The GRAND Foundation Continues Its Great Work to Support COVID Affected Groups

Last month we talked about the ways in which the GRAND Foundation is providing support to Feeding America Food Banks and other organizations working to help those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We’re pleased to announce those efforts have not stopped. 

This month, the Foundation has stepped up once again to provide support to the Roberti Community House, the Madison Reading Project and has continued to provide support to the Mask Brigade. The sections below detail each organization and the great community support they provide. 

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Roberti Community House

The Roberti Community House (RCH) is a Waukegan, IL-based organization that is committed to nourish, educate and empower community members so that they can acknowledge, appreciate and actualize their individual strengths and talents. RCH operates out of two renovated homes in distressed Waukegan neighborhoods, each of which has become key gathering places for community members in need of kindness, support, friendship and understanding. 

In addition to serving as a gathering place for people in need, RCH also provides meaningful adult and youth enrichment programs to help community members get and stay on a path to positive personal and professional growth. The most notable of these programs is the Culinary Pathway program, which looks to educate, empower and employ community members in the foodservice workforce. This tuition-free program teaches both culinary and life skills to act as a catalyst for individuals in the community to build a better life for themselves and in many cases provide a pathway out of poverty. Through in-depth, hands-on culinary training by a professional chef, students in the program learn about food preparation, sanitation, kitchen communication skills and proper use of kitchen equipment. 

While the Culinary Pathway program is a tremendous asset to the community under normal circumstances, it has proved extremely impactful since the COVID-19 outbreak. In response to the pandemic, RCH has transitioned its Culinary Pathway program to focus on food recovery, food preparation and distribution to support first responders, soup kitchens, veterans and other vulnerable members of the community. In this effort, the group has provided thousands of meals to deserving individuals as well as inspiration to its students and community members. 

For more information on RCH’s great works and how you can help, click here for their donations page, contact roberticommunityhouse@gmail.com or call 224-209-3717. You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

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Madison Reading Project

The Madison Reading Project is a literacy-based nonprofit organization providing books and programs for underserved children in the Madison area and greater south-central Wisconsin. They collect new and gently used books in order to distribute them to children and families. Since 2014, the group has given more than 116,000 books to more than 64,000 kids. 

The organization provides outreach in the community in a number of ways. Most notably perhaps is its Big Red Reading Bus, which is packed full of free books for kids and makes scheduled stops at organizations, libraries, events and schools to give away high-quality books and reading materials. To have the Big Red Reading Bus make a stop at your organization, click here to complete the request form.

Like RCH above, Madison Reading Project has also pivoted its efforts in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. With kids out of school, there is a great risk for children in distressed communities to fall behind and/or lose the important outlet that reading can provide. To combat this risk, Madison Reading Project has started a COVID-19 Emergency Books and Supply Fund to ensure that thousands of children have access to books they love at a time when they need it most. Click here to learn more about their efforts. 

To learn more about how you can donate books, donate money, host a book drive or contribute in other ways, email programming@madisonreadingproject.com. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.

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Mask Brigade

The GRAND Foundation has also continued its support for the Mask Brigade, which to date has made more than 33,000 masks for front line first responders. As we said in last month’s post, the group is a grassroots organization consisting of community members volunteering their time to make masks to help those essential workers we all depend on every day.

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Mother's Trust

 

Last but not least, we’d like to congratulate the GRAND Foundation for being honored with the Heart of Gold Award by Mother’s Trust. The Lake County, IL-based organization’s goal is to provide immediate assistance to disadvantaged children. The assistance Mother’s Trust provides includes clothing, essential baby gear, medical needs, enrichment opportunities, educated related expenses and much more. To donate to Mother’s Trust or learn more about how you can help this great organization, call 847-482-9189 or click here to complete their contact form. 

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Learn more about the GRAND Foundation's ongoing community support efforts on the organization's website and our related blog posts.