Salutes • Grants
Group gets $60,000 for economic development
Advertiser Staff
The U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration has granted $60,000 to the B The alliance will use the grant to help community service organizations prepare and implement economic development projects that will bring new business and jobs to distressed communities.
The Economic Development Administration works in collaboration with local government and community groups to generate new jobs, help retain existing jobs, and stimulate industrial and commercial growth in economically distressed communities. Assistance is available to both rural and urban areas experiencing high unemployment, low income, or other economic distress.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu has received a $5,000 grant from the Atherton Family Foundation to further its mentoring program. In addition, NFL Charities has matched a $5,000 grant from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America to help pay for the local organization's mentoring program. The school-based mentoring model represents a key component of the organization's drive to bring one-to-one mentoring programs to more children.
Big Brothers Big Sisters has six programs in the schools and two at other sites in the community. Volunteers mentor children once a week during the school year.
A 1999 study of school-based mentoring programs in the country found that 58 percent of the students received higher grades, 64 percent developed a more positive attitude toward school and 64 percent had higher levels of self-esteem.
• The Maui AIDS Foundation has received a $10,000 grant from the Fred Baldwin Memorial Foundation for developing and implementing a support network for Native Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Islanders who may be at risk for HIV infection.
The mission is to first identify the population and then provide a safe and supportive environment that offers opportunities to meet, network, voice concerns, foster self-empowerment and to advocate on issues of significance to the gay Native Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Islander community in Maui County.
• Fresh Start Inc., a structured, supportive living skills program in Waipahu, has received a $5,000 grant from the Kosasa Family Fund. Also received was a $10,000 grant from the Robert Emens Black Fund of the Hawai'i Community Foundation. The grants will be used for the recently created Gender Specific Women's Program — A Therapeutic Community.
Fresh Start Inc. helps recovering alcoholics, drug addicts and homeless men and women to achieve permanent sobriety by providing long-term, affordable housing, while teaching life and educational skills.
The agency continues to improve and expand its program to increase its success rate, quality of educational classes and ability to accommodate more clients.
