2023 Grant Recipients
Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties
Program: Workforce Readiness
Boys & Girls Clubs are committed to empowering all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens.
Workforce Readiness is a program that builds essential skill development, exposes youth to diverse career options, and provides real-world work experiences and opportunities to gain certifications that will better prepare them to enter the workforce. This out-of-school-time program will help young people gain autonomy, choice and a connection to the Benton/Franklin community, while acquiring important skills and experiences.
Chaplaincy Health Care
Program: Cork’s Place Kids Grief Center
Chaplaincy Health Care’s purpose is to assist all individuals in need throughout their service area of the Mid-Columbia region of Southeast Washington. Focusing on the entire person—their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. They guide, comfort and care for people experiencing serious illness, end of life, loss, and grief.
Cork’s Place Kids Grief Center equips kids and adults with tools and resources for coping with grief so they can live their best live their best lives. Cork’s Place is the only grief support facility in the Tri-Cities that is specifically designed for children, teens, and families. It provides a safe and supportive environment where kids and their grown-ups are empowered to process their grief and lead productive lives.
Columbia Industries
Program: Opportunity Kitchen
Columbia Industries is a mission-based organization committed to supporting and empowering individuals with disabilities and other challenges, in order to help them achieve personal success and community engagement. We champion the development of essential vocational/life skills, meaningful social involvement and access to critical resources.
Opportunity Kitchen is a 12-week food service training program for adults facing employment barriers in which they gain hands-on experience in a commercial kitchen. The goal is for all participants to gain skills needed to thrive in community-based food service or hospitality jobs. Many of the students experience homelessness, or unstable housing, lack of employment or skills to gain employment, mental health issues, single parenthood, and many other barriers that make maintaining employment difficult.
Columbia Basin College Foundation
Program: Family Study Area
Columbia Basin College Foundation is dedicated to promoting student success programs through raising funds, building partnerships, and advocating for students and the college.
The Family Study Area in the renovated library on the CBC campus will create a “family friendly” space including child sized furniture, colorful displays, activity kits, children’s technology and books. The space will provide an optimal place for CBC students to study while children in their care have a safe place to play.
Domestic Violence Service of Benton and Franklin Counties
Program: Empowered Workforce
Domestic Violence Services of Benton and Franklin Counties is dedicated to create a healthy community free from all forms of domestic violence.
The Empowered Workforce program aims to provide training and employment opportunities for domestic violence survivors, and vulnerable youth ages 16-24 helping them regain their independence and become financially self-sufficient. Overall, the program aims to help survivors of domestic violence break the cycle of abuse and vulnerable youth build a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Elijah Family Homes
Program: Transition To Success
Elijah Family Homes provides supportive services to those not eligible for public housing because of activities during their time of active addiction.
The Transition To Success program assists families currently in the EFH housing program and those on the waiting list. Families have been in recovery from substance abuse addiction for at least one year upon program entry, have children under 18, and do not qualify for public housing. Case management includes home visits, Positive Parenting Program, goal setting, compliance monitoring (drug tests and recovery meeting documentation), EFH community meetings, and family activities.
B5 formerly Family Learning Center
Program: Refugee Youth Educational Support
B5 provides supports refugees and immigrants through education, community, and relationships so they can thrive in their new homes.
The Refugee Youth Educational Support program subsidizes the cost of the educational assistance services to low-income, school-aged children with refugee status, primarily Southeast Asian and African students who cannot benefit from their regular funding.
FORGE Youth Mentoring
Program: Kid’s Crave Connections
FORGE Youth Mentoring is passionate about connecting generations to restore hope in communities and help young people discover their God-given potential. They serve young people aged 7-18 throughout the Tri-Cities area, from all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, targeting those in single parent homes.
The Kid’s Crave Connections program offers hope and a life-changing impact for youth who feel lost. Mentored youth are more likely to hold leadership positions, attend college, volunteer in their communities, and participate in sports or extracurricular activities. It also helps address struggles reducing poverty, truancy, substance use, violence, and high school dropout rates while increasing economic mobility, workforce productivity, college completion rates, and healthy decision-making. Nine out of ten mentees desire to be a mentor to others, creating generational change.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho
Program: Go-Getter Outreach Troops
Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.
Go-Getter Outreach Troops support mental well-being in girls between 5-18. Half of all mental health conditions begin by age 14, but most go undetected and untreated. Girl Scouts has continued to adjust its structure to flexibly meet girls needs while emphasizing four overlapping areas that are crucial to girls success today and tomorrow: supporting their mental and physical well-being, reducing their learning loss, promoting equity and social justice, and developing a workforce with more talented women leaders. Maintaining our focus on our four core “pillars” of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), Outdoors, Life Skills, and Entrepreneurship.
Grace Kitchen
Program: Grace Kitchen
Grace Kitchen is a ministry that exists to empower and employ women out of poverty in the Tri-Cities area, through mentoring, job training, employment, and friendship.
Through the production and sales of gourmet dried food products, women can earn a fair wage as they learn business skillsets that make them more employable. With time we plan to launch a catering business and a barista training program. Upon completion of our training program, women will be able to support themselves and their children.
Many of the women Grace Kitchen serves have been through some type of trauma such as adverse childhood experiences, spousal abuse, rape, prostitution, or death of a child. Others have been previously incarcerated, making transportation and employment a challenge.
Mirror Ministries
Program: Trafficking Prevention/Intervention for Vulnerable Youth
Mirror Ministries’ mission is to respond to domestic minor sex trafficking with the love of Christ through local education, intervention, restoration, and aftercare. Our vision is to see local victims of sex trafficking become survivors who have hope, healing, and restoration.
The program is reaching out to potential victims of domestic minor sex trafficking with an emphasis on vulnerable, and Foster-Involved Youth. The vision is to focus outreach and education on this highly vulnerable population to bring hope, freedom, and restoration to these kids.
Restoration Community Impact
Program: Restoration Market
Restoration Community Impact helps disenfranchised individuals rediscover their voices, reclaim their futures, and restore families which in turn empowers them to regain what has been lost without shame or guilt.
Restoration Market is a gorgeous, fully outfitted grocery store market supplied with food from donors. The goal is to help families stabilize and guide people who have felt rejected and marginalized re-enter society with support.
Tri-County Partners Habitat for Humanity
Program: Affordable Homeownership
Tri-County Partners Habitat for Humanity focuses on ensuring that all residents of Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla Counties have the opportunity for a decent and affordable place to live; Habitat for Humanity seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope.
The Affordable Homeownership program assists low to moderate income homeowners with down payment assistance.
You Medical
Program: Parent Mentorship Program
You Medical’s mission is to empower individuals to make life affirming choices.
The Parent Mentorship program, You Medical prepares moms and dads with child development, education, and parenting skills from pregnancy to childbirth and beyond. Through one-on-one mentoring, video-based education videos, informational classes, support groups, community resource referrals, and material assistance of baby supplies (i.e. diapers, formula, clothing), men and women in our community are being equipped with knowledge, life-skills, and encouragement to support them in being the best parent they can be.