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Other Years: 2002 | 2000
ARTS & CULTURE
Introducing arts to children is a worthwhile goal
as it enriches young people and cultivates art appreciation
and future support. Local cultural groups help to educate and
entertain young people through outreach programs in the schools,
as demonstrated through a grant to a civic theatre group. Funding
a public television documentary, produced by a veteran news
producer, provoked public discussion on topical issues of the
day. An arts center, already known for its work supporting an
international children's museum, brought on an energetic new
director thanks to an assist by the Foundation. And a new local
public radio station found support in its first year for start
up costs.
Art Center Waco ~ $30,000
Waco, Texas
Newly renamed, the Art Center is embarking on
a visionary plan for the future with a new director. This grant
assisted with the new executive director's salary for one year.
KWBU Public Radio ~ $50,000
Waco, Texas
Celebrating its first full year in the Waco market,
public radio has found support for this commercial-free format.
With this funding, the station was able to assist with staffing
and production of local programming.
Public Affairs Television, Inc. ~ $250,000
New York, New York
Award-winning broadcast journalist Bill Moyers
produced two documentaries that were shown on public television.
This grant provided funds to research and produce In Harm's
Way: Kids and Chemicals and NAFTA's Powerful Little Secret.
Waco Musical Theatre, Inc. ~ $3,750
Waco, Texas
This grant enabled a small arts organization to
provide educational touring performances to school groups while
providing first-hand drama experience to the participants.
EDUCATION
From preschool children filled with a sense of
wonder and discovery, to university symposium scholars debating
provocative subjects, educational grants run the gamut. Scholarships
are a primary investment of the Foundation since they go directly
to its mission of promoting self-sufficiency. Through the Rapoport
Service Scholars, students learn the value of community service
while engaged in the study of liberal arts at the University
of Texas. Grants also include an internship to work with an
internationally renowned art director and a literacy festival
that attracts cartoonists, storytellers, artists and celebrities
to creatively involve students in reading.
The Audre and Bernard Rapoport Academy ~ $31,000
Waco, Texas
This school, initially serving K - 3, was created
to educate a population of children whose families are typically
well under the median income. Recognized for their reading scores,
the Academy has become a model for literacy programs in charter
schools nationwide. This grant provided financial support for
the hiring of a full-time fourth grade teacher and helped enable
the school to expand beyond third grade.
Building a Nation of Readers, Artists and Dreamers 2001 ~
$2,000
Waco, Texas
In its second year, this program began as an innovative
visual event to use cartoonists to engage students in reading.
The event expanded to involve a variety of authors, storytellers,
painters, celebrities and even zoo animals. The goal of the
event was to encourage literacy and to complement that effort,
this grant allowed books to be distributed to children who attended
the event.
Byrd-Hoffman Foundation ~ $7,500
New York, New York
Robert Wilson founded The Watermill Center in
1992 as an international facility for new work in the arts.
The Center has developed major work for the world's stages and
museums, and begun introducing a new generation of young artists
in Wilson's distinctive methods. This grant funded a scholarship
for one intern to participate in two productions.
Community Training Center ~ $45,000
Waco, Texas
Located in a transitional urban area, the Center
serves neighborhood children and youth with a variety of programs.
After-school tutoring is key to the mission of the Center, where
students are mentored with compassion and discipline. Funding
enabled three part-time certified teachers to be hired and a
computer lab to be upgraded.
Texas Christian University, Jim Wright Symposium
~ $30,000
Fort Worth, Texas
Honoring Jim Wright, a former Speaker of the U.S.
House of Representatives, TCU is hosting the Jim Wright Symposia
Series - an annual one-day conference at which nationally recognized
scholars in political science, public policy, and other social
sciences will be invited to present papers on political thought,
process, leadership, and policy issues for critique and analysis.
This grant will fund the first three years of the symposium.
University of Texas at Austin ~ $500,000
Austin, Texas
The Rapoport Service Scholarship, a fully-funded,
three-year scholarship, was awarded to the first 17 liberal
arts freshmen of this inaugural program. A key feature of the
scholarship is a service learning component, which requires
students to spend summers working at a nonprofit agency of their
choice. The students then converse, both in person and through
email, about the learning experience. Each of the 17 students
will receive a $10,000 scholarship per year and the use of a
laptop computer.
Waco Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors ~ $4,000
Waco, Texas
This professional business association provides
scholarships to local high school students as an incentive to
continue their education. This matching grant provided scholarships
for 24 McLennan County high school seniors. At the awards presentation,
both students and their parents are acknowledged.
Texas State Technical College ~ $50,000
Waco, Texas
A grant to Texas State Technical College will
allow tech-nical students in various disciplines to assist nonprofit
organizations while receiving both credit and on-the-job-training.
Under the direction of a TSTC professor advisor, students of
the Skills U.S.A. Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (CG-VICA)
will perform free comprehensive assessments and technology plans.
Coined "Geeks to Go," the program represents a variety
of specialties such as computer maintenance, Microsoft Office,
webmaster, network systems and cabling.
HEALTH
Health care is a costly, but necessary, expense for everyone.
Among the poor, access to medical care is limited and often
prohibitively expensive. By providing basic primary care, these
grants target a few select areas where a small amount of money
can have significant results. Immunizations are an example of
preventative care that costs a fraction of the longer term exposure
to disease. By reaching out to schools, churches and childcare
facilities, nurses can deliver shots and practical health information.
As a result of other recent grants, dental care for the poor
became a reality and complete medical exams were made available
to indigent women.
Family Practice Center ~ $78,601
Waco, Texas
Immunizations are essential for quality health
care in children. As the primary provider of indigent health
care in the Waco area, this federally qualified institution
strives to educate the public about the value of vaccines and
to provide outreach to community through schools and childcare
facilities. This grant will provide funding for a bi-lingual
nurse, a coordinator, training, supplies, and evaluations for
an immunization program in McLennan County.
Olde Towne Medical Center ~ $20,000
Williamsburg, Virginia
Dental health is and often overlooked and under
funded component of health care. This medical facility offers
comprehensive indigent dental health services. Recently, staff
training on improved delivery of services made it possible to
see patients faster, with less waiting. To encourage this efficiency
training, a grant provided training, and travel expenses to
assist in the redesign of their patient visits. The grant also
assisted in the salary of a part-time dental receptionist.
Planned Parenthood of Central Texas ~ $100,000
Waco, Texas
Health services for low-income women is the focus
of this agency. While this agency offers vitally-needed indigent
health care, federal funding has been cut substantially for
family education and planning organizations nationwide. Among
other services, this grant will allow this organization to provide
more than 16,000 medical exams each year.
SOCIAL SERVICE
It seems for every human challenge there is a social service
agency that is pledged to help. Like in society, there is a
wide array of grants that serve diverse needs such as: connecting
agencies through technology and case managers for information
referral, understanding how sustainable agriculture can help
feed the hungry, providing quality childcare and early childhood
development, recycling building materials to fund affordable
homes, and constructing a new family visitor center for high-risk
juveniles who have been adjudicated to a rehabilitation facility.
These are just a sampling of grants that touch lives in large
and small ways.
Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children ~ $24,960
Waco, Texas
Working with children who are abused or traumatized
by parental conflict requires special training and environments.
Likewise, women need counseling professionals when they are
coping with domestic violence. The Center specializes in training
state- certified nurses, counselors and child advocates. The
grant will add much needed staffing and equipment for the Center's
newly added space.
Ag & Earth Expo 2001 ~ $3,200
Bell County Network
for Educational Technology
Temple, Texas
Disabled children and young people challenged by mental illness
often are limited in their accessibility to public events. By
providing secure and appropriate transportation, and adult supervision,
this grant enabled special needs youth to attend the Ag &
Earth Expo 2001 and marvel at the science and technology displays.
ARC of McLennan County ~ $1,000
Waco, Texas
Children who are mentally ill require special
attention and services to provide education and recreation.
Parents of these special needs children rarely have time off
and become overloaded as full-time workers and caregivers. A
unique summer program was developed through this local agency
to allow children to experience the simple joys of summer camp
and to allow parents some relief from the daily supervision
and care they must give. This grant allowed three special needs
children to attend summer camp.
AVANCE, Inc. ~ $1,000,000
San Antonio, Texas
Avance is a community-based organization offering
parent and early childhood education and comprehensive family
support services to low-income, primarily Hispanic families.
A major grant initiated the start up of Avance Waco, the newest
chapter of this national organization. Three-year funding will
allow this new organization to serve between 60 and 100 families
each year and will work collaboratively with numerous other
local agencies.
B.R.O.T.H.E.R.s, Inc. ~ $5,000
Waco, Texas
A small brick cottage is the setting for an after
school program, where young men receive tutoring and mentoring
guidance, as well as access to peers for board games and basketball.
This grant pro-vided assistance with the Boys-to-Men Program
outreach efforts.
Camp Fire USA, Tejas Council Texas Fragile Families ~ $58,617
Waco, Texas
This grant provided second-year funding for the
development of community-based services for young, low-income
fathers as they support the emotional, physical, and financial
needs of their children. Fragile Families, funded by a coalition
of 26 foundations, represents the leading edge of a national
movement to restore the father figure to a more rewarding role
in the nontraditional family structure.
CareLinc Network, Inc. ~ $50,000
Waco, Texas
This grant was used to hire a full-time, licensed
social worker to take client calls and make the necessary referrals
to other organizations. This agency will take a lead role in
the participation of a statewide effort to create "2-1-1"
- a centralized call center number that allows callers in need
of services to have one point of contact for social service
agencies.
Central Texas Senior Ministries ~ $20,000
Waco, Texas
Engaging the participation of a larger community
was the goal of this challenge grant. Because the organization
was successfully able to identify matching funds, the grant
assisted in providing 8,511 Meals on Wheels (33 meals per day
for one year) to Waco's low-income homebound seniors.
Central Texas Sickle Cell Anemia Association ~ $2,000
Waco, Texas
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder
disease that affects many nationalities including African Americans,
Arabs, Greeks, Italians, Latin Americans, and those from India.
The disease can appear in children, so to educate young people
about the traits and treatment of the disease, a grant was awarded
to continue support of educational presentations in schools.
Child Development Resources ~ $15,000
Norge, Virginia
This organization specializes in train-the-trainer
programs geared to children with disabilities and developmental
disorders. Since 1966, this agency has been training early childhood
professionals nationwide, including physicians, nurses and nurse
practitioners, educators, child care workers, and members of
early intervention teams. This grant was used to initiate the
1-2-3 READ! Program for infants and toddlers.
Girl Scouts Bluebonnet Council ~ $19,700
Waco, Texas
Summer programs can provide important education
and recreation outlets for young people. This grant targeted
a specific neighborhood for at-risk girls in the 76707 zip code
area of Waco. Titled "Cool Connections - Summer Program
for 76707" this grant paid expenses related to the activities
that acquainted girls with problem solving and relationship
building in a fun and friendly manner.
Gulf Coast Trades Center ~ $45,000
New Waverly, Texas
Education and job skills training are two key
elements of this 30-year-old program set in the piney woods
north of Houston. Adjudicated youth are provided a secure and
supportive environment in a residential facility so that they
might turn their lives around and avoid entering the criminal
justice system. This grant assisted GCTC in completing a match
for a family and visitor center.
Jerusalem Foundation ~ $250,000
Jerusalem, Israel
This grant, a joint effort between the United
Jewish Communities and the Jerusalem Foundation, reflects payment
towards a $2.5 million capital campaign. The grant will go toward
building the Beit Shmuel Community Center, a multi-purpose facility
where people participate in activities of mutual interest like
archaeology, photography, language and culture.
Latin American Christian Center ~ $5,000
Waco, Texas
Originally established as a church nursery in
the 1950's, this childcare has served Hispanic families for
generations. This grant enabled this neighborhood organization
to continue its operation to provide quality care.
Salvation Army ~ $20,000
Waco, Texas
Parents are often unable to buy the most basic
school supplies. By providing the needed materials, a new pair
of shoes, and one new outfit, students have their self-esteem
lifted. This matching grant provided back-to-school supplies
and clothing for high-risk children in the Waco area.
Texas Southern University ~ $500
Houston, Texas
This grant assisted three Waco men to attend the
Renewable Energy & Environmental Protection (REEP) Summer
Academy. The program provides a peer network and a faculty supervisor
to on-site studies related to renewable energy.
United Jewish Communities ~ $250,000
Jerusalem, Israel
This grant, a joint effort between the United
Jewish Communities and the Jerusalem Foundation, reflects payment
towards a $2.5 million capital campaign. The grant will go toward
building the Beit Shmuel Community Center, a multi-purpose facility
where people participate in activities of mutual interest like
archaeology, photography, language and culture.
Waco Coalition for the Homeless c/o CareLinc
Network ~ $7,500
Waco, Texas
Funding a professional grant writer enabled Compassion Ministries,
a local agency serving the homeless, to receive a Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) Super NOFA grant. Through a coalition
of support agencies, with the leadership of CareLinc, this grant
writer secured more than $600,000 for the project.
Waco Habitat for Humanity ~ $80,000
Waco, Texas
In addition to building affordable homes, this organization
has begun a new initiative to sell recycled building materials.
Called ReStore, the operation will create a new revenue source
for its home-building efforts. This grant funded the staff of
the ReStore project, and allowed the organization to establish
a homeowner training and volunteer center by refurbishing an
abandoned building in a transitional neighborhood.
Waco-McLennan County Library ~ $25,000
Waco, Texas
The Waco-McLennan County library system relo-cated their R.B.
Hoover Library branch to a new and larger space. The new space
required additional equipment and supplies. This grant assisted
in the purchase of equipment to outfit the children's room.
World Hunger Relief, Inc. ~ $34,605
Elm Mott, Texas
This small farm on the outskirts of Waco is fertile ground for
agricultural and educational programs. The nonprofit agency's
small staff demonstrates simple but effective sustainable farming
techniques to both domestic and international visitors. Interns
agree to study, live and work at the farm. In addition, school
children visit on field trips so that they become familiar with
basic farming and rural living conditions. The grant assisted
in further developing the educational programs and provided
one-time, capacity-building funds for the existing position
of Development Director.
DEMOCRACY
The Foundation has long been a supporter of civic engagement
and public participation in issues that frame our world. Grants
include a timely survey by a noted professor who takes the country's
pulse on civic involvement, while a nonpartisan Washington,
D.C. think tank explores issues in-depth. Informing decision
makers and ordinary citizens alike strengthens democracy by
encouraging public discussion and helps leaders better reflect
the public interest. One group strives to deliberately bring
together diverse viewpoints to seek common ground solutions.
White papers, conferences, fellowships and media coverage broaden
the dissemination of information and connect citizens to each
other.
Economic Policy Institute (EPI) ~ $100,000
Washington, DC
The mission of the Economic Policy Institute is to provide research
and education to promote a prosperous, fair, and sustainable
economy. This grant was used to hire a senior policy outreach
coordinator to make its findings accessible to the general public,
the media, and policy makers.
New Hampshire Charitable Fund (Putnam Survey) ~ $37,500
Concord, New Hampshire
To determine trends in civic participation of Americans, Robert
Putnam conducted the world's largest survey in partnership with
nearly three dozen community foundations. In his best-selling
book Bowling Alone, Putnam chronicles his findings on civic
engagement. This grant funds a follow-up survey, which identifies
encouraging news about trust in government and civic service
post September 11.
Search for Common Ground ~ $50,000
Washington, DC
This conflict prevention and resolution organization seeks to
transform ideology differences into cooperative action. By consulting
with leading experts in consensus building and working with
diverse groups on a national level, this group seeks to offer
a bi-partisan venue for problem solving important issues. A
first-year grant funded the start up of this initiative.
Women's Research & Education Institute (WREI) ~
$17,500
Washington, DC
This grant assisted in the support of one Congressional
Fellowship on Women & Public Policy for 2001-2002. This
individual served a California Senator who provided leadership
to a successful legislative bill to enhance access to higher
education for Hispanics.
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