delivers classes in diverse media. Students are taught by artist instructors who provide mentoring that goes beyond instruction. Since AAS began, it has become a key part of the after-school culture of several RPS middle schools. In 2021-2022 Art After School will continue to offer challenging and fun classes in nearly all of VisArts studios, including stained glass, metals, screen printing, fibers, animation, ceramics, drawing and painting, the darkroom, and the digital lab. Beginning in 2021, we started offering on-site classes again with limited capacity. VisArts will continue to offer both online and on-site classes throughout 2022, running 30-36 onsite classes and 7 online or in-person AAS classes held offsite at Albert Hill, Martin Luther King Jr., and Henderson middle schools. Each session of Art After School culminates in an exhibition of student artwork. 

$3,000 to expand Y teen programming at the Downtown Family YMCA. YMCA teen programs engage vulnerable adolescents in positive, safe, developmental activities during the high risk out-of-school time hours, develop social-emotional skills, and help teens succeed in school and beyond through career exploration. Y Achievers provides minority and low-income teens with job skills, post-high school planning, and social-emotional development – more critical than ever as teens grapple with isolation, lack of engagement, financial insecurity, and learning loss. Leaders’ Club provides middle school and high school youth with leadership development, community service, and college preparation. Teens are engaged in volunteer initiatives, career opportunities, and community development, and the program culminates in a week at Blue Ridge Leaders’ School in North Carolina. There are currently 51 teens actively participating in programs at the Downtown Y. Funding will allow the Y Achievers Club to expand from one to three Richmond Public Schools to benefit more youth from low-income communities.