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Alpha House of Tampa
With a grant of $10,000, Alpha House was able to continue their Parents as Teachers program with resident mothers and their children. The Parents as Teachers’ philosophy encourages mothers to be their child’s first teacher, armed with the tools and knowledge to ensure that their child thrives in a healthy and well-adjusted way, both physically and emotionally. The program focuses on the child’s developmental needs during the ages of 0-5. Alpha House counselors are able to provide information to mothers about the stages of development every child will experience along with how to recognize and track their child’s progress. Gaining an understanding of their child’s progress gives young mothers the skills needed to interact with her child in a way that maximizes his or her developmental potential. Inexperienced mothers have the opportunity to gain a sense of a confidence in their parenting skills and are better able to prepare their children to become independent, young adults.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Tampa Bay
Big Brothers, Big Sisters received a grant for $10,000 that was able to fund their organization’s Big for a Day Event, located at MacDill Air Force Base. Big for a Day is a day-long activity that allows 100 children who have not yet been matched with a "Big" to be paired with a member of the Air Force who will serve as each "Little’s" volunteer mentor. The children will have the opportunity to meet with their potential "Big" and experience a day of fun and games along with a tour of the base. The children served at Big for a Day and all of the organization’s events are those who show a number of risk factors and will benefit the most from a healthy interaction with a mentor who may help guide them through their struggles and lead them on a path to success. These risk factors include growing up in a family living below poverty level, being raised in a single-parent family, having a caretaker or family member suffering from a life-threatening illness, etc. The remainder of the grant was used for a trip to Adventure Island theme park, Cypress Gardens, and the Lowry Park Zoo for the children and their "Bigs." The trip was a time for the children to bond and play with their mentors, an experience that their families would otherwise be unable to afford.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay
The Boys and Girls Clubs offer children of economically disadvantaged working families safe, fun, and developmentally appropriate after-school programs. With a $10,000 grant, young people were offered a comprehensive youth development program including homework assistance and technology training. The program also consists of informative lessons on making safe, positive life choices, developing leadership skills, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle with sports, fitness, and recreation activities. Arts programs allow students to participate in fine arts, photography, music, dance, and drama. Students are able to develop interests in a variety of subject areas and positive forms of expression. Teens learn responsible decision-making, conflict resolution, goal-setting, and rejecting drug and alcohol use. The after-school programs at the Boys and Girls Clubs inspire children to uphold positive attitudes and values that will enable them to succeed through adolescence and on into adulthood.
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator received a $10,000 grant that was used to evaluate the financial integrity of 20 non-profit organizations in the Tampa area that were currently not featured on the Charity Navigator website. These organizations are aligned with the mission guidelines set forth by the Hobbs Foundation, those committed to directly benefiting disadvantaged youth.
Computer Mentors Group
Computer Mentors Group, with a $10,000 grant, was able to fund a Back-to-School Computer Campaign and a computer training program for St. Peter Claver school students of low-income families. Computer Mentors staff and volunteers purchased software licenses and hardware components that allowed them to refurbish used computers that were in turn donated to 75 deserving students. Funding was also used to cover personnel expenses, transportation expenses to transfer donated computers, and storage fees to house the computers. The computer training program offers interactive lessons on computer applications including word processing, programming, graphics, spreadsheets, desktop publishing, applied technology, telecommunications, databases, operating systems, and multimedia. Computer Mentors Group gives young people the ability to develop practical skills necessary for academic success and a promising future.
Covenant House Florida
Covenant House was the recipient of a $10,000 grant that created the Youth Enrichment Services Program that will benefit 1,000 runaway and homeless children and teens, including mothers and their babies. The program will allow youth residing at Covenant House’s emergency crisis shelter the opportunity to participate in activities and events that include monthly field trips to cultural, scientific, and natural environments and, also, monthly cultural enrichment performances. Each of the activities corresponds to their school readings, providing an experience that clarifies and illustrates the subjects they study while increasing cultural awareness and social competence.
Florida Baptist Children’s Homes
With a $10,000 grant, Florida Baptist Children’s Homes gave their children a summer camp experience to share along with children living in their other six Florida branch homes, 250 children in total. Their camping trip to Lake Yale campground has allowed the children to participate in group activities, scavenger hunts, water sports, swimming, pony rides, etc. The children had a retreat experience with fun and play while forming lasting friendships with their peers. They have learned about teamwork, friendly competition, overcoming challenges, and becoming more confident in their abilities.
Florida United Methodist Children’s Homes
The Aldersgate Academy at Florida United Methodist’s Children’s Homes received a grant of $10,000 in order to meet the educational needs of children residing in their shelter. Funding was used to purchase academic resources and tools to assist their teacher in creating a cohesive and comprehensive curriculum that caters to each child’s individual level. Resources include the Switched-On Schoolhouse curriculum; a computer based learning system that provides an interactive learning environment with 3-D animation, video clips, and other multimedia. SOS contains automatic grading, record keeping, and lesson planning that allows teachers to give more time to each student. Each student was also given a Life Book, a place for children to keep photos of their families, cards, gifts, and valuable personal information such as birth certificates and social security cards. Many children in foster care are constantly in transition. Life Books gives these children a way to hold onto their memories and ease their feeling of separation with their families.
God’s Pedal Power Ministry
God’s Pedal Power is an organization dedicated to providing opportunities for children from economically disadvantaged families in university area of Tampa. Each year at Christmas, God’s Pedal Power gives bicycles to children in need in hopes that it will give them the chance to attend school everyday and participate in after-school activities. In an area where many families cannot afford to own a car, finding transportation for their children is often difficult. Giving a child their own bicycle encourages them to take responsibility for their future. With a $10,000 grant, God’s Pedal Power was able to purchase additional bicycles as well as helmets, light kits, and locks for underserved children in the Hillsborough County Foster Parent system.
Hope Children’s Home
Hope Children’s Home was awarded a grant for $10,000 to replace the carpeting in the girl’s dormitory that was damaged from a leaking roof. New carpeting is more essential than ever with the greater number of small children who are still in the crawling stage. The girls at Hope now have a clean space to live and play.
Joshua House
A grant of $10,000 allowed Joshua House funding for after-school activities for foster children that the State of Florida Child Welfare funding does not allow. Joshua House has offered activities that promote special interests, cultivation of skills and talents, extra-curricular activities, and fun for children. These activities consist of day camps, swimming lessons, sports leagues, theme park trips, church group events, holiday and birthday parties, and arts and music projects. A broad range of structured activities enhances their quality of life by encouraging them to develop and nurture their skills and abilities.
Lighthouse Ministries
Lighthouse Ministries, a shelter for homeless and at-risk children and their families, was awarded a grant for $10,000 that was used to create an indoor and outdoor play area, with games, arts and crafts supplies, and playground equipment. The children now have a place to play, learn, and bond with their peers. The remainder of the grant gave the staff and volunteers at Lighthouse the opportunity to take the children on weekend and after-school outings and participate in fun, learning experiences that their families are unable to provide for them. The children attended baseball games, music events, theme parks, and church activities.
Metropolitan Ministries
Metropolitan Ministries received a grant of $10,000 to purchase upgraded bunk beds for the children of homeless families living in their Family Care Center. In order to provide a safe, homelike environment for the smaller children the old dormitory bunk beds were replaced with beds that have guardrails. New mattresses replaced the worn and torn mattresses and offer a clean, healthy space for families to stay while they work toward self-sufficiency.
MOSI-Museum of Science and Industry
Through a $10,000 grant, MOSI created a scholarship fund for their summer science camp for those children who would otherwise not be able to participate due to financial circumstances. The program allowed 30-38 Hillsborough County students from low-income families, grades kindergarten through 8th, to receive full scholarships to attend a weeklong, full day science camp experience. MOSI science camps promote learning through fun, creative discovery, invention, and minds-on interactive activities. Camp programming and activities are designed to make science a real life adventure for young people. Certified teachers and experienced science and technology educators guided students through unique science experiences with a goal of enriching their love of exploration and improving their critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Neat Stuff
Neat Stuff, an organization that provides new clothing, backpacks, and other personal items to underserved children in the Miami-Dade area, was awarded a grant of $10,000 to supply one-week’s worth of school uniforms to 200 at-risk children living in poverty or in the foster care system. For already challenged children, the emotional expense of being “different” takes a high toll. Many children entering foster care have nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Neat Stuff aims to give disadvantaged children the opportunity to wear new school uniforms, reducing negative factors such as bullying, teasing, and low self-esteem that hinder them from learning and prepare them for success.
OASIS Network of New Tampa
OASIS Network is an organization that collects and distributes donated clothing and personal items to underserved children in the Hillsborough County School District. In addition to their selection of donated clothing, with a $10,000 grant, OASIS Network was able to purchase new shoes, socks, and underwear for students of low-income families. With the help of OASIS, these students are better prepared to participate successfully in their education.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay
Ronald McDonald House Charities received a $10,000 grant that was used to expand operations for the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, a mobile health care program that provides access to quality health care for underserved children in the Tampa Bay community. The care mobile program includes free medical and dental screening. Additionally, the program strives to identify, treat, and refer children with chronic or untreated health conditions, improve health outcomes, provide continuity of care, educate children and families about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, as well as screening and enrolling families in eligible insurance programs. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, in conjunction with the University Of South Florida Department of Pediatrics, served economically disadvantaged students across the Tampa Bay area.
The Children’s Home
The Children’s Home was the recipient of a $10,000 grant that funded their Summer Enrichment Program for the 80 boys and girls, ages 5-18, living at their home. The Summer Enrichment Program, an integral part of the residential treatment at the Children’s Home, is a three-day camp experience held at Camp Good Counsel in Citrus County. The camp activities were created to build self-esteem and confidence that will ultimately support healthy growth and development. The camping experience gives the children at the Children’s Home the opportunity to participate in active learning and character-building activities in a fun, informal setting. Programming combines fishing, water skiing, canoeing, kayaking, baseball, archery, hiking, jewelry making, scrapbooks, painting, campfires, songs and skits, team building activities, and expressive art classes. The Summer Enrichment program develops interest in learning and creativity, promotes motivation and dignity, encourages positive self-expression, and provides the opportunity to form positive, meaningful relationships among peers.
The Haven
The Haven, an alternative home for boys, received a grant of $10,000 to fund the Early Essentials for Work Readiness program. Their mission is to foster the development of each young man’s self-esteem and independence in a safe, loving, stable home while teaching the skills necessary for them to become self-sufficient and proud adults. The Work Readiness program educates teens about job skills, financial literacy, and the value of hard work to assure workforce preparedness. The curriculum incorporates role-playing and a framework to discuss workplace expectations. Each participant sets his own goals and holds himself accountable for achieving them. The course covers topics such as career exploration, strategic planning, money management, communication skills, work ethic, time management, problem-solving, interviewing, appearance, and self-confidence. The boys have the opportunity to identify their strengths, eliminate attitude and behavior barriers, evaluate career options, and prioritize steps to move toward employment and independence.
The Salvation Army
A grant of $10,000 was awarded to the Salvation Army for educational travel and activities for the children residing with them. Travel is a valuable learning experience that most foster care children will never have. The staff at Salvation Army believes that travel expands a child’s horizons. They wanted to give the children in their care the opportunity to realize that there is a whole world for them to discover, explore, and experience if they have the strength and determination to become successful, self-sufficient young adults. Children at both their temporary care shelter and foster homes were able to travel to Washington D.C. to see national monuments, the White House, Congress in session, and the Smithsonian Institute. They experienced local attractions, the historic city of St. Augustine and the capital in Tallahassee.
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Alpha House of Tampa
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Tampa Bay
Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay
Charity Navigator
Computer Mentors Group
Covenant House Florida
Florida Baptist Children’s Homes
Florida United Methodist Children’s Homes
God’s Pedal Power Ministry
Hope Children’s Home
Joshua House
Lighthouse Ministries
Metropolitan Ministries
MOSI-Museum of Science and Industry
Neat Stuff
OASIS Network of New Tampa
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Tampa Bay
The Children’s Home
The Haven
The Salvation Army
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