Above / In celebration of Giving Tuesday, the Joy in Childhood Foundation® has granted awards totaling $120K to nonprofits in Illinois, including $25K to the DuPage Children’s Museum, located at 301 N. Washington Street.
In celebration of #GivingTuesday the Joy in Childhood Foundation, powered by Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, is awarding $2M in grants to bring the simple joys of childhood to kids battling hunger or illness via 150 organizations nationwide.
Locally, $120K has been awarded to seven organizations in Illinois, including Naperville where specifically they have awarded $25K to the DuPage Children’s Museum. The other local nonprofits are Greater Chicago Food Depository, Advocate Charitable Foundation, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Lakeview Pantry, University of Illinois Board of Trustees (fiscal agent for UI Hospital and UI College of Medicine) and Northern Illinois Food Bank.
Grant will support Family Night Out Project
The grant for the DuPage Children’s Museum will help support The Family Night Out Project which provides evenings of play and learning for young children with illnesses, special needs, or disabilities and their families. These evenings serve as a reprieve from these families’ every-day activities and enable them to have fun, use the Museum’s exhibits, create together, and have the option of engaging with other local families who have a child dealing with illness or disabilities.
During the evening program, DCM provides the families with sealed, allergy-free snacks served in the café area, offers story and music time, mutes some lighting and sounds for children with sensory sensitivities, and provides additional sensory activities and cool down spaces.
Attendance is free but limited to 225 individuals in order to keep the space crowd-free, less noisy, and easily accessible for children using wheelchairs and those who benefit from more open space to move.
The Foundation awards grants through its regional chapters focusing on programs such as the DCM Family NIght Out that bring joy to kids when they need it most. Grants will support organizations such as food pantries and children’s hospitals, including 20 backpack feeding programs, 12 camps for kids battling illness, more than 10 music, art and play therapy programs, and dozens of other organizations that create fun celebrations, such as birthday parties, for kids in need.
$2 million in grants nationwide on #GivingTuesday
The Joy in Childhood Foundation’s mission is to help kids struggling with hunger or illness experience the joys of childhood. The $2 million in grants, given in honor of #GivingTuesday, support this mission and have a history of making a lasting impact on kids’ lives.
“It’s hard to measure joy, but we know that we’re successful when we can work with organizations that fill a hungry belly, inspire creativity and play, embrace the power of nature and at the end of the day, put a smile on a child’s face,” stated Karen Raskopf, Co-Chair, Joy in Childhood Foundation, in the news release. “That’s why the Joy in Childhood Foundation is honored to have the opportunity to continue our mission of bringing joy to kids when they need it most by awarding grants to 150 amazing organizations – big and small – that support health, happiness and alleviate hunger. We hope our investment will help these kids and the organizations that support them have a holiday season that is bright and joyful.”
For a full list of the 2018 grant recipients, see here.
Joy in Childhood Foundation since 2006
The Joy in Childhood Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, powered by Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins.
The Foundation’s goal is to provide the simple joys of childhood to kids battling hunger or illness. The Foundation brings together a wide range of stakeholders — including franchisees, crew members, employees, partners and guests — and partners with food banks, children’s hospitals, and nonprofit organizations directly committed to serving kids to fund joyful environments and joyful experiences for kids when they need it most. Since launching in 2006, the Joy in Childhood Foundation has granted more than $18 million to hundreds of national and local charities across the country.
For more information, visit www.joyinchildhoodfoundation.org/.
News release submitted by Megan Tucker for Joy in Childhood Foundation. (PN File Photo)
