The Board of Directors of the Tom E. Dailey Foundation Inc. is pleased to announce the quarterly award of 14 grants totaling $34,900 on May 7, 2016. The Foundation has awarded 162 grants totaling $512,946 since its creation in 2013.
Local Matters, Columbus, Ohio $ 2,500
This application was submitted under the Disadvantaged Youth and Parks and Gardens categories. There are two elements to the current funding request. The first is to renew and expand last year’s teen garden employment program. Combining funding from TEDF and the Godman Guild, Local Matters will expand the program to 18 teens—12 during the summer and 6 more later in the year. This program enables disadvantaged teens in the Weinland Park area to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to install and maintain an urban food farm and secure employment within the field of agriculture. The second program—offered jointly with the Dowd Education Center/Homeless Families Foundation of Columbus—teaches the children of homeless families about plant biology and plant nutrition by maintaining indoor and outdoor gardens. They will learn the basic skillset of planting, maintaining, and harvesting vegetables and learning the vegetables most accessible to a food insecure population. They will be teaching 10 children of ages 10 and younger.
Pikes Peak Historical Street Railway Foundation, Colorado Springs, Colorado $ 1,000
This 34-year-old Colorado Springs group has cosmetically restored a 1919 Birney streetcar. After 12 years—and 3,650 hours—of work largely funded by the National Electrical Contractors Association and Local 113 of the IBEW, they needed additional funding to make it operational (specifically the brake system). Once completed, they have plans for a six mile line from downtown Colorado Springs to the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs with five intermediate stops. They are in discussions with BNSF for the abandoned track and right-of-way. The Birney streetcar ran in Ft. Collins, Colorado, until it was taken out of service in 1951. The car was placed on the National Historic Register of the National Park Service by the Colorado State Historical Society. The group operates a museum and an 1888 Rock Island roundhouse where they store 18 streetcar bodies, two electric trolley buses, and two 1950s city buses.
Divine Purpose Youth Performing Arts Center, Chicago, Illinois $ 2,000
The group, in existence for 11 years, provides youth musical and performing arts alternatives to neighborhood violence. They provide an after-school camp Monday through Friday, 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. for children 5 to 14 years of age. At the camp they receive homework help, help in building their literacy skills, and help in developing their ability to express themselves creatively through music, dance, and singing. The group recently completed the 15-month Chicago Police Department “Force for Good” program. They also regularly facilitate neighborhood Community Alternative Policing Strategies (CAPS) “beat” meetings with the Chicago Police. While they draw youth of all races, more than 55% of their youth are African-American from the Garfield and Lawndale neighborhoods. They regularly follow their “graduates” and survey them annually regarding their arrest rates. To-date their participants compare favorably to the typical juvenile arrest rates seen by the CPD.
Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois $ 1,500
The Chicago Botanic Garden requested funding for routine maintenance and support of their G-scale garden model train layout. The project is titled “Model Railroad Garden: Landmarks of America.” The 7,500-square-foot Model Railroad Garden features 18 classic G-gauge model trains running on 1,700 feet of track. The collection includes 100 engines and 200 train cars that are 1/29th life-size. Since its opening 16 years ago, it has become one of the most popular park destinations for children with an average 82,000 visitors annually. Maintenance is constant. This year, staff must replace rotting road beds, replace rails and wheels, and set up and take down the trains every day.
Lawndale Christian Legal Center, Chicago, Illinois $ 1,500
This west-side Chicago group originally began as an outgrowth of the Lawndale Community Church in 1978. They focus on the complicated nature of youth criminalization in an effort to reduce recidivism. Their application requested partial funding for support of their Court Advocacy Apprenticeship program. CAA, now in its fourth year, combines legal education, job readiness training, and employment to court-involved youth so that they may succeed in today’s economy. From June to August, this eight-week, 20 hours per week program exposes youth to civil rights and criminal justice system issues along with a weekly job skills curriculum including resume writing, interviewing, financial literacy, good workplace habits, etc. It serves 10 youth per year, 15 to 21 years of age. Typically, all would be currently involved with the criminal justice system as youth who are diverted, those with pending cases, and those on probation, supervision, or parole. 97% are African-American, 92% are male.
Collinwood High School Alumni Association, Thompson, Ohio $ 1,000
This long-time Ohio-based group recently acquired a replica of the legendary New York Central “Empire State Express” #999, the engine that set the world steam engine speed record on May 10, 1893, clocking in at 112 miles per hour. In the mid-1930s, a group of New York Central workers clandestinely built a replica of #999 on a Hudson automotive frame. NYCRR management later supported the project, and the replica was shown in Washington, D.C. and in several Rose Bowl Parades. It was acquired in December 2015 by the “Railroaders,” the name of the high school mascot and name of the 1,000-member alumni association. They have a three-phase plan to restore the replica. Once it is again operational, it will be displayed at cities along its original Northern Ohio route.
Chicago Sunday Evening Club, Chicago, Illinois $ 1,000
This group has been in existence for 108 years. They began as a ministry of—and to—the business community. They engage people of faith in an active search for common solutions to civic problems. Their various film series began in 1956 with WTTW Channel 11. They were requesting funding for the fourth film in their current documentary series, “Responding with Faith.” This film will be titled The Final Journey, and will focus on the impending crisis in end-of-life care for the elderly in Chicago. All the films in the current series highlight people who are making a difference in their communities by putting faith into action by connecting with each other to improve the city and the region. Earlier titles were: After Prison, followed by Divided Families, which examined the broken immigration system. The third film was Violence in Chicago. After being broadcast on Channel 11, each film is then made available on YouTube.
Chillicothe Civic Theatre, Chillicothe, Ohio $ 7,500
This group, formed in 1969, submitted an Arts grant application for funding to renovate a recently-purchased building shell so that it can operate as a 100-seat theatre with storage and administrative offices. Fundraising for the renovation began in spring 2014. The total renovation project will cost about $465,000. They hope to have it completed for their 2017 season. They have secured the necessary permits and expect to begin Phase 1 construction shortly. The group serves the city of Chillicothe and the surrounding Ross County area. They have performed continuously since December 1968, and typically produce four to five shows annually.
Pacific Railroad Preservation Association, Portland, Oregon $ 2,500
This Portland, Oregon-based group is the caretaker of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle steam locomotive #700. The locomotive ran in regular service between Spokane and Portland until 1955. The PRPA acquired the locomotive in 1986 where it was on display in a park. After a four-year restoration, #700 was put back in operation and used in various public excursions, special events and public display. It is owned by the City of Portland. The PRPA is responsible for its upkeep and operation on behalf of the city. Before it can continue in operation, it must pass its 15-year FRA boiler inspection. Among other things, this requires a complete disassembly and rebuilding of the boiler. This is a 34-month project. They previously passed their 15-year inspection in 2000.
Muscular Dystrophy Association of Southern Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio $ 2,400
The group requested funding to provide a one-week summer camp in Hamilton, Ohio, for children with neuro-muscular disease, ages 6-17, at no cost to their family. The camp provides an opportunity for children with similar disabilities to engage in a variety of activities including horseback riding, swimming, adaptive sports, arts and crafts, camp dances and more. The camp is an environment that promotes interaction with peers, making new friends, and engaging in an exciting and safe summer camp. It also provides a brief break for parents and guardians from their role as caregiver. The MDASO provides support to over 1,500 families locally. Based in the Cincinnati area, the group funds clinics staffed with experts in neuro-muscular disease at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Franklinton Rising, Hilliard, Ohio $ 2,500
In August 2015, TEDF partially funded the initial group of 6-9 students to learn the basics of the construction trades by rehabbing a house in Franklinton. With this second class of trainees, four to five young adults (ages 16-30) will receive certificates recognizing successful completion of the “Core Trade Skills” curriculum of the ABC Institute (Construction Trade School), and participate in the demo work necessary to begin rehabbing a house. These trainees are either in high school, finished, or dropped out of high school. This second group of students already began classroom training in February with OJT to start in May.
CircEsteem, Chicago, Illinois $ 2,000
This 15-year-old Chicago-based organization requested scholarship funding for their Circus Team Performance Troupe (Team) program. Team is the organization’s most advanced training and performance program providing participants with the challenge of honing professional performance skills, pushing themselves, and working together to achieve rigorous physical goals, developing their artistic skills through act-creation, and learning all the elements of a full-fledged circus production as they work together to create their own annual show. Participation is by invitation only. They meet three days a week during the school year and receive specialized coaching from professional Teaching Artists. The program serves 25 Chicago children ages 10-17, roughly equal parts male/female, 71% low income, 38% African-American, 10% Hispanic. The organization’s mission is to unite youth from diverse racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds and help them build self-esteem and mutual respect through the practice and performance of circus arts.
Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus, Columbus, Ohio $ 5,000
The organization requested funding for a one-evening (June 4) celebration of CGMC. Titled “Gay Paris!”, it is an event to raise awareness of CGMC by bringing together people from all around Central Ohio for an evening of entertainment, conversation, and an introduction to the work and programs of CGMC in Columbus and now also in Denver. The focus of the event will be threefold: to educate the attendees on CGMC’s mission (community engagement, work to impact at-risk youth, promote the positive impact LGBTs have on the community), secondly to promote their upcoming June concert “Finding Oz”—a musical essay with an anti-bullying theme, and thirdly to recognize the honor bestowed on CGMC as the opening performance at the 2016 GALA Choruses International Festival.
Chaddick Institute/DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois $ 2,500
The Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University is a forum for land use and transportation professionals around the region. They requested funding to support their upcoming exhibit at Chicago’s Union Station scheduled for August 2016 through August 2017. The exhibit, focused on Chicago’s unique rail history, will be located prominently in the station’s breezeway, which connects the Great Hall with the Concourse. The exhibit is designed to prompt people’s interest in rail-themed classic films. The exhibit will reach an estimated audience of over 150,000. They anticipate media coverage through WBBM News Radio 780 and National Public Radio. The institute has been in existence for 21 years. It conducts transportation-related technical and mobile workshops, collaborative events, research series and study trips.
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