GRANTS AWARDED
2020: $25,000 Grant to Piedmont CASA
Piedmont CASA – Bridges to Success for Older Youth in Foster Care. Piedmont CASA provides trained volunteers and professional staff to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children and youth, promoting and supporting safe, permanent, and nurturing homes for these victims in the child welfare system, the community, and before the courts of the 16th Judicial District of Virginia. CASA is requesting funds for travel expenses for coaches in their Bridges to Success for Older Youth in Foster Care program. The program is designed to help older youth in our community heal and develop the skills, connections, and tools they need to lead safe and productive adult lives. Older youth in foster care need the most support and need to learn the skills of ordinary day-to-day living before they age out of the system so they can be successful and not just survive. The Bridges Coaches provide the mentoring and guidance the youth need to move into independent lives that are safe, healthy, and productive. The Coaches transport their clients to all areas involved in their life and are like interim family, helping them navigate the world. The travel funds requested would provide support for the coaches of 15 young women whose ages range from 13 to 21.
2020: $25,000 Grant to AHIP
AHIP (Alb
emarle Housing Improvement Program) – Safe at Home program. This program responds to the urgent housing needs of Charlottesville and Albemarle families with children and youth under age 18. Their objective is to complete at least 30 critical home repairs for low-income families, ensuring safe, high quality housing for local families. Housing quality matters for children’s emotional and behavioral well-being today and for their long-term economic success and stability tomorrow.
Jennifer Jacobs, Executive Director, AHIP
2019: $30,000 to PACEM
Since 2004, PACEM has provided more than 96,000 total nights of shelter for homeless individuals in our community. PACEM is requesting funds to enable them to better serve homeless women. They are using the funds to hire a dedicated case worker to serve the homeless women in our community who engage with PACEM, as women’s needs are often more complex and are under-served by current resources.
2019: $30,000 to the YMCA Early Childhood Learning Center
The Piedmont Family YMCA Early Learning Center offers quality full-day early learning for infants through preschoolers, enabling parents and family members to go to work knowing their children are in safe, stimulating environments. The Early Learning Center is requesting funds to expand their services and the number of families they serve. Specifically, the funds would be used to offer childcare scholarships for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years to low-income single mothers seeking education and career opportunities.
2018: $30,000 to Building Goodness Foundation
Building Goodness will use WUP’s $30,000 grant for projects with three local non-profits. By improving the spaces of two existing non-profits and building a playground for a budding Head Start program, this grant has the ability to provide transformation and impact to many in our community. Most of the funds requested will be used to build a playground at Pilgrim Baptist Church, which allows this community center-like organization near Westhaven to expand their after-school program into a Head Start program. The remaining funds will be used to rebuild the porch of the Barrett Early Learning Center and to improve the large community space at Camp Holiday Trails.