WARREN – Directors of The Raymond John Wean Foundation have awarded grants totaling over $150,000 to seven area organizations committed to such issues as improved early childhood education, job training, nonprofit agency collaboration and education.
The latest round of grants, approved by the Directors of The Raymond John Wean Foundation at a meeting Sept. 7, reflect the Foundation’s overall mission of improving the lives of residents of the Mahoning Valley by strengthening existing organizations and urging collaboration when possible.
“The Raymond John Wean Foundation believes that the Mahoning Valley is a place with tremendous possibilities and is honored to be able to assist various people and organizations that are trying to improve the lives of its residents,” said Jeff Glebocki, President of the Foundation.
The Foundation has focused on several key investment areas that include early childhood education, neighborhood development, economic development, education and collaboration.
The Foundation’s grant of $96,697 to Community Solutions Association of Warren continues support to this organization which has been leading cutting-edge early childhood programs.
The new grant will allow Community Solutions Association to bring its SPARK program to 4 year-olds in the Willard and Jefferson elementary schools in Warren. SPARK engages parents in the preparation of their 4 year-old children for Kindergarten.
Parents and SPARK teachers work together on various key concepts that will help students be more successful when they enter Kindergarten. Community Solutions Association has been operating a SPARK program in Warren since 2009 and research already shows that students who participated in the SPARK program perform better than those who did not.
The Raymond John Wean Foundation also awarded funding to another organization concerned about young children and their development. H.A.P.P.Y. Homes received a $10,000 grant to continue its work with educating in-home daycare providers about best practices.
Another group interested in educating others, Hard Hatted Women, also received funding from the Foundation. Hard Hatted Women was awarded a $10,000 grant to help support its programs intended to help women end the cycle of poverty by educating them about various non-traditional career opportunities.
The Foundation grant will be used to support the organization’s Tradeswoman TOOLS programming in Trumbull County. The program seeks to introduce women to explore high-paying and high-skilled careers that may be unfamiliar to them.
Other grants included: $10,000 to SMARTS, a group that offers quality art education classes to children in Youngstown; $17,500 to United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and United Way of Trumbull County for a facilitated exploration of consolidation plans; $3,740 to Heritage Ohio for conducting workshops for how to use tax credits for historic preservation; and $5,000 to The Foundation Center to help provide resources for non-profit organizations.
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