We are delighted to announce that Many Hands’ Focus Area Committees have selected four outstanding organizations to receive this year’s grants.
DC Kincare Alliance supports relative caregivers who raise Washington, DC’s most at-risk children when their parents are unable to care for them. They partner with volunteers from law firms to provide a full range of supportive legal services, education, access to a helpline, clinics in the community, support groups, advocacy, and court representation in DC Superior and federal courts. Most recently, DC KinCare launched the Project Adopt pilot, focused on creating pathways to permanent adoption, as an alternative to custody proceedings, for kinship families. They also successfully advocated to remove barriers for caregivers to add children in their care to their housing vouchers (thus eliminating the risk of homelessness) as well as for a new policy expanding the category of caregivers eligible for the childcare subsidy.
New Endeavors by Women (NEW) serves women and children experiencing chronic homelessness in Washington, DC. NEW provides safe, stable housing as well as case managers and social services support so that NEW’s residents can take active steps toward achieving their goals. In addition to providing both transitional and permanent supportive housing, NEW has supported children in their Youth Enrichment Program (centered on quality education, life skills training, and mentorship); provided support with obtaining employment and education and job readiness programming; and provided assistance in the areas of mental health and addiction. Opened initially as a women’s-only transitional shelter, NEW now serves women and children through seven permanent and transitional housing programs, including women with all kinds of chronic health conditions, even after their clients may have moved to more stable housing.
The Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC) is the only nonprofit in the City of Alexandria that provides free, high-quality, multilingual early education and wraparound services for under-resourced preschool children and their families. Their child educational curriculum is built around speech therapy, literacy, math, cognitive, and physical skills, as well as social-emotional development. They focus especially on addressing the needs of children born into the pandemic who have experienced significant setbacks in speech and language development. Recognizing that children cannot thrive in school if their parents are not fully engaged in their education, CFNC builds relationships with families, offering them comprehensive services and support, including childcare, one-on-one case management with home visits, and assistance to access housing, healthcare, eviction prevention, and more.
Urban Ed, Inc. provides technical, career, business, and educational training and development to District of Columbia low-to-no income women and youth, with the goal of transforming lives through technology. Their clients receive training in the areas of cybersecurity, IT support, network engineering, cloud computing, software development, and digital transformation. Urban Ed is focused on empowering women of color in tech, focusing specifically on young mothers of color through their launch of a 3-year plan to boost female enrollment and improve their clients’ employment and income earning opportunities in expanding and lucrative STEM careers. Young mothers can also enroll in a program that integrates tech training with non-technical job readiness professional development such as financial literacy and communication skills.
There’s still time to become a Many Hands member and support our grantees! To participate in voting for this year’s $100,000 Impact Grant recipient, please ensure that we receive your membership check by Monday, May 12 or your online gift by Thursday, May 15. We are also happy to accept your gift at the Annual Meeting. Click here to learn more about membership or email Lori Sostowski at [email protected].
