Grant targets kids' health and education

ROMEOVILLE -- The Will County Community Foundation will present more than $100,000 in grants to four area organizations.

The grant ceremony will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. today at the Lewis University Courtyard Cafe in De La Salle Hall, 1 University Parkway.

The foundation is an affiliate of the Chicago Community Trust. Sandor Brattstrom is executive director of the foundation.

Recipients are:

• Joliet Township High School Foundation: A grant of $43,000 is awarded to support a pilot truancy prevention program as an integrated component of Youth Experiencing Success in School. The main assumption of this pilot program is that "students who do not attend school will not attach to school."

This proposal seeks to create opportunities for students by collaborating with community partners to provide options for school involvement.

• Northern Illinois Food Bank: A renewal grant of $42,000 is awarded to support continuation of the BackPack program at Parks Elementary School. The program is a collaboration between a well-established organization, the food bank, and the Joliet Grade School District with the support of Superintendent Phyllis Wilson.

Between January and June, the food bank distributed 6,462 backpacks to a weekly average of 342 children. Results of the evaluation conducted by students at the University of St. Francis show that this program provided not only valuable nutritious food for the children and their siblings on the weekends but also contributed to a decrease in disruptive behavior, lethargy and signs of hunger in children at the beginning of the week.

• Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center: A grant of $20,000 is awarded to support the program linkage and expansion of the Camp Fitness and Kids 'n Nature Adventure programs.

Camp Fitness teaches third-grade students about healthy nutrition and the proper way to exercise, while following state standards. Kids 'n Nature teaches fourth-graders science through growing and cultivating gardens, while exposing students to play behaviors in nature at Pilcher Park that may instill in them a love of nature and the outdoors.

More than 500 students participated in both programs in 2008.

• Will County Health Department: A grant of $30,000 to support the coordination and implementation phase of the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnership process. The process is a collaborative process that brings both common and uncommon partners together to identify the assets and needs of the local public health system. It also works strategically to improve the overall health of Will County residents and to strengthen the capacity of the local public health system.

This investment supports the implementation of partnership recommendations and sustains the collaborative effort to improve community well-being, as well as limit duplication and optimize the resources and talents of the community partners.