Introducing our 2024 grantees! Each of these grants represents not just financial support, but also a deep appreciation and belief in the transformative work our grantees undertake every day. We wish a warm congratulations to each of these deserving organizations.
Awarded Summer 2024
Bello Machre
Bello Machre offers people with developmental disabilities the services, opportunities, and support they need to live full, independent, rich lives. Bello Machre was awarded a grant to begin a home maintenance fund for the upkeep of their community homes in perpetuity. The fund, to be named the Phillips Charitable Foundation Home Maintenance Fund, will help pay for HVAC maintenance and repairs, power washing, carpet cleaning, painting, and other general maintenance needs.
Benedictine School
The Benedictine School supports children and adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities so they can achieve their greatest potential. They currently maintain an aging fleet of 70 vehicles to meet the needs of the students and adults they support. A grant was awarded to pay for a new minivan, replacing a van with nearly 200,000 miles.
Blue Ribbon Project
The Blue Ribbon Project’s Mission is to prevent all forms of child abuse and provide critical support to victims of abuse and neglect. They serve abused and neglected children through nine distinct programs. One of those programs is Mirah’s Closet, designed to provide clothing and essential items to meet the needs of children in Foster Care. A grant was awarded for the beautification of the Mirah’s closet space as well as the library, playroom, and training room.
Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding
Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding (CATR) empowers people and transforms lives through therapeutic connections with horses. CATR was awarded a grant to build a run-in shed in the horse pasture. This shelter allows the horses to find reprieve in the shade from extreme heat and storms. The grant also will pay for new saddles and saddle fitting services.
The Children's Home
The Children’s Home is a residential care facility that provides both long and short-term services to youth 13 to 21 years of age who have experienced abuse, neglect, violence, abandonment, and/or are in need of supervised care. A grant was awarded for their New Adventures Summer Camp, providing enriching summer experiences for vulnerable youth. Activities focus on physical health, life skills, job readiness, recreation and arts, and mental health.
Hospice of the Chesapeake
The mission for Hospice of the Chesapeake is caring for life throughout the journey with illness and loss. Quality and compassionate care has been provided since their beginning in 1979. Hospice of the Chesapeake was awarded an unrestricted grant to use wherever needs were greatest.
House of Ruth
House Of Ruth Maryland works to end violence against women and their children by confronting the attitudes, behaviors and systems that perpetuate it, and by providing victims with the services necessary to rebuild their lives safely and free of fear. A grant was awarded for the Emergency Shelter Program. This program offers a secure haven, including counseling and multiple services, for women and children as they transition from abuse and homelessness.
JBI International
JBI International seeks to empower blind, visually impaired and reading disabled individuals to participate fully in educational, cultural and communal life by providing free access to works of Jewish and general interest through its Braille, Large Print, and Audio Libraries. A grant was awarded for a braille embosser and related equipment.
La Promesa Foundation
The mission of La Promesa Foundation is to recognize and honor academically talented Hispanic students in the Southwestern Pennsylvania area by providing economic support to go towards higher education. A grant was awarded for their scholarship program.
Off the Floor Pittsburgh
Off the Floor Pittsburgh strengthens families and reduces the pain and indignity of extreme poverty by recycling quality used furniture and delivering it to families in need. A grant was awarded to purchase new twin mattresses, the majority of which will be delivered to children without a bed to sleep on.
SNACK and Friends
SNACK supports the growth of children, teens, and young adults by providing skill building and enrichment opportunities for people of all abilities in NYC. SNACK exists to fill a critical void: providing inclusive programs that center on the unique needs of people with disabilities, especially those whose needs are deemed profound. A grant was awarded for the 21+ program, one of the few of its kind in the NY Metro Area.
Veterans Place
The Mission of Veterans Place is to empower veterans’ transition from homeless to home, ending the cycle of homelessness, and to assist all at-risk veterans to become engaged, valuable citizens who contribute to their communities. Veterans Place recently remodeled their property, called 919, in order to create office space for our Workforce Development program. A grant was awarded to help pay for fixtures, technology, and furniture to outfit the new space.
Western PA Diaper Bank
A grant was awarded to Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank for diapers and warehouse tools. Their mission is to ensure that babies in need are clean, healthy, and dry. Since its founding in 2012, Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank’s main program has always been its diaper distribution, which has grown to serve thousands of families in three counties struggling to diaper their babies
Awarded Spring 2024
Anne Arundel Community College
Anne Arundel Community College serves the needs of a diverse community by offering high quality, affordable, accessible, and innovative lifelong learning opportunities. AACC was awarded with a grant for the HelpLink Fund for Nursing. This fund provides short-term emergency aid to students who are experiencing unexpected financial hardships that could cause them to have to drop out of school. The HelpLink Fund provides invaluable support to help nursing students focus on completing their studies, passing their certification exam, and joining a workforce that desperately needs highly trained health care professionals.
American Veterans Center
The mission of the American Veterans Center is to guard the legacy and honor the sacrifice of American veterans from the last 75 years. A grant was awarded for the Veterans Oral History Preservation project. The oral history videos are available to all on the American Veterans Center YouTube Channel. The recorded stories ensure that the experiences, sacrifices, and lessons our veterans have learned will not be forgotten.
Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh
The Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh provides inclusive, community-based homes and services for people with intellectual disabilities and promoting public awareness of their needs. They currently support 15 community-based homes, where individuals receive 24-hour care and support. A grant was awarded for a dedicated vehicle to be provided for their newest home. Having a vehicle for each home is critical for the residents to maintain a high quality of life, enabling residents to participate in jobs, volunteer activities, hobbies, fitness activities and more.
Healing Farms
Healing Farms, located in Charleston, South Carolina, provides hope and opportunity to people with disabilities and their families, while teaching the community to do the same. A grant was awarded for the purchase of a 15-passenger van. The van was needed to complete the programming at their newly opened second location in West Ashley. The van will be the primary mode of transportation for the day program, providing the opportunity for a wide variety of community outings which are a critical component of the Healing Farms programs.
Miracle League of the South Hills
Miracle League of the South Hills creates an environment of acceptance for people with disabilities and their families, with baseball as the root. They promote meaningful, authentic relationships that connect people on the field as well as in the community. A grant was awarded for a renovation project for a large warehouse space used for the Next Inning program, a 6-week on-the-job training program. Each Next Inning team member learns and masters work related skills in customer service, accounting, money counting, custodial work and more. These skills will help the team members find employment after the training program.
Rebuilding Together Anne Arundel
Rebuilding Together Anne Arundel is part of a national network of local affiliates providing critical renovations and modification to the homes and communities of neighbors in need. A grant was provided to alleviate a backlog of work needed on local mobile homes. The funding will enable Rebuilding Anne Arundel to select four to five projects based upon severity of need for such essential repairs as addressing roofing, plumbing, HVAC issues, mold and water damage remediation, and the need for the installation of aging in place fixtures such as ramps, grab bars, transfer poles and appliances.
Awarded Winter 2024
Be The Change Charleston
Be the Change Charleston is dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities through community connection and employment opportunities. A grant was awarded for their Empowerment Through Employment Program. This program is a free, highly individualized program, providing a coach to individuals with disabilities who helps them identify and achieve goals around job readiness skills, employment skills, and life skills.
Boys and Girls Club of Anne Arundel
The mission of the Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who are most in need, to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. A grant was awarded for security cameras. The cameras will replace some outdated equipment and also be placed in their six vehicles. The security cameras will help to add a sense of safety and peace of mind to the parents and guardians of the students they serve.
Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating
Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB) brings the therapeutic benefits of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and the freedom it provides to people with disabilities, recovering warriors, and youth from underserved communities at no cost to them. A grant was awarded to sponsor the 52 group sails planned for the 2024 season. Their experienced volunteer Skippers and Crew take patients, clients, students, caregivers, and staff from partnering community groups out on the water.
Gigi's Playhouse Annapolis
Gigi’s Annapolis is part of a national network of Gigi’s Playhouse locations with a mission to change the way the world views Down syndrome and to send a global message of acceptance for all. Their team delivers free educational, therapeutic-based, and career development programs for individuals with Down syndrome, their families, and the community. The grant from Phillips Charitable Foundation will help cover operational needs including their Adult Career Programs.
Hero Dogs
We met Hero Dog Cassie in 2022 when she was a small puppy. Soon after, we made the decision to sponsor her training to become a service or therapy dog. Hero Dogs improves the quality of life of our nation’s heroes and enhances the services of community organizations by placing assistance dogs with customized training and lifetime support. Service dogs are placed with veterans of the U.S. military and first-responders with disabilities. The recent grant represents the final installment of Cassies’s rigorous training and preparation. We’ve enjoyed following her progress and are excited to find out where and with whom she will be placed.
Hour Children
Hour Children’s mission is to help incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and their children successfully rejoin the community, reunify with their families, and build healthy, independent and secure lives. A grant was awarded to cover the costs of Metro Cards to be used by the women they serve. The Metro Cards will enable the women to access job fairs, attend internships, and navigate the city as they seek to build an independent life.
Light House
The mission of The Light House is to rebuild lives with compassion by providing shelter and services to prevent homelessness and empower people as they transition toward employment, housing, and self-sufficiency. The grant to Light House will be used for their workforce development programs including the training programs at The Light House Bistro.
Nontraditional Employment for Women
Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) recruits, trains, and places women in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades, helping women achieve economic independence and a secure future. A grant was awarded for an advertising and outreach campaign to reach populations that would benefit from the workforce development programs at NEW.
Seeds 4 Success
Seeds 4 Success serves children growing up in low-income Annapolis neighborhoods who disproportionately face the barriers of poverty, early experiences with trauma, housing instability, food scarcity, and transportation access. Children enter their programs reading at least two grade levels behind. The grant will help expand and improve programs with the goals of improving literacy and math outcomes, increasing enrollment in their Pre-K and Kindergarten age groups, and providing additional training to caregivers.
STAIR
Start the Adventure in Reading (STAIR) promotes equity through literacy by partnering second graders reading below grade level with volunteers who work with them one-on-one to build their self-confidence and improve their reading skills. Children are identified and recommended by the public school reading specialists, and written permission from parents is given for them to attend the STAIR program at no cost to their families. The grant will be used for operational needs related to their mission.
The Reading Team
The Reading Team, a Harlem-based nonprofit organization, helps children in New York City’s underserved neighborhoods become strong readers and develop the skills and habits that will support their success in school and in life. A grant was awarded for operational programming expenses of their after-school program. The program serves 100 children in Grades K-5, ages 5-11, from 15 neighborhood elementary schools.
Xavier Society for the Blind
Xavier Society provides the Word of God and other spiritual and inspirational material in braille and audio, to blind or visually impaired persons. They continually explore ways to make that material more accessible and available to the widest possible audience of those in need. A grant was awarded for the production of books and the Sunday Mass Propers in braille. Braille reading materials are transcribed by Xavier’s certified Library of Congress transcriber.
