Congratulations to Mill Mountain Theater in Roanoke, VA. They will receive a $7,500 grant for their education program. Mill Mountain Theatre will produce five plays during its 2016 season, which will encourage children of
immigrant families to read and increase their English literacy. The plays will represent a multi-year
commitment to produce productions with literary bases to help develop critical reading skills for elementary
and middle school aged students. MMT will couple the plays with free books and access to study guides to
match each play. The need for the MMT grant revolves around the fact that in order to reach untraditional audiences, they
must offer four to five productions without ticket revenue and also must be able to steeply discount mainstage
productions. Ticket sales are the primary source of support for their productions, so replacing and
reducing those prices must be offset by grants and underwriting.

Congratulations to The Foundation for Tomorrow, US organization in Tanzania. They have been awarded a grant for $25,000. Their mission is to secure quality education and emotional support for orphaned and vulnerable children so they reach their full potential. The funds will be used for The Most Vulnerable Children Household Economic Strengthening project. The project utilizes a series of micro-lending loans and forming joint group savings accounts to encourage shared accountability within the communities. This project monitors, supports and provides outcome evaluation to individuals in the program. Also a portion of the grant will support their Scholarship program.
Kathryn McQuade

Congratulations, VA Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE) has been awarded a $25,000 Grant to continue their work to achieve their goal to have one college graduate in every VA home by 2025. The grant will be used to fund the “Rural VA Horseshoe Initiative”, to increase the quality of education in Rural VA and “Great Expectations Educational Program for Foster Youths. This Foundation is pleased to partner with VFCCE to help VA achieve the goal of a more educated populace.

The Malala Fund has been awarded a $25,000 grant to build infrastructure and increase the capacity of helping girls gain access to a secondary education through programs, communications, technology and sustainable operations.

FINCA International will receive a second grant for $25,000 to fund Stage 2 of their BrightLife Program.  Stage 2 funding will be used to develop and automate client screening and credit approval process. The hope is this innovation will overcome the cost and logistical barriers that limit the business model to FINCA’s existing borrowers.  The Stage @ solution is to design a self-sustaining solution/program/product that also generates a profit.

The Hilde Back Education Fund (HBEF) has been awarded $20,000 for scholarship funds to support 4 students in Kenya, 2 girls 2 boys, over a 4-year term.  The scholarship will cover school fees as well as provision for Psychosocial Support.  The mission of HBEF is “to assist bright children from poor families and disadvantaged communities access education by providing scholarships and other opportunities at the secondary level.”

Europe is facing its biggest crisis since WWII.  More than three years after the start of the Syrian war, the humanitarian plight of more than 6 million people displaced inside Syria and the 2.8 million refugees scattered in the region is growing more dismal by the day. It is currently considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Many Organizations are trying desperately to help these people.  Five grants for $10,000.00 each have been awarded to the following organizations to help fund these efforts.

*International Rescue Committee

*UNICEF

*World Vision

*CARE

*Save The Children

Congratulations to AHALA Children’s Rights Foundation the US affiliate for CODENI.  This is the second and final payment for the request to support the Life Projects coordinator and a Psychologist/Operational coordinator.  The project benefits children and women interested in developing life projects through education and/or formal employment, with the goal of helping overcome their street dependencies in Guadalajara.

Congratulations West End Center of Roanoke VA.  They will receive a grant for $15,000 to be applied to the After School Program (ASP).  The ASP serves Pre-K to High School students.  The program provides enrollees tutoring assistance, reading classes, and STEM opportunities in additional to educational monitoring.

Congratulations to Women’s Global Empowerment Fund of Denver Co.  They have been awarded a $20,000 grant to continue their loan fund training program for Ugandan women.  The request will also allow them to expand o Haiti to begin a bakery project, to provide  sustainable jobs and assist the community.