RE-1 program receives $5,000 from El Pomar

Foundation awarded $80,000 to 10 nonprofits and government entities

RE-1 Valley School District’s homeless students are getting more support. The district’s Mckinney-vento program is among the 10 nonprofit organizations and government entities in the northeast region that El Pomar Trustees approved grants for at the Foundation’s December Trustee meeting.

RE-1 will receive $5,000 for its program. The funding comes after the district was able to raise approximately $5,300 for the Mckinney-vento program through a Hat Day for the Homeless fundraiser in November.

The Mckinney-vento Act provides rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness, which includes those who are: sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason; staying in motels, trailer parks, or campgrounds due to lack of an adequate alternative, staying in shelters or transitional housing; or sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or similar settings.

At the time of RE-1’S fundraiser, Cindy Reyes, parent/community advocate for the district, told the Journal-advocate that the RE-1 had identified over 60 students without permanent housing, an increase from just a few years prior.

In December, through its grant making process, the El Pomar Foundation approved $80,000 to go to the following organizations:

• Akron Balanced Child Development Center, Inc. — $5,000 in general operating support; regional council

• Brush Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation — $5,000 for Brush Area Chamber of Commerce general operating support; regional merit

• Limon Child Development Center — $10,000 in general operating support; competitive

• Prairie Family Center (Burlington) — $10,000 for general operating support; regional council

• RE-1 Valley School District (Sterling) — $5,000 for Mckinneyvento program; regional council

• Rural Communities Resource Center (Yuma) — $5,000 in general operating support; regional

council

• Sedgwick County Organized Recreation, Inc. (Julesburg) — $15,000 in general operating support; regional council

• The Cubs Den (Idalia) — $10,000 in general operating support; regional council

• Wray Rehabilitation and Activities Center, Inc. — $5,000 for free weights area remodel; regional council

• Yuma Children’s Academy — $10,000 in general operating support

Founded by Spencer and Julie Penrose in 1937, El Pomar Foundation has an established legacy of general purpose grant making. The competitive process remains the Foundation’s primary vehicle for organizations to receive funding. Additionally, over the last 85 years, El Pomar has either developed or been entrusted with the stewardship of a number of other funds, as well as presenting merit grants in each region recommended by Trustees and regional council members. Competitive applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

In an effort to increase impact and establish connections across the entire state, the Regional Partnerships program was established in 2003. Each of the Foundation’s eleven regional councils advises El Pomar Trustees and recommends grants to help support its communities. The Northeast Regional Council recommends grants in Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan, Philips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma Counties. Council members are regional leaders in the business, nonprofit, and public sectors and provide first-hand information about current needs in their own communities.

To view a full listing of El Pomar’s funds and grant making areas, please visit their website at https://www.elpomar. org/grant-making/.