These grant recipients will be on hand at the Social Justice Celebration & Fundraiser to showcase their work and discuss the impact of our grant program on their mission.
CU One to One
CU One to One’s mission is to pair students with adult mentors who provide support, encouragement and guidance. Students typically receive a mentor between 3rd and 7th grade with the goal of building a long-term relationship with their mentor.
COVID-19 safety protocols during the 2020-21 school year – when visitors were not allowed in school buildings – resulted in a significant decline in available mentors. There is now a long list of students awaiting a mentor.
Funds from the McKinley Community Grant will be used to recruit more mentors at community events and festivals in the CU area.
Cunningham Children’s Home
This grant will benefit students from the Gerber School, an alternative high school for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities, located on the campus of Cunningham Children’s Home. Funds will be used to purchase trees to be planted in the neighborhood just west of the CCH campus.
Students will gain vocational experience toward a career in landscaping or work with a park district. Engaging in hands-on and community-based learning can pique their interest in topics that they aren’t exposed to in the classroom. This project also has environmental benefits to those who live around them: from cleaning the air and reducing noise levels to increasing mental health and reducing crime.
Funds from the McKinley Grant Program will be used to purchase trees, materials to secure them, and supplies for watering them.
DREAAM Opportunity Center
DREAAM Opportunity Center’s Hope for the Future Initiative provides trauma-informed interventions for youth as well as their families. At the middle school and high school grades, this initiative invests in our Hope Scholars. Hope scholars are chosen for academic performance and consistent participation in the DREAAM afterschool program.
In February, the Hope Scholars traveled to Washington D.C. and made their first college visit at Howard University. Throughout the year, these scholars will visit ten colleges and universities focusing on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Most immediately, our spring break trip will include visits to Lane College, Tennessee State University, and Fisk University.
Funds from the McKinley Grant Program will be used for transportation costs associated with the college visits, including van rental fees, fuel, tolls and parking expenses.
Immigration Services of Champaign-Urbana
- Morgan Williams, Phonics Program
- Nest Postpartum, Commuting Expenses for Parents of NICU Patients
- Noel Hatcher, Literacy Development
- Urbana School District, LGBTQIA+ Action Committee