Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children ages 5 through 14, and minority youth drown at exponential rates of their Caucasian peers.
A YMCA program called “Make a Splash” teaches swimming skills to local children to help them become more comfortable in the water, and is one of 61 programs to recently receive funding from the annual Neighborhood Partnership Program.
The grants are a collaboration between the city of Akron and Akron Community Foundation.
“Minority youth drown at a rate four times that of Caucasian youth,” said Tony Grimes, YMCA program coordinator for “Make A Splash. “It is very important to teach kids to swim at a young age as kids are fascinated by water and usually venture off into unsupervised waterways such as lakes and rivers, thus exposing themselves to the risk of drowning.”
The program aims to mitigate the risks of accidental drowning. The YMCA also has joined with the city to to provide “Safety Around Water” training to all Akron Public Schools children through 4th grade.
For the grant program, nearly $250,000 was awarded to a number of neighborhood projects, including the “TheatreSpeaks” series of theatrical workshops, hosted by Ma’Sue Productions; and the Heart to Heart Family Support Center, which will take kids through a monthly mock jury program at the Youth Court of East Akron.
In all, matching grants were awarded to neighborhoods from Goodyear Heights to Kenmore. Funded projects in North Hill will support beautification and community garden initiatives, including the transformation of a vacant lot on Aberdeen Street. The Middlebury neighborhood also will get a boost with funding for a program that teaches children about the importance of healthy eating habits.
“The City of Akron is proud to have partnered with Akron Community Foundation for 20 years in sponsoring of the Neighborhood Partnership Program, which provides support and resources to residents seeking to make a difference in their neighborhood,” said Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. “This unique program provides residents, who are most aware of the needs and assets of their neighborhood, the opportunity to create local programming and activate resources in a way that benefits their neighbors and community.”
Officials from the city of Akron Department of Planning and Urban Development and the community foundation review the applications and make funding recommendations to Akron City Council.
Here’s a complete list of grant recipients:
BEAUTIFICATION
Aberdeen Street Block Club, to create a community garden in a vacant lot on Aberdeen Street, $2,000
Akron Sculptors Cooperative, to design and grow a moss-covered living sculpture on the corner of Glendale Avenue and South Maple Street, $3,750
Centenary United Methodist Church, for the creation of a church garden, and for vacant lot improvements, $1,150
Ellet Women’s Club, to maintain hanging flower baskets, and for the community sign project, $5,000
Friends of West Market Street, for artist-inspired pedestrian rest spots along West Market Street between downtown and Highland Square, $5,000
Let’s Grow Akron Inc., to support children’s community gardens in the Summit Lake and Lane Field neighborhoods, and to teach inner-city residents how to prepare healthy meals, $7,500
North Howard Block Watch, to support the beautification of North Hill in the Avon Street and Howard Street block, $700
South Street Ministries, for beautification and improvement projects in the South Street area as part of Community 20/20: A Vision for the Future, $6,000
West Hill Apiary, for the creation of the West Hill Apiary to house a colony of bees at the West Hill Orchard, $4,000
West Hill Neighborhood Organization, for maintenance of three community garden plots, $2,000
COMMUNITY BUILDING
Asian Services in Action Inc., to purchase and repurpose a shipping container into a farm stand on Carroll Street, $7,500
Blessed Trinity Parish, for semimonthly senior dinners at the parish on Tallmadge Avenue to help create a more cohesive senior community in North Hill, $5,000
Cascade Village, to support monthly Safety Awareness Patrol meetings, $3,750
Charisma Community Connection, for the annual Fathers Walk event, where fathers attend school with their children, $1,000
City of Akron Peacemakers, for an anti-crime and civic program that teaches youth about local government, community organizations and law enforcement, $7,500
East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation, for Storefront Echoes, a program to create storefronts for a farmers market in an underused parking lot on South Arlington Street, $7,500
Fathers and Sons of Northeast Ohio, for urban fatherhood outreach and to educate young people about the importance of civic responsibility, $2,500; for the Greater Holy Trinity Community Outreach Day, $1,000
International Institute of Akron Inc., for four public meetings at the Patterson Park Community Center for the “My North Hill” project, $5,000
Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, to support the organization’s newsletter and community-building activities, $5,000
Ma’Sue Productions, for TheatreSpeaks, a series of theatrical workshops, $2,500
Project 31, for the “Class in Session” program, which provides life skills training for women in the Joy Park area, $2,500
Stop the Violence Akron Movement, for The Healing & Wellness Project, which offers pop-up healing shops for victims of crime, $3,000
Williams Challenge, for the Man2Man Fatherhood Initiative, which helps at-risk men become a positive influence in their children’s lives, $2,750
EVENTS
Akron African American Cultural Association, for the 37th annual African-American Cultural Festival at Lock 3, which showcases local performers and highlights community resources by offering free health screenings and employment support, $7,100
Akron Pride, in support of the inaugural Akron Pride Festival at Hardesty Park, $7,500
Canal Park Condominium Owners Association, for a community picnic that builds positive relationships among neighbors in this inner-city development, $1,000
Community Cares Organization, for the West Akron Community Days Parade and Festival at Hawkins Field, $5,000
DeBord’s 22nd Community Halloween Festival, for a family-friendly community Halloween festival at Hardesty Park, $3,000
Exousia Community Development Corp, to support motorcycle and bicycle safety awareness, $2,500
Firestone Park Citizens Council, for the Firestone Park summer celebration and parade, $5,000
Greater Bethel CDC, for a weekend extravaganza in East Akron featuring health screenings and community education programs, $3,000
Heart to Heart Family Support Center, for the National Night Out Against Crime event in the Rosemary/Arlington area of East Akron, $2,000
Hereford/Highland Area Block Watch Inc., for a newsletter and community-building events in the Highland Square neighborhood, $4,000
Highland Square Neighborhood Association, for the 2017 Porch Rokr Festival, a one-day music and arts festival that showcases local musicians, vendors and community activities while building relationships among neighbors in Highland Square, $7,500
Joanna House II, for a Founder’s Day celebration in South Akron, $1,500; and for a youth event, $1,000
Just Write Inc. Productions, for “Neighborhood Watch,” a series of community movie nights, $3,000
Kenmore Board of Trade, for community, holiday and seasonal events, $6,000
Kenmore Community Council, for the 26th annual Kenmore Community Days festival, $7,500
Middlebury Maker’s Park, to promote activities at Middlebury Maker’s Park, $3,000
Mountain of the Lord Fellowship, for the National Night Out Against Crime event and a violence-free zone rally in North Hill, $2,000
North Hill Community House, for the Youth National Night Out Against Crime, $2,700
Partners for Theater Inc., for Summit Stage Fest, which hosts outdoor theater productions on multiple stages in Highland Square, $5,000
Pathfinders, for the Community Awareness Summer Faire at Lane Field, which provides residents with educational, career and health information $3,000
Residents Improving Goodyear Heights Together (RIGHT), for a newsletter and neighborhood activities, $7,500
Touch of Heaven Ministries, for Let’s Talk About It, a community Night Out Against Crime event, $2,500
Mark A. Ward Community Alliance Group, for the Joy Park Community Festival, a weeklong event that features evening activities for kids and culminates in a picnic festival, $3,000
West Hill Neighborhood Organization, for a community outreach program, $2,500
YOUTH
Adventure Camp, for a youth engagement program in West Akron that offers educational field trips, $2,850
Church of our Savior Episcopal, for the Crosby Street Summer Enrichment Program, $1,500
City Sprouts, for the children’s gardening and healthy living program at Mason Park, $7,500
Heart to Heart Family Support Center, for Youth Court of East Akron, which hosts a mock jury once a month for kids ages 13-19 during social studies class, $2,000
He Brought Us Out Ministry, for the Building Blocks Enrichment Program, which provides after-school and summer activities focused on education, character and leadership development, $7,500
International Soap Box Derby, to establish a STEM-based education curriculum for fifth graders in Akron Public Schools, $7,500
Kohl Family YMCA at University Park, for the “Make a Splash” water safety program for minority youth, $3,500
Leggett CLC, for awards, incentives and programs to improve academics and attendance, including new bicycles for perfect attendance, $3,500
Project GRAD Akron, for the Strengthening the Links program, which strengthens connections between home and school, $7,500
Safer Communities Youth and Family Initiatives, for a pilot drama workshop at Leggett and Helen Arnold community learning centers, $2,000
Urban Vision, for Camp Urban Vision, a summer camp that serves up to 720 children in the North Hill neighborhood, $5,000
For info about applying for the Neighborhood Partnership Program, visit www.akronohio.gov/cms/site/1f6deed4eb09491f/index.html.
Celebrating 62 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. As of March 31, 2017, it is a philanthropic endowment of nearly $202 million with a growing family of 560 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation’s funds have awarded more than $139 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call (330) 376-8522 or visit www.akroncf.org.
