Mini-grants help county projects
Each year, the Butler Collaborative for Families awards $1,000 mini-grants for a new initiative or project in Butler County.
The latest grant recipients announced this month were the Slippery Rock University Student Nonprofit Alliance and Penn State Extension Nutrition Links.
“It has to be something new. It has to have three participating entities or agencies that combine together for the effort,” said Erin McGarrity, BCF coordinator.
McGarrity said the Slippery Rock grant will be used to fund Speak Up Butler County Youth.
“The purpose of the project is to develop a council of Butler County youth representing the seven school districts in the county,” said McGarrity.
Speak Up is an outgrowth of a study conducted last year by Assistant Professor Alice Del Vecchio's community development and community change class to identify the needs of children and youths.
“The students at the end of the class presented their findings to the county commissioners and the Butler Collaborative,” said Del Vecchio. “And they asked how we could implement some of these ideas.”
Del Vecchio said six nonprofit management majors who were part of the study set up a pilot Speak Up project in May.
Del Vecchio said Speak Up will be similar to Leadership Butler County with local delegations from each school district getting involved with their school boards and local government and being mentored by college students.
DelVecchio said the grant would be used to pay transportation costs for the student delegates.
The second grant is to Penn State Nutrition Links which provides nutrition classes to target audiences including low-income families and pregnant teenagers, said McGarrity.
“The classes cover food safety, meal planning, budgeting and portion sizes,” said McGarrity.
Esther Voelker, nutrition education adviser for the Penn State Extension Nutrion Links, said the class, “Eating Smart, Moving More,” gives those who complete the required three sessions a reusable grocery bag, a cookbook and a set of measuring cups.
The grant will be used to pay for $25 gift cards to Friedman's for those who complete the classes, said Voelker.
“Friedman's is in Butler County, so this is a way of keeping it all in Butler County,” Voelker said.
“It helps families to use what they've learned and spend money at a local grocery story,” said McGarrity.
Both entities, in addition to the grant money, will receive 10 hours of grant-writing services provided by the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources, a BCF member.
Money for the grants comes from annual dues paid by all BCF members.
A grant application must be complete and submitted to the BCF Executive by April 1 each year.
The grant award will be determined each year in accordance with the BCF budget.
