Photo: Actors portraying legendary composers Scott Joplin and Duke Ellington hear their music performed by The Little Orchestra Society’s jazz band.
Phillips Charitable Foundation (PCF) is excited to announce five recent grants as part of our Spring 2022 Awards. The grants support a variety of causes including homeless children, families in crisis, veterans and first responders, and one grant simply to spread a little joy to the community. We’re proud to support their efforts and tell you just a little about the great work that they do.
Little Orchestra Society
New York City
The Little Orchestra Society (LOS) is devoted to the creation of innovative music education programs in New York City public schools and engaging community concerts for thousands of children and families each season. LOS aspires to help young people from all socioeconomic backgrounds achieve their fullest potential through composing and experiencing live music. Their live concerts bring music and joy to a wide community.
We met the Executive Director of Little Orchestra Society, Joanne Bernstein-Cohen, during our very first round of grants in 2018. This was during our Marie Barth Performing Arts Initiative. Joanne sent us a thorough and persuasive application. We awarded a small grant to cover technology costs such as wireless speakers, projector, and iPads, to be used in musical community events around New York City. We were intrigued enough by her passion that our Director of Grants and Due Diligence, Patricia Napolitano, went to one of their outdoor community rehearsals where she had the pleasure of meeting Joanne. Our admiration for her made it all the more sad when we learned in 2021 that she had passed away.
Joanne Bernstein-Cohen served as the Executive Director of Little Orchestra Society for 15 years. She made great strides in sharing engaging music experiences for all – including those in underserved communities. She spent much of her career advocating for and implementing innovative music education programs in under-resourced neighborhoods. In honor of her passion, Phillips Charitable Foundation awarded a $10,000 donation to help continue her legacy and vision.
Anthony Ball was appointed as the new LOS Executive Director. From all of us at Phillips Charitable Foundation, we wish him well.
You can learn more about Joanne Bernstein-Cohen and Little Orchestra Society at this link.
Queen Louise Home
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Island
Queen Louise Home provides a safe haven and residential foster care for children in the Virgin Islands. The children receive tutoring, recreational activities, and unconditional love and support. Queen Louise Home is part of the Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands. In addition to their foster care program for abused, abandoned and neglected children, Lutheran Social Services also has programs for pregnant women and families, low-income seniors, adults with disabilities and a Head Start Program.
Queen Louise Home was awarded a $50,000 grant to help support the children in their care. This is our third grant to Queen Louise Home. We continue to be inspired by the efforts of their staff and volunteers to change the course of the lives of so many vulnerable children. Find out more about Queen Louise Home at this link.
Hero Dogs
Brookeville, Maryland
In 2021, Phillips Charitable Foundation awarded a $5,000 grant to Hero Dogs. To our great delight, Hero Dogs paired us with a puppy named Cassie. As we followed Cassie on Instagram, (yes, she has her own account), we learned more about the three-year training program at Hero Dogs. We also learned that the full cost of raising these amazing hero dogs is around $40,000. As a result, we recently awarded Hero Dogs with a second grant for $8,500 to continue to train and care for Cassie. Our plan is to continue to sponsor her through her three-year program.
Hero Dogs is located in Brookeville, Maryland. You can read about our site visit at this link. Their mission is to improve the quality of life for our nation’s heroes by raising, training, and placing service dogs and other highly skilled canines, free of charge with lifetime support. They serve veterans and first-responders with disabilities.
Raising and training Cassie and the other hero dogs takes the effort not only of Hero Dogs staff but also of more than 150 dedicated volunteers. We’re so proud of Cassie and excited to watch her continue to grow, learn, and prepare for her important role in the future. Learn more about Hero Dogs at this link.
The Bernie House
Maryland
The Bernie House, a new grantee for Phillips Charitable Foundation, provides safe, transitional housing to homeless families who have left an abusive situation. The organization provides a safe single-family home for the family for up to two years. Counseling, job training, childcare and other resources are provided. This gives the family the opportunity to stabilize and become self-sufficient in a safe environment with lower financial requirements.
At PCF, we were inspired by the mission of The Bernie House. Rather than focusing on just one stage of a problem, they help families from crisis intervention all the way through to stability.
PCF awarded The Bernie House with an $18,705 grant for a kitchen renovation and for a security system in two homes. Patricia Slaughter, Executive Director at Bernie House, explained that the kitchen is the “heart and soul” of a home. The newly renovated kitchen will be a gathering place for the family. The up-to-date security systems are also important as safety is a top priority. We’re excited to add The Bernie House to our grantee family.
Student Homelessness Initiative Partnership of Frederick
Frederick, Maryland
SHIP of Frederick County is also a new grantee for Phillips Charitable Foundation. SHIP works to reduce barriers to academic attainment for youth experiencing homelessness by connecting them to community, resources, and youth-centric programming.
The challenge of obtaining a driver’s license is one of the significant barriers homeless youth face when attempting to access education, employment, physical and mental health services, and nutritious food. A $34,050 grant was awarded to SHIP to help fund their driver’s education program.
Completing the process of becoming a legal driver in Maryland is lengthy and expensive and beyond the reach of most homeless students. The driver’s education program at SHIP will enable students to go through the necessary steps to obtain a license. SHIP will supplement the significant cost and will provide a car and driver for driving practice time, and transportation to and from instruction and testing.
Solving problems is always a major goal with our grant giving. The grant to SHIP is a great example of that. We’re hopeful that this funding will help to remove the transportation and identification obstacle that prevents so many youths from having access to education, employment, and other services. You can learn more about SHIP at this link.
With these five recent grants, we’re excited to add two new grantees to our PCF community. We’re also delighted to continue funding for three prior grantees who have consistently shown exemplary execution of their mission and commitment to their community. Congratulations to all!
