41 Grants Awarded To Kane County Area Nonprofits

KANE COUNTY, IL — The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley has awarded 41 grants totaling more than $615,000 to support local nonprofit organizations that are "doing critically important work to improve the quality of life in Chicago’s Fox River Valley," according to a news release.

Leaders of area agencies gathered for a recognition ceremony on July 11 at the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva, where they were honored for earning grants through both the Community Foundation’s Discretionary Grantmaking and Youth Engagement in Philanthropy programs.

There were 33 Fox Valley social service providers that were honored for earning grants totaling $590,000 during the community foundation’s fall 2022 and spring 2023 grant cycles.

Individual grants, ranging from $2,000 to $25,000, including multi-year grants of up to $100,000, will help these Fox Valley nonprofits better support local residents’ needs:

• APS Training Academy: Technology upgrades to help provide free education and vocational opportunities in STEAM to vulnerable communities in Aurora.
• Aurora Christian Healthcare: Technology upgrades to help provide free healthcare for the uninsured and those unable to afford care.
• Aurora University: Computers for the learning lab at AU where they are empowering students to achieve lasting personal and professional success.
• Cal's All Star Angel Foundation: Technology upgrades to better help with granting wishes, raising awareness and funding research to help kids fighting cancer.
• CASA Kane County: Technology upgrades to help ensure children in the foster care system have a safe, nurturing and permanent home where they can thrive with the support and involvement of their community.
• Casey's Safe Haven Holistic Horse Rescue: New farm equipment to help care for horses looking for loving families to spend the rest of their lives with.
• Chamber Music on the Fox: New concert equipment to help the ensemble present performances and cultural experiences to Elgin and Fox Valley residents.
• Changing Children's Worlds Foundation: New computer and video equipment to support children and adolescents by offering positive development to caregivers and professionals within loving, non-violent families and peaceful communities.
• Children's Theatre of Elgin: New sound equipment to help individuals have an equitable opportunity to learn, grow, and enrich their lives through theater.
• Community Crisis Center: Vertical platform lifts to help move donations and client items between levels of their building at their center which provides 24/7 crisis intervention, resources and shelter.
• Crossroads Christian Youth Center: A new roof for this non-denominational organization dedicated to community outreach and the discipleship of young people.
• DuPage Children's Museum: Pop up play equipment to help instill joyful discovery and learning through hands-on exploration by integrating art, math and science.
• Easterseals of DuPage & Fox Valley: A new sanitization system at their facility where they empower children with disabilities and their families.
• EKGs for EGK: The purchase of more AED devices (automated external defibrillators) and storage to support the education and prevention of sudden cardiac death in young people.
• Elgin Symphony Orchestra Association: New bass stools for the orchestra, to help provide the finest orchestral music and serve the cultural and educational needs of the Elgin community.
• Family Service Association of Greater Elgin Area: New office equipment for this nonprofit dedicated to quality, accessible, client-centered, equitable and holistic behavioral health services.
• Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP): Capital materials for community outreach to improve working conditions and opportunities for low-income workers and their households in the cannery, farms, greenhouse, landscaping, meat, nursery, packinghouse, poultry, restaurants, and snow plowing industries.
• Fox Valley Christian Action: Van replacement for this non-denominational Christian ministry that serves children and families from low-income communities regardless of their religious commitment.
• Fox Valley Fellowship Center: Building renovations to refurbish meeting rooms, recovery resources and space for Sober Events for area residents participating in the center’s 12-step recovery program.
• Fox Valley Family YMCA: Safety and security upgrades at their Plano center that instills Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body.
• Habitat for Humanity of Northern Fox Valley: A new box truck for its ReStore resale shop, with proceeds that bring people together to build homes, communities and hope.
• Hesed House: Cold storage expansion at a local shelter that feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless and gives people a chance to hope again.
• Kendall County Community Food Pantry: A new pole barn building for an organization that provides supplemental food help for neighbors in need.
• Northern Illinois Food Bank: Replacement of a refrigerator speed door to better provide nutritious food and resources and help ensure everyone in Northern Illinois has the food they need to thrive.
• Northwestern Memorial Foundation: New power exam tables to help provide leading-edge health care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.
• Paramount Arts Centre: Lighting and sound equipment upgrades at downtown Aurora’s Paramount Theatre, dedicated to making the performing arts accessible for every age and socio-economic background.
• Rising Lights Project: Equipment for a new garden project to keep area residents with disabilities engaged and connected.
• Second Act Scene 2: New office furnishings where they provide mental health and social services to underinsured and marginalized individuals and families in the area affected by mental illness.
• Serenity House: New furnishings for a recovery home that provides treatment services to all individuals and families recovering from substance abuse disorders.
• Simply Destinee: Technology upgrades and program supplies to help instill culturally responsive wellness skills that promote youth social-emotional development, and address mental health challenges that many students are facing.
• St. Charles Singers: A music filing storage system for this St. Charles ensemble that performs, promotes and preserves fine choral music for diverse audiences, regionally, nationally and internationally.
• Sunnymere: New plumbing at this residential center that provides gracious living accommodations for senior citizens at moderate, subsidized prices.
• Water Street Studios: Expansion of the art studio at this Batavia cultural hub that draws, enriches and supports artists, art teachers, students and public from all over the Fox Valley and beyond.