Community Foundation announces grants

The Community Foundation of Lorain County has announced a new round of approved grants.

This round, the charitable organization has doled out $860,646 to local nonprofits, including $9,000 to a group that seeks to ensure children are properly represented and cared for while under the wing of the Lorain County Domestic Relations Court, according to a news release.

Voices for Children recruits, trains and supports guardians ad litem, or GALs as they are commonly known, to serve as independent voices for Lorain County youth in the courts system.

Unlike court-appointed attorneys and social workers, it is the responsibility of guardians ad litem to protect the best interest of the child, the release said.

The grant will support volunteer training and recruitment to help fill the dire need for more guardians ad litem.

According to its 2017 annual report, Voices for Children indicated 135 volunteers worked over 7,500 hours and advocated for 413 children in court, compared to 150 volunteers serving 415 children in 2016.

The release said in Lorain County, 85 percent of the children who are appointed a guardian ad litem before the Lorain County Domestic Relations Court are younger than 12.

Many of the children the agency represents have been separated from parents who are suffering with the disease of alcohol or drug addiction, according to the release.

Voices for Children has received over $110,000 in grants from the foundation since 2002, according to the release.

“The grants from the Community Foundation of Lorain County have been a true blessing to our program and has given us the ability to ensure we are doing our very best to advocate for the children; recruit, train and further educate the volunteers in order to reach out to the children and speak up for their best interests,” said Timothy W. Green, program director of Voices for Children, in the release.

Green advises those interested in becoming a volunteer to contact the main office on the second floor of the Lorain County Justice Center, 225 Court St. in Elyria, or call 440-3295158 or visit www.vfclc.org. Volunteers who are male and/or people of color are especially encouraged to apply to become a guardian ad litem.

The complete list of grants the foundation awarded is below.

Arts, Culture and Humanities $129,341 Center for Arts-Inspired Learning

•Digital Storytelling Residencies at Elyria middle schools - $17,036

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

• Transforming Science and Health Education in Lorain County schools $14,555

Credo

• Music Outreach and Service - $4,000

Great Lakes Theater Festival

• 2018-19 Great Lakes Theater Education Programs for Lorain County students - $35,000

Lorain Historical Society

• Community Conversations: Capturing Stories of The International City $10,000

Lorain Palace Civic Center

• Roof repairs and Youth Theater program 2019 $25,000

The MAD Factory

• Theatre Arts Based Programming - $5,000

Northern Ohio Youth Orchestras

• 2018-19 NOYO Season - $15,000

Spark Theatre Company

• General Operating Support - $3,750

Education - $44,800 Atmosphere Adventures

• Atmosphere Adventures Science Enrichment Project - $15,000

College Now Greater Cleveland, Inc.

• College Access Advising for Lorain County $20,000

Educational Service Center of Lorain County

• Young Authors and Spelling Bee programs 2018-19 - $9,800

Environment $24,110 Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park

• Lorain and Elyria schools participation at Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center $14,110

Western Reserve Land Conservancy

• Land Conservation activities in Lorain County $10,000

Health Care $118,995 Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center

• Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - $15,000

Easter Seals Northern Ohio

• Council on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation - $3,995

Family Planning Services of Lorain County

• Operating Support $50,000

Lorain County Free Clinic

• General Operating Support - $50,000

Mental Health and Crisis Intervention $65,000 Lorain County Safe Harbor Genesis House

• Aftercare Program $50,000

Let’s Get Real Inc.

• Independent Peer Support Services - $15,000

Food, Agriculture and Nutrition - $52,000 Lorain County Lutheran Presbyterian Cooperative Ministries

• Food Distribution and Community Assistance through Food Pantries, Hot Meals and Community Programs - $10,000

Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio

• Increasing food resources for Lorain County and Child Hunger Summit - $42,000

Youth Development $113,000 Achievement thru Community Education and Support

• Youth programs $25,000

Boys and Girls Clubs of Lorain County

• School Year Teen Out-of-School Time Enrichment - $30,000

Camp !magine

• Camp Counselors/ Camp Nurse 2019 - $12,000

Great Expectations Ministries

• Great Expectation Music Project - $6,000

Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland

• Programs for Lorain County students - $15,000

Ohio State University Foundation

• 4-H Positive Youth Development (Preparing Youth for Success) $25,000

Human Services $259,400 Achievement Centers for Children

• Day and Overnight Camp Opportunities for Children and Adults with Disabilities - $7,500

American Red Cross, Lake Erie/Heartland Chapter

• Supporting Disaster Services in Lorain County - $10,000

Catholic Charities Corporation

• St. Elizabeth Center and Teen Parent Mentoring Program - $80,000

Legal Aid Society of Cleveland

• Basic Needs through Legal Aid - $30,000

Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry

• Volunteer Guardianship Program of Lorain County - $23,000

Neighborhood Alliance

• Haven Center Shelter and Senior Nutrition $60,000

Oberlin Community Services Council

• General Operating Support and Emergency Assistance - $30,000

Voices for Children

• General Operating Support - $9,000

YWCA of Elyria

• Active Elders Project $9,900

Community Improvement & Capacity Building $50,000 Lorain County Urban League

• General Operations and UYEP - $40,000

Main Street Wellington

• Operating Budget $10,000

Philanthropy, Voluntarism and Grantmaking Foundation - $4,000 Foundation Center Cleveland

• Grant writing and fund development training for Lorain County nonprofits - $4,000