The Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotary Club recently announced the recipients of its $10,000 community grant aimed at helping children, youth and families of DeKalb County. The club received a number of compelling submissions this year and ultimately selected three applicants to receive all or a portion of their request.
The DeKalb Public Library was awarded $5,558 to support the expansion of their Mighty Maker program, which is designed to introduce and inspire science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) interest among children and teens. The supported programs will give children and teens the building blocks to develop in-demand job skills, such as coding. They will also inspire entrepreneurial and innovative spirits among young people. The grant will pay for materials to support Maker programs, to include circuit boards, small robots and drones, among many other materials.
Another recipient is the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois. They were awarded their full grant request of $2,800 to support financial assistance for up to 40 at-risk girls in the area. The goal is to provide valuable growth opportunities, such as developing a strong sense of self, developing healthy relationships and fostering positive values, to girls who will may not have the resources to access these opportunities. The grant will also support a number of experiential field trips for the Girl Scouts.
A third recipient, Hope Haven, will received a portion of their request to support youth trauma therapy groups. This grant will work with other funding sources to provide trained counselors and materials to address a growing need for youth who are going through traumatic experiences.Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotary Club President, Scott Zeimet, said, “It is our honor to help the community through this grant. We only wish we could do more. The applications that we couldn’t support would also do a great deal of good for children, youth and families in the county.” Those that want to support this grass-roots community grant are encouraged to attend the Taste of DeKalb on Sunday, September 23, in downtown DeKalb. Sponsorship funds generated from this event will support next year’s Rotary grant for the community and corporate sponsorships for the event are still available. For more information, contact David Dosier at david.dosier@gmail.com .