2006 Funded Programs
Child and Family Development Committee
RSVP First Book Program: This project is for a mentoring/tutoring program. 80% of children served are low-income. Activities support educational growth and children receive books to read and own.
Vera Court Community Center/Kids Café: This effort works with Second Harvest, UW Extension and the Feeding Children Better Foundation. During the School year kids will receive 3 hot meals, 2 snacks per week. During the summer they will receive 5 lunches per week. In addition, there is a Father's Day BBQ, Mother's Day Brunch, Thanksgiving Meal and Black History Month Celebration. 400 kids and youth will be served per year, 78% get free and reduced lunch at school.
Friends of Troy Gardens: The project is for a Kids Gardening Program. This is a partnership with the UW-Extension Nutrition Education Program. They will serve over 270 low-income kids. The goal is to involve kids in the full cycle of food production: growing food, harvesting it, preparing meals in order to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their meals and make healthier food choices.
Rainbow Project/Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren Project: The project will provide a number of key services to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren: monthly support group, monthly newsletter, warm-line phone resource, referral and networking services, on-going evaluation/supervision and planning services. The 2000 census showed a 20% increase in the number of grandparents serving as primary caregivers for their grandchildren.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art/Art Cart: The Kids Fund resources will be used for an after school program. The proposal is for the Art Cart program that goes to venues throughout Madison and Dane County throughout the summer bringing creative, fun art activities to children throughout the area. In the past year they have expanded their program significantly to reach communities beyond the City of Madison. The funds proposed would cover supplies and materials.
Bridges Golf Course/First Tee Program: This is a program that teaches young children to play golf over the summer vacation. It also incorporates life skills into the instruction. They will serve over 800 kids. Students are taught responsibility, courtesy, decision-making, goal setting and the importance of respect.
Harambee (South Madison Health and Family Center): The grant supports the annual Healthy Babies/Healthy Families Fair and Baby Shower. All agencies of the Center participate. Families with babies and pre-school age children meet with representatives from health, literacy and family support agencies to learn about important services available to them. The Baby Shower provides gift bags with infant clothes, formula, diapers, blankets, toys, and strollers to families in need. Representatives from family support agencies are on hand to provide information and give presentations to families.
Women in Focus Literacy Program: This is a year-long weekly program in which volunteers read to kids in the Harambee clinic's waiting room. Funds are to purchase books that are given to the children at each session. Books are in English, Spanish and Spanish/English.
UW-Extension/Dane County Home and Community Education Program: This is a first book program in which volunteers read to low income children in preschool settings and provide workshops for parents to inform them about ways to support the literacy skills of their children. Children are also provided books with which to begin their own home libraries. The proposal is for the Art Cart program that goes to venues throughout Madison and Dane County throughout the summer bringing creative, fun art activities to children throughout the area. In the past year they have expanded their program significantly to reach communities beyond the City of Madison. The funds proposed would cover supplies and materials. Settings include Kennedy Heights Community Center and New Homes Head Start, a program for homeless children.
Bayview Artsbridge Program: This is an 8-week summer camp of educational, arts and enrichment activities for children 7-12 and their families who reside in Bayview subsidized housing. Kids learn the history and culture of various countries. They engage in service learning. Projects culminate in and are exhibited at the Triangle Ethnic Fest in August. This has been a highly productive and effective program.
Aldo Leopold nature Center: Grant funds are used for the "Knee-High Naturalists" program in conjunction with the public schools. In addition to direct exposure to nature, there would also be curricula for the schools to further expose young students to insights related to the natural world.
DeForest Day Camp Garden: This project is a Growing with the Garden program as part of an All American Day Camp. Kids will work on developing and nurturing and harvesting a community garden.
Bridge Lake Point Community Center: The resources are for a program entitled "Life as a Boy", an after-school program for boys 8-11. The goal is to introduce/teach positive values and provide positive images for boys preparing to become young men.
City of Stoughton: This project is a truancy program to intervene with kids the minute truancy becomes an issue. The grant will fund parenting classes and a work program in lieu of fines that will be done through the Youth Center.
Even Start: This project is an intergenerational literacy program. It is in the Leopold School District and will engage low-income parents and kids in activities as individuals and in groups that support the child's education.
Girl Scouts: Grant funds are for the creation of a Taft Street Troop in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club.
Kennedy Heights Community Center: The project is to create an early childhood program that will actively engage parents. We chose not to recommend funds for staff development that was proposed.
Neighborhood House: The project is for a Day Camp newspaper created by kids that will deal with community issues and teach computer skills.
UW-Human Ecology: The funds are used for a Food and Families program sponsored by the South Side Farmers' Market. The funds would be for nutritious food baskets. Nutrition education is also part of the project.
Vera Court Community Center: Funds are used for a Challenge by Choice program for 40 elementary kids as part of a summer day camp program which will focus on challenge and achievement.
Wexford Ridge Community Center: The project is an elementary school age after-school program that will include the development of computer skills and parent involvement.
Developmental Disabilities Committee
Access to Independence: This proposal requested funding for the Kids Program that consists of Wheelchair Athletics (including wheelchair ice hockey & weekend sports camp), Winners On Wheels and Challenger Little League. All of these activities benefit children who use wheelchairs by helping them with self-esteem, achievement, fun, education, teamwork, independence and parental freedom. This proposal expected to serve 30-40 individuals.
Autistic Society of America-Madison Chapter: This proposal requested funding to continue and expand the AUsome Social Group that meets monthly to provide social activities for teenagers & young adults with Autism spectrum disabilities. This year's main attraction was to be the Juggling Show for 114 attendees at the UW Union. Other activities include Michael Feldman's "Whad'Ya Know" radio show and regular AUsome Social Group meetings. Due to the support of the Kids Fund, the AUsome Group has grown from only 4 members in 1997 to 60 current members.
Community Action Coalition-Citizen Advocacy: This proposal requested funding to create and support one-to-one relationships, which provide advocacy, community integration and friendship between youth with developmental disabilities and other community members.
Easter Seals Camp Wawbeek: This proposal requested funding for camperships to enable Dane County young people with a disability to interact with other people with similar disabilities in a safe, caring setting. The camp atmosphere helps create a feeling of positive self-esteem by giving the individuals a chance to explore many program offerings and to challenge them mentally, physically and socially.
Epilepsy Foundation: This proposal requested funding to continue a Sibs Workshop. for providing a day of recognition and recreation to brothers and sisters of children and youth with developmental disabilities in order to assist in helping Sibs learn about and to maintain connections with others about disability issues.
Family Support & Resource Center: LINKS-Connecting Families: This proposal requested funding for providing scholarships for 50 parents of children with disabilities to attend the LINK annual conference. This conference is designed to assist parents of individuals with disabilities to interact and "link" with other Dane County parents to discuss children with disabilities and families. Participants learn about available resources, develop new connections with parents who "walk in their shoes" and meet local exhibitors interested in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.
Madison Jewish Community Council: This proposal requested funding to provide camperships for individuals with disabilities to attend Camp Shalom-Bogrim. Camp Shalom services provide an all-day day camp program in Dane County that mainstreams children with special needs...
Three Gaits, Inc.: This proposal requested funding for riding scholarships in order to provide therapeutic horseback riding for youth with disabilities. Youth with disabilities learn new skills that help to build self-esteem and self-confidence that comes with mastering a challenging activity. A total of 15 riders with disabilities, participating in 10 weeks of therapeutic riding lessons, will be served.
United Cerebral Palsy Teen Outreach Center: This proposal requested funding to provide intensive support and programming for four (4) teenagers in the Teen Outreach's after-school and summer programming. Funding would be used to provide programming for four (4) significantly "at risk" Dane County teenagers with multiple disabilities and behavioral challenges. Teen Outreach will provide the intensive 2 on 1 and/or 1 on 1 programming support needed to allow these teenagers to actively participate in making new friends through involvement in age-appropriate community activities.
VSA Wisconsin: This current VSA WI proposal requested funding for 5 separate projects for youth with disabilities at Emerson Elementary School, UCP Teen Outreach, Visual Arts Day Camp, Music Day Camp and Art & Music Classes. The Committee liked the 5 separate project activities and especially liked that one of the project activities included working with another one of the Committees grantees, the UCP Teen Outreach Project.
Wisconsin Badger Camp: This proposal requested funding to continue to provide camperships for Dane County youth, especially those with financial limitations. Dane County children represent approximately a quarter of all children who attend Badger Camp. Youth with disabilities experience making new friends, swimming and horseback riding.
Youth Leadership Forum: This proposal requested funding to sponsor four (4) students to attend Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. YLF is an innovative weeklong career awareness and leadership training program for high school juniors and seniors with disabilities. This project educates students with disabilities to become active leaders in their schools and communities and teaches them to reach their educational and career goals in order to become gainfully employed and thus, contribute to society.
Youth Development Committee
Youth Services CAP - Community Adolescent Programs: Funds would be used for small capital purchases such as rakes, hoes, wheelbarrow, graffiti removal equipment, such as face shields, respirators, wire brushes, and a first aid kit.
Youth Services Briarpatch CHOICES Program: Funds would be used for the young women's group that meets weekly to encourage school attendance, higher grades, pregnancy prevention and self-esteem.
Vera Court Neighborhood Center Summer Camp: The Vera Court Neighborhood Center Summer Camp will serve 60 elementary and middle school youth. The funds would be used for additional staff, to fund five more kids, as well as lunches for all campers.
Urban League Youth Education & Career Development: Funds would be used for help to increase outreach efforts, recruiting tutors for middle school students through MSCR, Schools of Hope, etc. Ideally, funds would be used for training and tutors.
Madison Center for Creative Cultural Arts Summer Youth Arts Program: These programs would be at several neighborhood centers with the Stage Coach, which they recently purchased, as well as programs coordinated with existing youth groups.
DANEnet for the Multimedia Resources for Youth: Funds will be used for students to participate in a multimedia project at six centers, with workstation installation and program support.
YMCA Kids Film Festival: Mount Horeb Youth Center will partner with local TV station (WYOU) to create a youth film festival to occur in October 2006.
Allied Drive/YMCA "Friday Night Hoops" Outreach Program: This program as been in existence for over 10 years; it is conducted on the first three Friday nights of each month, from 9 p.m. to midnight, for 5th through 12th graders, and is free for Allied Drive youth. Funding would be used to add additional staff during peak season, to purchase new equipment, and to advertise to increase attendance.
Planned Parenthood, Dane County Community Educational Program: This request is for an event, called Teen Night, which is a new effort in Dane County. It has been very successful in Milwaukee; the program is for teens and caretakers of color.
Wheels for Winners - Earn-A-Bike Program: This is a program for eight students, includes a mentor, volunteer bicycle mechanics, for the East side.
Bayview/YMCA Summer Outreach Program: The Bayview/YMCA Summer Outreach program is a 2 day per week program in June and July for youth ages 5 to 18.
Simpson Street Free Press: For the project entitled "The Gap According to Black."
McFarland Police Department, "Cops & Bobbers": Request for funding for replacement of equipment, food, and T-shirts. Staffing time is donated, or on a 1-to-1 comp-time basis. This project was referred to The Kids Fund by the Evjue Foundation.
Common Wealth Development - Money Management Workshops: This is for two workshops to be held in South Madison, 2 one-week sessions, serving approximately 20 youth, ages 14-18.
Asset Builders of America, Madison Youth Power Academy of Finance: This is for a two-week program held at Edgewood College on basic financial literacy. This would subsidize the $500-per-student fee to participate.
Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center - After School Program: This is a partnership program for all Jefferson school kids at the Youth Resource Center, to help fund the "Brothas" program, which is currently unfunded. The program will be held twice a week for 10-20 boys. Rent cost is a summer cost at the school.
Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin, Dane Co. Youth Skate, Youth Resource Network: This is a fundraiser for over 30 community, neighborhood, and youth centers and after-school programs scheduled for May 6th. It is expected that over 2,000 youth will be involved. Funding is intended to cover the cost of the event, allowing all proceeds to go to the programs.
Northside Planning Council, Dane Co. Timebank for Youth Program: The plan of this program is to start a youth Timebank which would involve a cross-age peer tutoring program and possibly a "Timebank Youth Court."