|
United Way awards mini-grants
BY EMILY AYSHFORD eayshford@kenoshanews.com
The United Way of Kenosha County has awarded minigrants to two agencies that provide services to western Kenosha County residents.
Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services, Inc. received $3,500 for its volunteer escort program, while non-profit Radiant Path received $2,500 for healing and therapeutic services.
United Way Community Investment Director Crista Kruse said the money came from the 2004 campaign — which funds United Way’s 2005-2006 fiscal year — where some donors specified that they wanted their money to go toward western Kenosha County services.
That year was the first time donors could designate where their money went, Kruse said, and this is the first time the organization has handed out these grants — which are different than the regular annual funding allocations.
“We did that based off of what we told donors we would use the money for,” Kruse said. “It was requested by many donors in prior years. They wanted the money to help those in western Kenosha County and make services available to them.”
Gary Brown, Director of Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services, Inc, said the money will be used to reimburse drivers who bring seniors to doctor appointments through the agency’s escort program.
Drivers receive 35 cents per mile this year — up from 32 cents last year, Brown said — and the grant money will help cover the mileage reimbursement increase for 30 volunteer drivers that help transport 50 western county seniors.
“It came along at a great time for us,” he said. “We’re doing more out in the western part of the county all the time.”
But western county trips are often longer and require more gas — which, in the current market, can come close to breaking the bank.
“We hear concerns from our drivers about gas prices,” Brown said. “But nobody is saying we can’t do it anymore.”
At Radiant Path, a new nonprofit in Bristol, the money will go toward offering low-income customers subsidized payments for healing and therapeutic services. The agency, which has been open since September, offers services like movement classes and massage therapy that are designed to help people deal with issues like chronic pain.
Founder Shawna Freels, a clinical psychologist, said she founded the agency after she couldn’t find an organization that would focus on both the mind and the body.
“A lot of natural healing is not accessible to people because of the liability to pay,” Freels said. The grant money will go toward helping people feel better so they can increase their quality of life, she said.
The organization will hold an open house Friday, May 19 from 3 to 7 p.m. for residents and health providers to check out services and see their facility at 20225 82nd Street.
|
