1st Quarter 2014 Satch Grants Awarded

Choosing the recipients for First Quarter 2014 Satch Grants was a bit of a challenge. We had sixteen entries this time. The committee chose the following community organizations based on their population, goals and vision. Congratulations!

Gainesville Equality Youth  Awarded $500

Gainesville Equality Youth provides a safe space for LGBT youth in the community to share and discuss issues related to their lives.  This local organization builds community bonds, promotes community awareness of LGBT issues, provides social interaction with peers, and sustains opportunities for youth leadership and development.  This Satch Grant will provide financial support for Gainesville Equality Youth to hold meetings for six months as they reinvigorate this local program.

Girls Place: Take Away Journal  Awarded $500

This Satch Grant will provide the materials for 140 girls to reflect every day on their experiences through a "Take Away Journal" during Girls Place 2014 summer day camp.  Reflection is an important component to personal development and offers girls the opportunity to create a deeper level of self-awareness within themselves and with their surroundings. This grass roots organization can adapt the needs of the girls and their families based on what the girls Take Away.

The Library Partnership: Fight for Your Money Program  Awarded $500

The Library Partnership, which opened as a collaboration between Partnership for Strong Families, Casey Family Programs and the Alachua County Library District in 2009, strives to help families access the resources and support services they need which in turn strengthens families and communities.  The "Fight for Your Money" program provides families with the tools they need to make good financial choices: Budgeting and Banking, Saving, Setting Financial Goals, Credit Repair and Investing.  This Satch Grant will provide five families who have an income, have at least one child living in their home and have agreed to attend all sessions with utility assistance to be paid directly to GRU upon completion of the program.

Radiant Hands: Radiant Works Scholarship  Awarded $500

The mission of Radiant Hands is to empower women in North Central Florida by providing them with spiritual, emotional and financial support with the goal of achieving independence. This Satch Grant will help fund the "Radiant Works Scholarship" which will provide students with the fee to pay for their General Education Exam.  Acquiring a GED diploma will help these women advance in the workforce and perhaps enter into vocational training classes that were unobtainable without a diploma.