Earlier this week, United Way of Champaign County participated in WCIA’s Day of Giving and raised more that $60,000 to support their new initiative: Victory over Violence. They have six partners that will benefit from the funding, and they are opening Solutions Grants to other projects and programs that hope to achieve one or more of these goals:
- Stop Violence and Promote Safety: Especially violence prevention services, including street-based violence interruption work, emotional or trauma-related therapy, housing, employment, job training/placement, family engagement, and wrap-around support services.
- Support Children, Youth and Families by Emphasizing Programs that Foster Social Connectedness and Belonging: Especially youth development programs, including after school and summer programming to increase school attendance and school performance, reduce criminal justice system involvement and build social-emotional persistence and intelligence.
- Support Health: Especially trauma recovery services for young people to heal from chronic exposure to firearm violence.
- Promote Collaboration Across State, Municipal and Community-Based Agencies: Especially high-risk youth intervention programs that have been proven to reduce involvement in the criminal or juvenile justice system, referrals of teens into therapeutic programs that address trauma recovery, and other mental health services.
Grants will likely range from $5000 to $25,000. Applications are due by December 22nd.
Top photo from First String Facebook page.