Grants Awarded
2009
3rd Quarter 2009 Grants Awarded (10/16/09)
During the Venturi, Inc. Quarterly Breakfast, the Venturi Brighter Day Employee Fund awarded three large grants. This quarter's recipients were Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound (CASA), Huntsville Library Foundation, and The Way.
Our first grant winner, CASA, provides volunteer services to assist the unmet needs of the aging and homebound. Through numerous programs, CASA allows the aging and homebound individuals of Madison County to continue living in their homes. Safety is a critical factor when aging in place, so CASA will use their $2000 gift to build and maintain wheelchair ramps, install grab bars and hand rails, and to purchase durable medical equipment to help prevent falls.
Our second grant winner, the Huntsville Library Foundation, is an advocate for the Library. They raise awareness and funds to purchase books and other resources that the Library uses to inspire readers and improve the community's quality of life. Their $3000 gift will be used to expand their Jr. Readers after school program. The program targets children who have just begun to read: those in Kindergarten-2nd Grade. The libraries in the Jr. Readers program represent a mix of rural and urban communities and schools, all of which struggle with low literacy levels. By providing literacy rich programs and high quality, reading level appropriate books, it is the hope that the program will encourage beginning readers and increase reading levels.
Above Left: Sinuhe Agrinzoni presents CASA Executive Director Ann Anderson with a check from the Employees of Venturi.
Above Right: Courtney Farley presents Lexie Robinson of the Huntsville Library Foundation with a check from the Employees of Venturi.
The final grant was awarded to The Way which serves our local community by providing a drug and alcohol recovery facility for men. Their goal is to end the pattern of drug and alcohol abuse so that the men can become productive husbands, fathers and employees. As part of the program, the residents are kept under strict supervision and are provided transportation to and from work. To help with the transportation, The Way will use part of the $5000 gift to acquire a reliable used car. In addition, the gift will be used to purchase computer equipment to allow the residents to develop basic computer skills, such as using email, writing resumes and performing job searches on-line.
Above: Chris Simpson (third from left) presents The Way with a check on behalf of the Employees of Venturi.
2nd Quarter 2009 Grants Awarded (07/10/09)
During the Venturi, Inc. Quarterly Breakfast, the Venturi Brighter Day Employee Fund awarded three large grants. This quarter's recipients were the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, The Riley Center, and 305 8th Street.
The first check for $5000 was presented to The Huntsville Hospital Foundation for the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund. The Fund constantly strives to provide additional and more advanced equipment for the Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (RNICU). The gift will be used to purchase 2 cribettes for the RNICU. The cribettes are used for infants as they transition from the unit to discharge.
The second $5000 check was presented to The Riley Center. The Riley Center provides comprehensive services using a multidisciplinary approach to fulfill the need for earlier diagnosis and treatment for children and their families faced with autism. The Riley Center will use the gift to support their clinic program where they provide one-on-one Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy. The gift will allow them to purchase asessment and evaluation materials, therapy room furniture and equipment, and ABA therapy and training materials.
Above Left: Chris Simpson presents the Huntsville Hospital Foundation with a check from the Employees of Venturi.
Above Right: Chris Simpson presents The Riley Center with a check from the Employees of Venturi.
The final $5000 check was presented to Andrea Williams, Executive Director for 305 8th Street by Chris Simpson (photo at left). 305 8th Street provides a home for adults with mental disabilities. They will use the gift to complete the downstairs living area. This is an area that was not completed during the "From the Ground Up Project" last August and needs new flooring, ceiling tiles, lighting additions and trim around exposed plumbing pipes. Their goal is to equip the downstairs with appropriate seating, gaming, and computing systems for all of the residents to enjoy in a warm, safe environment.
1st Quarter 2009 Grants Awarded (04/17/09)
During a Venturi, Inc. Quarterly Breakfast on Apr 17, 2009, the Venturi Brighter Day Employee Fund awarded three large grants marking the Venturi Brighter Day Employee Fund's two year anniversary.
The first to receive a gift was Crisis Services of North Alabama. Responding to families and individuals in crisis, Crisis Services has multiple programs that provide assistance to those in need as a result of adult and child domestic violence, rape, suicide, and homelessness. With the $5000.00 gift that was given by the employees of Venturi, Crisis Services plans on using it to improve the fence that provides both physical security and peace of mind for their victims of domestic violence shelter. Accepting the gift was Janet S. Gabel, Executive Director for Crisis Services.
The Greengate School was the second organization to receive a large grant and the first repeat recipient for a Brighter Day grant. The Greengate School's mission is to educate and support children with specific learning differences in reading, spelling, or writing so that they may realize their full potential. Eula Battle, a volunteer at the Greengate School attended the morning event and received the gift of $5000.00. The gift will be used to purchase laptops that will give them a portable computer lab that can be used in the instruction of students and educators looking to improve their capability to teach children with learning differences.
Above Left: Chris Simpson presents Crisis Services of North Alabama Executive Director, Janet S. Gabel, with a check from the Employees of Venturi.
Above Right: Chris Simpson presents Eula Battle, a Greengate School volunteer, with a check from the Employees of Venturi.
The final organization to receive a Venturi Brighter Day Employee Fund gift was First Stop, Inc. This organization assists street homeless in becoming self-sufficient, productive members of society who no longer have a home. They provide food, case management, showers, laundry machines, and a day shelter where homeless can get a semblance of normalcy. They will use our gift to offset their costs and to possibly hire more caseworkers so that they can meet the growing homeless population.
Left: Accepting the $5000.00 gift was their Executive Director, Larry Sisterman in middle and a friend of First Stop, Inc., Jack Stokes on left.