2022 Grant Recipients
PROJECTS IN THE USA
Outreach to Children, Tucson (AZ) $6580
Outreach to Children is an organization based in Tucson, Arizona that works to assist children and families in eliminating barriers to success, such as poverty, hunger and lack of education. OTC provides thousands of meals to the community and works to provide support to ensure these children can grow and thrive no matter their circumstances.
With the Jewish Helping Hands 2022 Grant, OTC will construct a facility to provide showers and laundering services to the children they serve. That way, kids can attend school without the stigma. Moreover, the facility can provide temporary shelter for families in need.
The Homeless Initiative, Payson (AZ) $5000
Homelessness is a multifaceted concern that may be layered with guilt, indignity, humiliation, trauma, family strife, legal difficulties, employment obstacles, and sometimes inadequate physical and mental health support and even dealing with substance abuse issues. It is complicated; it is widespread and growing; and it requires every ounce of human compassion and kindness to resolve.
The Homeless Initiative's Mission is to REPLACE HOMLESSNESS WITH HOPE. “Every single person we reach out to brings us immeasurable triumph and a sense of success.”
They have only been operating since 2019, but their accomplishments are many. The Warming Center Program provides (1) a warm, safe, and clean place to sleep, (2) a nourishing meal, (3) toiletries and a shower, (4) a sack lunch for the following day, and (5) clean clothes. The Support Services Program includes (1) counseling, (2) training, and (3) any other support required. The Homeless Resolution Program works with several partners to find permanent homes and jobs to end the cycle of homelessness in the Town of Payson.
Jewish Helping Hands has provided a grant enabling The Homeless Initiative to purchase a large capacity washer and dryer, and 220 pounds of beef to help feed 350 visitors per week
Humanity Relief, Chicago (IL) $4000
With the Jewish Helping Hands grant Humanity Relief’s Hunger Relief, Skill Development and In-Kind Gifts programs were able to purchase 12 twin mattresses and 2 full mattresses for the children of Afghan refugees and Cameroonian asylum seekers fleeing state torture. They will need to purchase more laptops and printers soon.
HR also used the grant to purchase hygiene items, food, clothing, cleaning supplies, etc. These included female hygiene pads, toilet paper, water bottles, hand warmers, snacks, socks, blankets and other easily distributable items which were purchased from a discounted online wholesale store for nonprofits exclusively.
Knowledge & Empowerment, Jacksonville (FL) $4000
Knowledge and Empowerment, Inc. is a non profit organization located in Jacksonville, Florida designed to aid and teach individuals living in rural communities the tools necessary to promote healthier food lifestyles. Specifically, Healthy Eaters is an initiative designed to combat food and health disparities among children from low-income and marginalized communities.
The JHH grant along with funding from The University of Florida will provide 40 children the opportunity to gain an understanding of nutrition, agricultural literacy, food safety, urban farming and healthy cooking. This will be accomplished by a series of weekly sessions with hands on learning such as cooking and gardening lessons. Students will receive bags of healthy fruits and vegetables, sample recipes and fact cards explaining nutritional values. Four Intern Educators are also funded by the project. The three primary objectives of the Program are: expand participants view of nutrition; educate students on nutrition, agricultural literacy, food safety, urban farming, and healthy cooking; and increase parent engagement in school community.
MindLeaps Children of Incarcerated Parents, New York City (NY) $10,000
With this grant, 50 children, ages 8-9, affected by mass incarceration, will have the chance to come to a safe space this summer and improve their social-emotional learning skills. Partnering with Children of Promise, a child services organization based in Brooklyn and the Bronx, ML's first group of 25 had life-changing experiences.
The ML teachers worked with one particular child who refused to verbalize a single word for the first five weeks, and then one day, he started to recite the names of the dance movements and muscles to our thrill and astonishment. They worked with another young boy who was born in prison and lived the first 8 years of his life as the subject of a custody battle between his mother and foster parents. This boy is now the designated “teaching assistant” in the class: it is his job to teach any other children the choreography if they missed a class because he knows every single move!
JHH continues to support ML in Rwanda and applauds its expansion into New York City.
WORLD WIDE PROJECTS
Drink Local, Drink Tap (DLDT) Uganda $5000
Drink Local Drink Tap works in Uganda with local partners to improve water equity. They engage the communities they work in with WASH committees (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) who take on the responsibility to continue managing a completed project, and through a carefully crafted methodology have created almost 100 water sanitation projects throughout Uganda since 2010 that continue to successfully serve their communities.
Lack of access to safe and hygienic bathrooms and showers directly impacts the ability of students in Uganda to achieve an education; unsanitary conditions cause systemic public health issues, impacts nutrition and hydration, prevents adequate menstrual health, and can lead to increased sexual violence.
With help from a JHH Tikkun Olam grant, Drink Local, Drink Tap will be constructing a latrine block and shower facility with safe and sanitary conditions for students and teachers at the Kakungulu Secondary School in rural Uganda, named for a Ugandan Jewish leader who brought local Jewish life into the open in the early 20th century.
Bayira Rural Women's Development (BARWODA) Uganda $5000
Located in Kasese District of Uganda, Bayira Rural Women's Development Association seeks to empower women through skill building and entrepreneurship. Led by Jonesi Muhindo, BARWODA is currently focused on the QCP( Quality Coffee Project) which aims to improve the quality of Arabica coffee the women produce for sale.
The current method of production is outdated and results in a coffee that doesn't sell for much. With the help of JHH, BARWODA will purchase a modern coffee hulling machine with the aim to produce high quality coffee and generate fair value for their coffee. The grant will also provide training to 4,115 members in usage, entrepreneurship, bookkeeping and budgeting.
The hope is that this project will elevate some of the most vulnerable out of poverty, give young girls a chance to gain invaluable skills and even more, allow members to sell their coffee locally and ultimately internationally, providing a necessary source of income and purpose for many.
Angels Center of Hope Kenya $5000
Due to high poverty levels in many rural regions of Kenya, schools often lack information technology resources and quality educational materials, limiting students' ability to become computer literate and benefit from the use of technology in the classroom. Jewish Helping Hands is aiming to lessen the digital divide by partnering with the Angels Center of Hope in providing 40 tablet computers to primary school children in the Wamunyu village of Machakos County, Kenya.
Using the tablets, students are now able to access exciting and interactive digital educational content (with the oversight of their teachers), allowing them to build knowledge on a variety of subjects, while developing key computer skills. In addition to the tablets, the students will be provided with reliable internet access, durable cases to ensure tablet longevity, and technical support by the tablet manufacturer in cases of mechanical issues.
Between the grant provided by Jewish Helping Hands and other partners, it is expected that approximately 750 students will be able to access and benefit from the new tablets.
African Education Program: Reuse, Rise, Rejoice (AEP) Zambia $5000
African Education Program works in Zambia to empower the next generation through a multitude of projects focused on education and leadership to help them lift up themselves and their communities.
A major issue in Zambia continues to be the stigmatic segregation and discrimination that stems from issues surrounding menstruation, including local taboos and access to efficient hygiene tools. The cycle of “period poverty” in which women cannot maintain their daily lives including schooling, work, etc., while menstruating because families cannot access appropriate hygiene products creates a ripple effect that impacts whole communities in an unending way.
With the assistance of the JHH grant, the Reuse, Rise, Rejoice program will provide 200 young women access to important menstrual hygiene education, as well as reusable and sustainable menstrual hygiene products. These tools will include reusable sanitary pads purchased from another local, grassroots organization (Copper Rose Zambia), as well as reusable menstrual cups. The inclusion of cups for this project is especially encouraging as they are a particularly low maintenance menstruation tool.
Santiago Perfecto Foundation (SPF) Kenya $4824
Pregnant mothers need to do 4 ultrasound scans during pregnancy. In remote areas of Kenya the services are not available and mothers seek them far away at expensive rates.
Santiago Perfecto Mobile Ultrasound Services, launched on 9th May 2022 in the informal settlements in Kayole, Nairobi, breaks the barrier of cost, time, and convenience for expectant mothers who hardly afford to monitor growth of their unborn babies.
Through the JHH partnership with Santiago Perfecto Foundation, mothers attending clinics on both private sector and government dispensaries, continue to access timely and affordable obstetric ultrasound services. The provision by JHH of a portable sonagram machine enables the delivery of ultrasound services either at the clinic or at the house. This reduces the cost of procuring ultrasound services by 60%.
Ukraine Relief $2000
World Union for Progressive Judaism ($1000) designated for Rabbi Alex Dukhovney to help Reform congregations in Ukraine, including our sister Temple Shalom congregation in Zvenigorodka.
AFYA ($1000) to send specifically requested medical supplies to treat Ukrainians.
ONGOING WORLDWIDE PROJECTS
Imagine Her Uganda $5750
The mission of the project is to leverage the power and potential of women for their personal, family and community's growth and development through the creation and design of marketable products. They are urban refugees, young, marginalized and at-risk women and girls, ages 15 to 25. They are trained to be able to think on their feet, and are eager to start their businesses. Their mentors will be beside them all along the way.
MealFlour, Guatemala $3000
The MealFlour program provides training on edible insect farming, specifically mealworms. Mealworm powder is a source of complete protein and by weight contains twice as much protein as beef. MealFlour has taught women how to grow mealworms in their homes and with limited resources. In this next phase of our work, we are going to help women expand and develop their mealworm farms so that they can sell mealworms as an additional source of income. We will continue to work with indigenous communities in Huehuetenango, a department in the western highlands of Guatemala.
The JHH grant will enable MealFlour to provide additional materials for the new larger farms.
Light of Esperanza (Hope) Honduras $4500
JHH is providing a three-year scholarship to a young woman named Valeria to enable her to participate in LOE's Leaders of Tomorrow program. With that scholarship, she has acquired a laptop, as well as an Internet connection, so she has no problems connecting and learning. She has been developing her leadership skills by presenting with LOE at the village meetings it has hosted.
In late June, 2022, JHH will enable LOE to continue its very successful youth cooperatives with one focused on chicken and eggs.