Lawyers support Chicago mentoring with $240,000 in grants!

On January 31, 2008, the SunTimes Judge Marovitz Lawyers Lend a Hand to Youth Program awarded $240,000 in grants to 31 different Chicago area tutor/mentor programs. The map shows the location of recipients in different parts of Chicago. Below is the list of recipients. Web links are included for programs with web sites.

Start Ups (new, and emerging programs - less than five years old):
BUILD
Fathers For the Future Foundation
Inspired Youth
Hermosa Community Organization; also winner of the Much Shelist Founders Award, a $7,000 additional grant
Latino Education Alliance
North Kenwood/Oakland Charter Elementary School
Chicago Development Commission, Inc. (SCDCom)
Alliance for Community Peace


Operating Grants for Established Programs

Christ Evangelical Church, Brain Boosters; also winner of 1st Annual SunTimes Literacy Award, a $10,000 additional grant.
Cabrini Connections
Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program, Inc
Christopher House
Circle Urban Ministries
Cluster Tutoring Program
East Village Youth Program
Erie Neighborhood House Mentoring Program
Family Matters
Horizons for Youth
Jewish Child Family Services
Centro Communitario Juan Diego; also winner of the 2007 Thomas A. Demetrio Award, a $10,000 additional grant.
Life Directions
Maywood Youth Mentoring Program
McGaw YMCA Project SOAR
Midtown Educational Foundation
Partnership to Educate and Advance Kids (PEAK)
Scholarship Chicago
Sunlight African Community Center
The Bridge Youth and Family Services
UMOJA Student Development Corporation
YMCA North Lawndale Mentoring Program

Innovative Grants for long-term projects

Tutor/Mentor Connection(TMC) - $30,000 per year for two years.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago, mentoring program with
Better Boys Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant.


14 years ago when the Lend A Hand Program was just starting, only one award, of $2,000 was given. By 2006 the total amount of grants that had been awarded was nearly $500,000. The huge growth in 2007 is due to the receipt of a special award from the Chicago SunTimes, which will enable the Lend A Hand to give grants of this level for at least the next 10 years.

However, while this money is important, the average grant was around $5,000. This is a small fraction of the operating cost of most tutor/mentor programs. Thus, we urge leaders in other industries, in faith communities, and in civic and social networks, to duplicate this generosity, so that volunteers, and dollars, can come to tutor/mentor programs in Chicago from many different directions.

This is truly what is meant when we say "it takes a village to raise a child."