Project Prevent announces first round of grants
(Columbus, Indiana) Project Prevent, the Heritage Fund and ASAP grant program supporting programming to spread knowledge about the appropriate uses of opioids, announces the first approved grants for a total of $33,590. Six of the grants will support innovative programming at Foundation For Youth that will help to spread opioid prevention messages to children and teens. The seventh grant will support Celebration Place for children of adults in recovery as part of Community Downtown, an initiative of Community Church of Columbus.
FFY has attempted to weave important prevention messages into its ongoing programming designed to build developmental assets that help children thrive. The more assets a young person has, the better able she/he is able to confront challenges such as the opioid crisis. Specifically, FFY programs will stress Project Prevent’s key messages such as:
- Substance use disorder is a brain disease
- Treatment Works
- Becoming smart about opioids is key to prevention
This summer, FFY teens will be busy developing podcasts, devised theater production and murals focused on the “We Know. We Can.” messages. These programs will bring in talented artists and other professionals to work with the teens in producing these projects. Teens will have the opportunity to express themselves artistically while learning about opioids.
The other Project Prevent grants include the addition of specific opioid material/messages to the Counselor-In-Training, Smart Girls and Passport to Manhood programs. Ensuring that critical, accurate and timely information is available to youth across many age ranges is a key goal of Project Prevent. The Counselor in Training Program encourages young adults to become FFY Ambassadors and assume a leadership role among their peers. The Smart Girls and Passport to Manhood programs target youth between the ages of 8-12, encouraging life skills.
These creative and on-message programs will expose large numbers of children to information about opioids and stress how important it is not to experiment with these dangerous drugs. HFBC and ASAP are excited to see this work beginning to happen in the community and look forward to many more grant proposals in the very near future.
Celebration Recovery will be expanded to offer substance abuse awareness programming to children in Grades 1-6 while their parents attend sessions. Celebrate Recovery is an 11-year-old program for adults wishing to address addictions such as substance abuse, gambling and other harmful habits. Celebration Place will begin in July and run through May 2019.
Project Prevent grant applications are due by the first business day of each month through April 2019. For complete application guidelines, informational materials, FAQs and submission forms, visit Heritage Fund at heritagefundbc.org.
About Project Prevent
Project Prevent is a grant program of Heritage Fund and ASAP made possible by the Mark and Wendy Elwood Substance Abuse Prevention Fund. Project Prevent grants are targeted on programming to spread knowledge about the appropriate uses of opioids. ASAP is working to make Bartholomew County the smartest county in the country about opioid use. Project Prevent provides grants to get the word out and encourage youth and young adult-serving organizations to develop programming that specifically addresses the dangers of misuse and options available for help.
About Heritage Fund
Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County was formed as a community foundation in 1976 with the purpose of continuing a legacy of giving by providing an opportunity for all citizens to make gifts and establish charitable funds to benefit the local community. It was created primarily to: provide responsible stewardship of gifts donated for broad charitable purposes; promote leadership to address community issues; serve as a catalyst for positive change in partnership with others; and promote philanthropy broadly within the community.