Morgan County, Ind. – Thanks to generous donors, CFMC awards 100% of donations to the community through grants. Every dollar donated stays within Morgan County. Impact grants fund innovative projects and initiatives that bring transformative solutions to our county’s most pressing needs. Thrive grants are in response to our 2019 Community Needs Assessment and are intended to come alongside our smaller communities to address their most pressing needs. CFMC is honored to partner with our non-profits in Morgan County and nonprofits who serve Morgan County. Please join us in congratulating the following 2022 CFMC Grant Recipients.
Impact Grant Recipients:
Youth First, Inc.: $10,000 Awarded towards K-12 Mental Health
Partnering with Youth First, Inc. means embedding masters-level social workers in our schools to be on the front lines of our youth’s mental health needs. Youth First addresses mental health’s role as young people transition into adulthood by placing master’s-level social workers in schools to provide specialized support to students, teachers, and parents. Embedded in school buildings, Youth First Social Workers create trusted connections with young people—freely and easily, without the barrier of insurance billing—and are supported in that work with nationally recognized prevention programs, highly connected supervision practices, cloud-based data collection technology, and actively engaged Morgan County key stakeholders.
Pack Away Hunger: $10,000 Awarded towards youth nutrition education, volunteerism, and providing local meals to our neighbors
A PAH Nutrition & Hunger Educator will facilitate a hands-on service-learning opportunity paired with 45 minutes of nutrition and hunger education during the Spring 2023 semester at Wooden Middle School. Programming includes activities that discuss hunger, poverty, and food access. Participants will then package 40,000 meals for distribution to Morgan County residents through Churches in Mission (CIM) and Wooden/Bell Family Food Pantry (the school’s food pantry). At least 150 students at John R. Wooden Middle School receive hunger education and hands-on service opportunity driving up students’ interest in volunteering and choosing healthier food options. This program inspires students to advocate and care for the hungry in their neighborhoods and around the world while raising community awareness of hunger and having a lasting impact on Morgan County.
Firefly Children & Family Alliance: $5,000 Awarded towards K-12 Mental Health
Morgan County is just one of a handful that requires legal representation to file for guardianship, even if it is uncontested. It is also common for the court system to recommend using a Guardian ad Litem or Court-Appointed Special Advocate for families experiencing divorce. The minimum fee for these services is as much as $1,000. Unfortunately, this expense is often insurmountable for vulnerable individuals needing representation. This grant provides legal aid to as many as ten families in need in Morgan County. Without guardianship, a child can not be registered for schools or receive medical services. This program provides our youth with the family dynamic they need.
MSD of Martinsville: $5,000 Awarded Towards K-12 Mental Health
Students who are selected to be members of HYPE (Helping Your Personal Environment) are challenged to have an 80% attendance rate to be eligible to participate. Students are also expected to have zero out-of-school suspensions and no more than two discipline infractions in the 9-week grading period to continue with HYPE the following grading period. Students who succeed at fulfilling these expectations earn membership privileges including, but not limited to, field trips to Bradford Woods (every other Wednesday), time with HYPE mentors (Martinsville High School students who have been trained in building positive peer relationships), community building activities led by counselors, and bi-monthly convocations with guest speakers chosen explicitly because they have relevant personal experiences which they have overcome through the life skills that HYPE students are currently engaged in learning. The critical element of HYPE is to provide an engaging, supportive environment for students who lack that foundation in their personal lives. In this way, HYPE is teaching students how to “Help Your Personal Environment.”
Impact Grant Recipients:
Martinsville Skate Park Project: $6,000 Towards Design Phase of County’s First-Ever Skate Park
This park will provide a safe location for skaters contributing to the physical, mental, and emotional health of those using the park. The park will be open to skaters throughout the area, serving as a place for skaters to come together to hone their skills and share their love of the sport.
One Book One Town: $4,300 Towards Monrovia Community Engagement and Youth Development
“One Town, One Book” will address educational access and quality as well as social and community context social determinants of health in Morgan County by inviting the community to participate in our book-inspired events and activities. The collaboration of our high school and public library will provide outreach opportunities to the community. Students will see teachers, community members, and other students reading the novel that they will also have the chance to read. Community members can participate with students and the school in leading the book-inspired activities at different locations around Monrovia. Every “One Town, One Book” reader will have an immediate common point of discussion and will be able to continue discussing the literary elements associated with the novel for years to come.
More information on grant recipients and their outcomes will be featured on the CFMC’s website at CFMConline.org and the Facebook page at Facebook.com/CFofMorganCounty. Interested individuals may also learn more or donate by calling 765-813-0003.
CFMC’s mission is to connect donors and their charitable giving with our evolving community needs to enhance the quality of life for current and future generations through impact grantmaking.
The vision of CFMC is to be the philanthropic leader and a catalyst in order to maximize available resources in our community.
