A thousand years makes economics silly and a work of art endures forever.

The legacy of all great civilizations is in large measure the art they leave behind. The arts are embroidered into all facets of society: the music we listen to, the design of sleek buildings, a child's dance recital, a live performance that recreates human foibles and funny moments, a museum that helps us understand our past. These and many others create a colorful cloth of culture. This multi-colored fabric of many threads is woven into our society, providing not just human enrichment but economic empowerment. According to Ray Perryman, whose firm The Perryman Group was hired to scientifically study the implications of the arts on the economy in Texas, cultural arts generated $190.2 billion in total expenditures and almost two million permanent jobs. Educators are finding that exposure to arts facilitates critical thinking on the part of the child. Arts are reaching across disciplines to help children awaken to new ways of learning science, history and literature. Whether in the classroom or the local community, arts enhance and enrich the lives of inspaniduals that it touches.

Art Center of Waco
Waco, Texas$45,000

Grant assisted the Art Center's "Learning Plan," a blueprint for transforming art education outreach into an ongoing learning experience.

Library of Congress
Washington, DC$500,000

Grant will be used towards the "Gift to the Nation" project. The grant celebrates the bicentennial of this institution, the largest collection of stored knowledge in the world. Designation and programming of this grant will take place over a five-year period.

Public Affairs Television, Inc.
New York, New York$150,000

Increasing public awareness through documentaries, this organization was able to increase productivity by hiring two experienced professional journalists to research projects.

Waco Hippodrome Theater
Waco, Texas$100,000

Grant provided support for the continuation of high quality performing arts programs at this historic downtown theater dating from 1913.

Waco Symphony Association
Waco, Texas$12,000

Matching grant provided scholarships for student interns to play with the Waco Symphony Orchestra for the 2000-2001 season.

No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.

The range of education opportunities available is both exciting and staggering. Within the Central Texas area, the possibilities include hundreds of schools, each with innumerable programs for all types of children and youth. State funding has left our school systems bereft of adequate funding for programs, so the Foundation looks to assist those programs that can make a critical difference. Through grants of all sizes, the Foundation will continue to focus on the power of education as change agent for a positive future.

Books are for Kids
Waco, Texas$8,742

McLennan County elementary schools acquired Accelerated Reader books for their libraries. Eligible schools submit an application for supplemental funding in the first year of this three-year grant.

Cartoonists Across America South Hadley, Massachusetts
(event held in Waco, Texas)$500

Designed to promote literacy, this innovative grant engages professional cartoonists to create a large mural with the help of local school children.

Greater Fort Hood Communities in Schools
Fort Hood, Texas$2,500

Grant purchased curriculum supplies and training for a family literacy program in ten schools.

Hillcrest Professional Development School
Waco, Texas$4,671

Grant provided lighting and sound equipment for this fine arts development school where 100-110 students put on a theatrical performance for their families and community.

LaVega IndependentSchool District
Waco, Texas$4,100

Grant covered the cost of the training notebooks and training for one counselor at their Family Resource Center to conduct child care and family outreach programs.

Lakeview Academy
Waco, Texas$24,420

Grant upgraded existing computer system with educational software and training used by students and adults in the program studying for their GED. The system also is used by youth who experience behavioral problems in a traditional school setting.

The Audre and Bernard Rapoport Academy
Waco, Texas$31,500

Grant provided financial support for the hiring of a full time librarian for the Academy.

University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas$500,000

This new scholarship program combines community service work with academic studies in the Liberal Arts. The Rapoport Service Learning Scholarship Program offers UTA freshmen $10,000 per year. This need-based scholarship will fund 17 freshmen each year for three years and includes the use of a laptop computer.

Waco Association of Insurance
Waco, Texas$8,000

Matching grant provided scholarships for 32 high school seniors within McLennan County.

Waco Reads McLennan County Youth Collaboration
Waco, Texas$56,000

Grant assists with the training of volunteers to tutor and mentor at-risk students in local school districts. The program is an outgrowth of Waco 1000, a nonprofit challenge to engage 1000 citizens to read with a child.

Grants to improve health and healthcare though not a funding focus of the Foundation, can be viewed as a part of the overall needs of a community. Health grants are sometimes distributed to make it possible for services to continue that are in danger of losing critical support.

Central Texas Sickle Cell Anemia
Waco, Texas$3,150

To increase awareness about a blood disorder that affects all ages, Central Texas Sickle Cell Anemia organization gives educational presentations and distributes information to school groups. This grant replenished a depleted brochure inventory and purchased a typewriter.

Children's Hospital Foundation of Austin
Austin, Texas$25,000

Grant was used towards the new Children's Therapy Gym. This pediatric unit improvement expands space and tools for physical therapy for children who have birth defects or who have suffered from injuries due to accidents.

Olde Towne Medical Center
Williamsburg, Virginia$45,000

This grant assisted the Center in providing comprehensive primary and preventative dental care to the indigent, un- and under insured Medicare and Medicaid population.

Through a comprehensive network of agencies, communities create safety nets to care for their most fragile citizens. These groups emerge to serve unmet needs and often reflect a microcosm of the population. The efforts of the agencies often leverage private donations and community volunteers to "stretch" limited budgets to meet their missions. Without these organizations, which represent a rainbow array of human needs, society would face a far greater cost to maintain these badly needed services.

Big Brothers / Big Sisters
Waco, Texas$10,000

Grant was used to expand Big Brothers / Big Sisters current services in McLennan County. The group teams adults and older students with at-risk children in recreational and esteem building activities.

Boys and Girls Club of Waco
Waco, Texas$25,400

Grant was used to hire a Technology Service Provider who assisted youth to increase their technology skills and to become more confident and self-sufficient.

CareLinc Network, Inc.
Waco, Texas$75,000

Grant was used to add an administrative staff person and "ramp up" program capacity to meet increasing demands in establishing a "first call for help" center.

Caritas of Waco
Waco, Texas$25,000

Emergency assistance funding was made possible by this grant. The agency provides a food pantry and helps families with utility bills and other emergency needs.

Caritas of Waco
Waco, Texas$65,685

Grant provided operational equipment including a heavy-duty truck that will be used for local food distribution.

Central Texas Senior Ministry
Waco, Texas$30,000

Matching grant will assist the Meals on Wheels program in providing 14,563 meals - 58 meals per day for a year to senior citizens.

Community In Schools McLennan County
Waco, Texas$14,500

Through a Community Youth Development Grant CIS-MCYC was able to tap a state funded grant to assist with social services in the 76707 zip code, an area determined to be low income and underserved. This grant covers the administrative costs related to programs that target children in this area.

Evangelia Settlement
Waco, Texas$31,600

Grant was used for tuition assistance scholarships to cover half of the child care fee for families experiencing financial difficulties.

Family Abuse Center
Waco, Texas$39,640

This grant enables the agency to tap Welfare-to-Work funds by providing an in-house counselor to match needed resources to women who wish to receive an education or find a job.

Friends for Life
Waco, Texas$65,799

Grant was used to purchase a handicap accessible bus to transport elderly to facility; and grant was also used to purchase computers, printers and training for software.

Jerusalem Foundation
Jerusalem, Israel$250,000

Grant designated for Beit Schmuel Community Center. This multi-purpose center is part of a larger $2 million capital campaign sponsored by a joint effort of the United Jewish Communities (formerly United Jewish Appeal) and the Jerusalem Foundation.

Latin American Christian Center
Waco, Texas$15,000

Established in 1953, the Center has provided child care to neighborhood Hispanic families for generations. The grant enabled the Center to continue its operation to provide quality child care.

McLennan County Dispute Resolution Center
Waco, Texas$39,525

By encouraging the use of mediation services, children can be spared from traumatic court appearances. This grant was used to implement and administer a court-supervised mediation program focusing on contested Child Protective Services cases in McLennan County.

Planned Parenthood of Central Texas
Waco, Texas$200,000

Founded in 1916, Planned Parenthood is the world's largest and oldest voluntary family planning organization. This grant was used for expansion of the public information library for this Central Texas location.

Prevent Child Abuse Texas
Austin, Texas$3,000

Inspaniduals from Waco youth and family-focused nonprofit agencies had an opportunity to attend the 15th Annual Conference on the Prevention of Child Abuse held in Austin, Texas as a result of scholarships from this grant.

Reva Rapoport Day Care c/o Jerusalem Foundation
Jerusalem, Israel$9,000

Named in honor of Bernard Rapoport's mother, Reva Rapoport Day Care was able to purchase a new air conditioning unit.

Salvation Army
Waco, Texas$14,971

Grant was used to purchase new tables and chairs and a walk-in refrigerator for storage of donated food items.

Salvation Army
Waco, Texas$14,073

Matching grant was used to provide back to school vouchers for clothes and school supplies for the high-risk children within the Waco area.

United Jewish Communities
Jerusalem, Israel$250,000

Grant is designated for Beit Schmuel Community Center. This multi-purpose center is part of a larger $2 million capital campaign sponsored by a joint effort of the United Jewish Communities (formerly United Jewish Appeal) and the Jerusalem Foundation.

Youth Connection
Waco, Texas$10,000

In an effort to help teenagers understand the responsibilities of pregnancy, Youth Connection uses the educational "Baby-Think-It-Over" program. This grant was used to purchase infant simulators and supplies to make the program available locally. Youth groups borrow the "babies" that are then loaned to teens for a three-day trial period to familiarize them with parenthood issues.

So, two cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism.

Strong suppot civic participation has been a hallmark of the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation since its inception. It has been said that the greatest good a society can have is an informed and active electorate. Academic studies of democracy produce thoughtful papers and books that citizens can review and discuss. In addition to supporting the study of democracy, the Foundation supports scholarships and fellowships to identify sociological and historical influences on the development of democracy in America.

Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey$25,750

To renew the Walt Whitman Center for Culture and Politics of Democracy scholarship for 2000-2001 year. The current Rapoport Democracy Fellow project is a series of edited handbooks titled Democracy is a Discussion.

Solomon Project
Washington, DC$25,000

Grant was used for a book project titlled "Jews in American Politics."

Women's Research & Education Institute
Washington, DC$17,000

Grant was used to support one Congressional Fellowship on Women & Public Policy for 2000-2001.