Congratulations to Our FY24 Community Partner Grantees

Fourteen grants totalling more than $120,000 will help build capacity of programs that support children, families and seniors.

FY24 Community Partner Grantee Organizations

SOS Children‘s Villages Illinois

Lockport

The SOS Illinois Sibling Foster Care Program is the hallmark of their work. In this program, youth in care have a place to call home and the space to heal from the trauma of being removed from their homes. This grant supports the Sibling Foster Care program at Lockport Village, located at 17545 Village Lane in Will County. With seventeen homes, the Village can support up to 102 children, although at current capacity they expect to serve 50-60 youth and their parents.

IL-WI Sertoma Regional Center for Communicative Disorders dba Sertoma Speech and Hearing Center

Crest Hill

Funds from this grant are allocated towards the implementation of a mobile hearing health unit equipped with audiometric testing equipment and staffed by Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationists and/or audiologists. These units would travel to various communities, including rural and underserved neighborhoods in Will County to reach residents with limited healthcare access, providing comprehensive hearing screenings, assessments, and follow-up care.

Holistic Riding Equestrian Therapy

Homer Glen

The grant will be used to purchase and install a new 3 HP 20 GPM Sta-Rite pump with a PID 30 controller, manifold, and tank. This state-of-the-art equipment will provide reliable consistent pressure and sufficient water supply to meet the diverse needs of the property. The increased capacity will ensure they have a stable water supply for equine welfare, participant safety and comfort, and operational efficiency.

Mommy‘s Gift To Me

Joliet

Mommy’s Gift to Me’s grant is being used to provide breastfeeding starter kits to new and expectant moms in Will County. This is a project-based grant, intended solely for the residents of Will County. The starter kits include breast pads, prenatal vitamins, a breastmilk hand pump, breastmilk storage bags, and educational materials on the benefits of breastmilk and breastfeeding. The organization is entirely volunteer based and 100% of donated funds go directly to providing education and breastfeeding resources to new moms and their babies.

Prairie State Legal Services, Inc.

Will County

Funding provided by the Community Foundation of Will County contributed to their efforts to address the most vulnerable Will County residents’ legal needs. The funding will be used towards their overall Joliet office budget to continue providing the high-quality legal services that they have been providing for 47 years.

Jennifer S. Fallick Cancer Support Center

Mokena

The center offers a wide range of programs and services with no limit on the number of visits per person. The oncology support programs include counseling, kids’ programs, and support/networking groups. Each participant begins with an intake session with a licensed clinical therapist, followed by access to various groups or individual, family, couples, and bereavement counseling. Additionally, they offer Kids Club and Kids Camp for children aged 6 and up. All programs are available via telehealth, in person, and some on demand. The funding will enable them to expand their reach and provide these essential services to more individuals in Will County, helping them navigate their cancer journey with the support they need.

Easterseals Joliet Region

Joliet

Easterseals grant will be applied to support the expansion of their current social work services into providing pediatric mental health services for all children in Will County who would benefit. This grant will fund additional training to their current social work staff to expand their skill set beyond working with children on the Autism spectrum and hone their interventions for this new population.

Loaves and Fishes

Fairmont

They will use the grant award to support their newest spoke distribution location in Fairmont, an unincorporated community in Will County. This area has been identified as high-need due to minimal access to healthy food, transportation availability, and the number of children receiving free or reduced lunch. The spoke will concentrate on food distribution to around 150 families with children in partnership with the neighborhood school, serving families in a familiar location where they are comfortable.

Wilmington Rotary Charitable Foundation

Wilmington

Wilmington Island Park District took up the challenge to build a playground that provides a place in the Wilmington community of fun and learning that support a special needs child/adult’s emotional, physical and social development, as well as a day at the park where the entire family can go together. The Rotary Club of Wilmington designated the park project as its primary fund-raising project. They have currently raised the funds for all the equipment, a storybook walk, and upgrades to the park. Unfortunately, the special flooring that goes under the specialized playground equipment has tripled in price since they started their efforts. The funds from this grant will support the purchase of the rubber poured-in-place flooring.

Heart Haven Outreach

Bolingbrook

To address challenges and enhance their capacity to secure critical funding, this grant will implement an UpMetrics software solution for impact measurement and management. Implementing UpMetrics software for developing, tracking, and managing key performance indicators (KPIs) will dramatically improve their grant writing process and their ability to communicate the impact of their programs to donors. This software will enable them to efficiently collect and analyze data, produce detailed reports, and ensure compliance with grant requirements.

After The Peanut Foundation

Joliet

STEAM CEO: Solar Power! is a multifaceted STEAM program that will provide opportunities for students from undeserved communities and low socioeconomic areas to gain STEAM skills. The program will also address several social ills and health disparities associated with food waste and food scarcity. The program will run September 2024 through May 2025. Each 8-week cohort will have 25 students enrolled. Students will gain knowledge through the use of the kits, and students will focus on remodeling a building or home in their neighborhood by identifying how they will infuse solar energy into their plan, as well as develop a mini-grocery store concept.

Will-Grundy Center for Independent Living dba Disability Resource Center

Will County

This grant will help assist children with physical or developmental disabilities to become more independent. The latest Autism Statistics state that an estimated 4 out of 100 boys and 1 in 100 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States. Autism Spectrum Disorder is estimated to affect more than 3 million individuals in the U.S. Approximately 100 individuals are diagnosed every day with autism in the U.S. Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.

NAMI Will Grundy

Joliet

NAMI Will Grundy grant will be used towards a weekly adolescent Peer Support Group for young people ages 13 through 17 years old. The grant includes a weekly stipend for a clinical staff person to facilitate the group and allowances for the purchase of basic materials. The funding will pay a facilitator for on-site support at 2 locations each week and the purchase of some basic materials.

Will County Project Linus

Bolingbrook

Will County Project Linus has distributed over 1,700 blankets last year to Will County Community Health Center, Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, Dr. James Mitchem Early Childhood Center, St. Joseph Hospital, Women of Self Love, UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook, Lightways Pediatric Hospice and Grief Camp, and many others. Some of their Blanketeers and service project groups have limited resources, but unlimited time to make these blankets. Providing their volunteers with material and yarn enables them to make more blankets, reaching more children.