Otto Schoitz Foundation Awards $803,290 to Cedar Valley Organizations
posted on Thursday, November 14, 2019 in Investor Highlights
You know that proud-heart-warming feeling you get when you see your kid help someone out all on their own?? We get the same feeling every time we hear about our investors giving back to the Cedar Valley community. The Otto Schoitz Foundation is warming (physically and figuratively) our hearts today. The Otto Schoitz Foundation recently awarded $803,290 to organizations that aligned with their mission of improving the health and well-being of the Cedar Valley. These awards will impact more than 24,000 citizens, with a focus on health, human services and education. Since 2016, the Otto Schoitz Foundation has gifted over $6.1 million to the Cedar Valley. We would like to thank the team at the Otto Schoitz Foundation for giving back to this amazing community we get to call home.
The Spring Grant cycle is now open and accepting letters of intent through January 10, 2020. Qualifying organizations may apply for funding via the Foundation’s online grant management system found on their website at www.ottoschoitzfoundation.org.
Foundation’s Fall 2019 Award Recipients:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa: $36,400 to support their work of matching youth who are facing adversity with volunteers for a successful one-on-one school or community mentor relationship.
Black Hawk County Health Department: $83,500 to develop an integrated, immigrant-centered service model to meet the healthcare and employment needs of the African immigrant community.
Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District: $5,000 to support Cedar Valley EnviroFest, a learning event where all fifth-grade students from Waterloo Community Schools learn about the importance of caring for our water, soil, wildlife and other environmental resources.
Catholic Charities: $20,000 to provide immigration legal services in the form of free legal consultations and affordable legal services supporting the immigrant community in the Cedar Valley.
Cedar Valley Angels: $10,000 for the Love Box Program, a program that supports children in foster care by providing holistic support to the entire foster family.
Cedar Valley Hospice : $10,000 to support the Eucalyptus Tree Children’s Grief Program with new koala mascots that visit children and offer friendship, hugs and communication support between children and adults on topics that are often difficult to address.
Community in Schools of Mid-America: $10,000 to continue connecting at-risk students to specific resources to overcome barriers, stay in school and ultimately graduate.
EMBARC | Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center : $89,750 to address social determinants of health for the immigrant and refugee community through collaborative interventions that include better chronic condition self-management, culturally responsive care from providers and increased employment opportunities.
Family & Children’s Council of Black Hawk County: $45,000 to continue providing parent education using evidence informed curriculum and assessments to better support parents and caregivers and decrease adverse childhood experiences.
Friends of the Family : $48,000 to provide critical advocacy services for survivors of labor and sex trafficking as well as education and training to area businesses and community groups to better identify and report suspected human trafficking.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa: $20,000 to eliminate barriers to participation for at-risk girls so that more can access the Character & Leadership Development Program and learn the skills to empower them as growing leaders.
Hawkeye Community College: $50,000 to launch WE Build Waterloo, a program designed to provide at-risk young people with education and vocational skill development to obtain employment in the construction field.
I HOPE Chapter of AMBUCS: $5,000 to provide Amtrykes to local organizations serving adults with disabilities. Amtrykes are custom bicycles specially made to increase independence and physical activity for people with unique mobility needs.
Inclusion Connection: $15,000 for their Innovation Employment Services which support individuals with diverse abilities to gain employment, successfully complete training and retain the job long term.
iJAG | Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates: $15,000 to assist Waterloo students facing multiple barriers to graduate from high school and transition to continued education and careers through provision of counseling, mentoring, tutoring, career exploration and post-secondary planning.
Jesse Cosby Neighborhood Center: $85,000 for much needed repairs to the Neighborhood Center and to support their core mission of keeping and enhancing the quality of life for neighborhood families through stewardship of resources and shared responsibility.
MercyOne Waterloo: $33,750 to continue their Inpatient Rehabilitation Transportation Service with a new passenger bus, allowing long-term rehabilitation patients to pursue individual reintegration plans for their lives outside of the hospital.
North Star Community Services: $40,000 to repair an aging roof and continue the rehabilitative services that help individuals with disabilities live enriched, meaningful, productive and independent lives in our communities.
Northeast Iowa Food Bank: $40,000 to meet the needs of senior citizens living with food insecurity. Over 1,900 seniors will receive assistance through their Elderly Nutrition Program and the Produce & Perishable Program.
Operation Threshold: $15,000 to continue supporting healthy early childhood development through Home Based Parent Education that promotes awareness, positive parenting skills and healthy family functioning.
Riverview Center: $43,990 to increase support for sexual assault survivors by launching a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program coordinated in partnership with area hospitals.
Small World Preschool: $9,900 for capital improvements to the outdoor play area including the replacement of the playground surface and installation of new play equipment.
Tri-County Child and Family Development Council: $46,000 for essential kitchen improvements to the Maywood Head Start Center which serves nearly 150 children.
Trinity Preschool and Childcare: $17,000 to increase safety for their youth by installing new fall-safe material on both their preschool and toddler playgrounds.
University of Northern Iowa was awarded $10,000 to expand the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center’s Kaleidoscope Series to all Waterloo elementary students, pre-kindergarten to 5th grade, for the 2019-2020 Season.