McHenry County Community Foundation
2009 Grant Recipients
Unless otherwise noted, all Grants are distributed through the
Foundation’s Unrestricted Fund, which receives donations from all residents
and grant sources year-round.
Adult & Child Rehab serves 800 individuals who are physically challenged and disabled, this grant will help the agency with multiple needs within the organization to enhance their efficiency by providing a new phone system. It will also provide software training for staff on medical recording, and the purchase of new medical filing cabinets for the therapy office. This grant was made possible through the James and Karlen Cooney Family Fund of MCCF.
CASA provides assistance to abused and neglected children across McHenry County. Funding provides the agency the support needed for professional development to staff and advocates while increasing their understanding of child abuse and advocacy through attendance at local seminars, the Illinois CASA and National CASA Conferences. This grant was made possible through the Judith Porter Fund of MCCF.
Funding will provide the continued resources needed to improve equipment and programs for those that attend the center. The center presently has an interactive exhibit area called “Ed-Venture Center,” this is an area used by 10,000 students annually. Providing the additional upgrades as needed to each exhibit, enhancing the display areas, and improving the functionality and durability of this equipment is important for the daily use. This grant was made possible through the George & Ruth Frejd Trust Fund of MCCF.
Funding from this grant will support Child Advocacy in applying for the process of reaccreditation through National Children’s Alliance. The benefits of being an accredited member include sustainability, credibility, and an annual program support grant of $10,000 for the nearly 400youth served annually. Child Advocacy serves all of McHenry County.
The Head Start Nutrition Program supports low income pre-school children with meals and supplies for 251 kids across McHenry County. With this grant funding Community Action Agency will purchase a commercial grade freezer for their site location in Harvard. It also gives the agency the ability to save dollars by purchasing bulk items at a reduced cost.
This grant provides the opportunity to expand their capacity for working proactively on environmental issues in McHenry County by intensifying outreach efforts. Efforts would heighten awareness, deepen connections with other environmental organizations locally and regionally while building membership. With this plan they can also support the Environmental Summit initiated by MCCF and work collaboratively with organizations begun by the McHenry County Environmental Alliance. This grant was made possible through the Carol & Minno Halma Family Fund of MCCF.
Grant funding provides Faith in Action the resources and ability to update and reprint the Transportation Booklet for the growing senior population. This agency’s commitment to seniors and the community provide valuable assistance in helping seniors maintain their independence and quality of life. The booklet provides a one-stop resource for senior transportation options throughout the McHenry County area. Copies of the transportation booklets can be found at all public libraries, senior centers, and township offices as well as on-line.
This grant will help to continue to provide support to families that are unable to attend their sessions because they do not have the resources. Funding will provide Family Service the opportunity to purchase gas cards, PACE bus passes, and taxicab vouchers. These additional provisions for families whose situation warrants such assistance based on family income and circumstances in order to reduce this very real barrier for the family to receive services they so desperately need.
The Garden Quarter Neighborhood Resource Center and Free Guitars for Future Stars pilot program will provide 10 students with guitars, cases, strings straps, music stands, picks, music, six months of group lessons, and six months of one-on-one lessons. The students completing the program will have the opportunity to keep their equipment when the program is completed. In exchange for the program Garden Quarter Neighborhood Resource Center will be helping Free Guitars for Future Stars complete their 501(c)3 paperwork. This certainly will benefit two organizations while expanding programs much needed in McHenry County.
The McHenry County chapter of Girls on the Run is a life changing and experiential learning program for young girls. The program provides training for a 3.1 mile running event with self-esteem enhancing, and uplifting workouts. The goals of the program are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development. The empowering program also encourages a healthy lifestyle with the chance to bond with new friends while learning teamwork. This grant funding will support the Woodstock Schools K-5. This grant was made possible through the James and Karlen Cooney Family Fund of MCCF.
The grant will support Habitat for Humanity in the purchase of specialized replacement construction tools needed for a safer working environment while providing the community with good services across McHenry County. Habitat for Humanity to date has completed ten homes.
Home of the Sparrow provides housing and supportive services to homeless women who are single, pregnant, or accompanied by their children. They are currently the only agency in the County that can accept women with adolescent sons and house all family members together. HOS is dedicated to providing residents the opportunity to assess and enhance their life skills in order to transition from homeless to self-sufficiency. This grant will provide assistance to those individuals needing shelter through the Transitional Housing Program; last year Home of the Sparrow helped over 118 women and children with assistance.
In 2007 the Woodstock Hospice Inpatient Unit opened to provide care, comfort and assistance to those in McHenry County, with 300 patients served to date the continuing need for quality medical equipment is ever-growing. This grant will assist in the purchase of several pieces of equipment that will benefit patients and nursing staff. First a new Hoyer Lift will assist patients during personal care, and secondly sensory technology tab monitors will alert nurses with patients needs. The Woodstock Inpatient Unit will continue to serve the community and county residents with Hospice assistance for years to come. This grant was made possible through the Donald E. Lewis Family Fund of MCCF.
In an effort to help invest in preparations for formal accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, The Land Conservancy will apply for accreditations for their agency and work through this process in late 2009 – 2010. TLC has evolved into a land preservation leader with over 1,500 acres of land protected through the donations of conservation and land. This grant was made possible in part through the Carol & Minno Halma Family Fund of MCCF.
This grant will support scholarships for this dynamic program that offers educational opportunities to professionals engaging and participating in community leadership. Their mission is to recruit, equip and engage leaders from all sectors and sections of the county, who are committed to making a difference by providing strong and effective leadership in our community. The result: tomorrow’s leaders for the benefit of McHenry County.
Main Stay and Family Alliance will collaborate to create an area for senior citizens with an agricultural background, to provide a sense of calm and peace for those individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s and other Dementias. No riding is involved with this program, but the sensory experiences working with horses will be beneficial and therapeutic to clients suffering from disease. This grant was made possible in part through the Carol & Minno Halma Family Fund of MCCF.
This grant funding will help the Resource Center expand their program and increase the number of spaces available to Marengo children that arrive at the Center after school. With qualified staff members and many dedicated teaching volunteers the program assists children with their homework, special projects, provides snacks, and encourages them to socialize and have fun. This center currently serves 62 children and their families while also working with the Latino population who struggle daily with a multitude of educational, cultural, and social issues. This grant was made possible through the Latino Fund of MCCF.
This grant will give support to young adults with severe and profound disabilities for the opportunity to enrich their lives through community experiences as a group while attending museums, plays and local pumpkin farms. These funds will also cover the expenses of renting safe handicapped accessible transportation for traveling to and from these program events.
Project Fresh Start provides support to Veterans who are newly returned, homeless, displaced, unemployed or in transition looking to return to the labor force. Necessary to this support is the need for transportation. In the past year NASA has received 87 donated vehicles which trained Vets repaired for safe use. Running a car requires more than a good engine. Project Fresh Start services include vehicles and the costs that accompany them - costs for titles, driver’s licenses, plates, insurance and application fees.
Grant funding will help Northern Illinois Food Bank strengthen food assistance efforts to low-income, hungry people at food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens in the McHenry County. The grant also makes possible the ability to match 25 cents of every $1 raised and increased food distribution by 25% for low to middle income families in need of food assistance across the County.
- thru Pioneer Center for Human Services
PADS a not-for-profit organization which supports the needs of homeless children and their families has seen the numbers in McHenry County escalate due to the economy. This grant will help improve counseling, therapeutic and related services for children, child-related educational and therapeutic activities as well as equipment for an outdoor playground and two children’s activity rooms within the shelter.
‘VOICE,’ is a program that provides services for victims of sexual assault, and their significant others. This grant will make it possible for ‘VOICE’ to expand enhanced counseling services to clients, children, and will provide new programs for the community, made possible through the Donald E. Lewis Family Fund of MCCF.
The Raue Center for the Arts has a long time history in McHenry County. This theatre is dedicated to enriching the lives of all through the arts. Opened in 1929 as El Tovar, the building was a welcome addition to northern Illinois as a movie and vaudeville theatre to showcase the thrilling new “talkies” and the troupers who wheeled into town. A visionary of her time, Lucile Raue worked and lived in Crystal Lake, and left a generous gift to improve the downtown of Crystal Lake. With that the long-ago dream led by Ben Raue, Lucile’s father, the theatre came to life in August of 2001, leaving a legacy for her family name and for every family that will enjoy the Raue Center and it’s beauty. This grant was made possible through the Donald E. Lewis Family Fund of MCCF.
Rebekah’s House is an affordable alternative for women seeking help. Their goal is to offer the women a safe sober home, teaching skills for living a clean life, and develop skills to be self-sufficient. The grant will provide the opportunity to build a new second-story fire exit which consists of an exit door/panic bar and outside stairs from the second floor facility. The new staircase will also provide that extra safety for those living in the home.
This grant will provide the opportunity and support to survivors of domestic violence to become economically independent through a program called Realizing Your Economic Action (REAP). The program is endorsed by the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and will assist clients’ needs during their journey towards financial independence. Turning Point’s REAP program has assisted over 60 abused women in McHenry County alone. This grant was made possible in part through the Judith Porter Fund of MCCF.
This matching grant will provide the Village of Spring Grove and the Community the opportunity to renovate the historic Fish Hatchery property. The 8-10 year plan includes turning the landmark building into an educational and tourist destination by restoring the building and the grounds to their original beauty for conservation education. This planned project will also include additional hiking, exploring native flora, and peer fishing opportunities.
Wellness Place provides counseling, education and support at no charge to all who are affected by cancer including the survivor and their families’ caregivers. They serve northwest suburbs and offers individual, couples and group counseling, specialized children and teen counseling, art therapy, educational workshops, and integrative therapies for stress relief. A resource library with a dedicated Prostate Cancer Program, along with in-depth information for cancer research and development, offers guidance and understanding for treatment options and alternatives. Wellness Place has served thousands of people within the community who have needed services and assistance. This grant was made possible through the Donald E. Lewis Family Fund of MCCF.
Woodstock Christian Life Services is a faith based charitable organization serving the very young and very old of Northern Illinois since 1886. Divisions include: Hearthstone Village and Manor Senior Living Community, and Woodstock Early Learning Center. This grant will create flexibility for residents of Hearthstone Manor, giving them easy access to an Open Dining Program. The new equipment will provide residents the ability to enjoy an alternative source of accessing food/menu items on their own. This grant was made possible through the Donald Stage Legacy Fund of MCCF.
This gift is in support of efforts through the Woodstock Congregational Unitarian
Church to participate in the McHenry County Public Action to Deliver Shelter, PADS. One hundred percent of the funds from this grant go to the purchasing of food for the growing number of homeless men, women and children in McHenry County. This grant was made possible through the Carol & Minno Halma Family Fund of MCCF.
This grant funding provides 20 – 30 participating teachers the ability to take various field trips to apply what they learned in the classroom out into the field and then transfer materials into a series of activities they will use with their students.
The Ecowatch program is based on materials developed under a grant sponsored by the Natural Science Foundation, Eastern Illinois University and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. This grant was made possible through the George & Ruth Frejd Trust Fund of MCCF.
In continuing support of District 200 graduates attending McHenry County College.
This gift is in support of Christmas Clearinghouse coordinated by the Woodstock Rotary Club. Christmas Clearinghouse provides food and gifts to needy families in Wonder Lake and Woodstock during the holiday season. This grant was made possible through the Donald Stage Legacy Fund of MCCF.
YSB will provide two computer terminals for parents to access interactive programs and information about parenting; and a work station reserved for student’s 5th - 12th grades with interactive programs related to anger management, study skills, and other appropriate topics. This agency continues in its support of educational programs and services throughout McHenry County to the nearly 500 parents and youth that utilize their services annually. This grant was made possible in part through contributions from the Carol & Minno Halma Family Fund and the Judith Porter Fund of MCCF.
