Social & Community Initiative Grants
A Safe Place
A Safe Place delivers responsive, wrap-around services to victims of domestic violence and/or human trafficking and their children. It address the increase in children’s service needs at all points in its continuum of care including crisis intervention services; emergency shelter; orders of protection to keep children safe; art and play therapy; plus, individual, group and family counseling/therapy to help children process and overcome trauma. Transitional and permanent supportive housing give children the stability needed to trust in a better future. Preventative education for students on healthy relationships and the red flags of teen dating violence helps youth recognize and avoid abuse.
Beacon Place
Beacon Place is the cornerstone of the southeast Waukegan community, delivering programing for kids and adults focused on food and nutrition, overall health, academic support, and life skills development for a brighter tomorrow. At Beacon Place, both the children and their parents are helped to take the necessary steps to break the cycle and change the path of their future. Beacon Place six core programs: Education and Enrichment (K-7); Tweens, LAUNCH (8-12 grades); Summer Lunch and Backpack programs; MOM’s Group; and Parent University. Beacon Place also wraps Healthy Lifestyles and social-emotional learning into all of its programming.
Boys and Girls Club of Lake County
Boys & Girls Club of Lake County’s mission is to inspire all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Its vision is that every child has equitable access to a quality education, supportive resources, and opportunities, regardless of circumstances. The Club provides a safe place for fun, learning, enrichment, and friendship for kids ages 6 to 18 in Waukegan and North Chicago. The Club offers year round after school programming and full-day summer programming at its stand-alone Genesee Site in Waukegan and seven school-based sites. Programming is organized around three priorities: Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyles, and Good Character and Citizenship.
Highwood Pubic Library and Community Center
The Highwood Public Library and Community Center is an innovative anchor that enriches, empowers, educates, and embraces the community it serves. Its focus is on building community and partnerships and growing the library in its role as a pivotal member and the center of the community. It goals are to function as a social asset that promotes a healthy and interconnected community inclusive of everyone; create an innovative and engaging community space for literacy, programming, and community building; develop its staff and collective skills to support the library’s programs and services; and expand and refine literacy programs for all ages, particularly focused on digital literacy, workforce development, and health equity.
Kids Rank
Kids Rank’s work is focused on military children who have a parent affiliated with the Naval Station Great Lakes. Its model is Connect, Lead, and Serve, which emphasizes social connection and relationships, compassionate leadership, and community service. Its Prides and Social Skills & Service groups are held October-June, with camp offered in the summer. Based on social and emotional learning principles, pride meetings focus on positive characteristics or concepts, such as optimism, equity, justice, or leadership. Social Skills & Services programming is for preteens and teens, which allows them to deepen their social-emotional skills and relationships with military-connected peers while also participating in community service projects.
Kohl Children's Museum
Kohl Children’s Museum is committed to serving families with young children whose circumstances preclude in-person museum visitation through interactive outreach programming. Its Mobile Learning Lab (MLL) canvasses Lake County communities performing STEAM-based activities free of charge in pre-scheduled locations and times. The MLL team works with various community partners, including public libraries in North Chicago, Waukegan, Zion, and Round Lake; park districts in Zion and Waukegan; and multiple schools and day cares in Waukegan, Round Lake, and Zion. Kohl also hosts Pop Up Museums, which are located in Round Lake Beach and Waukegan, and partners with the Highwood Library.
Lake County Community Foundation
Lake County Community Foundation brings together philanthropists and donors, dollars, and ideas to benefit Lake County. It works to provide community leadership with Live Well Lake County, which works to improve the health and wellbeing for all Lake County residents; provide crucial funding to its nonprofit partners and serve as the connective tissue between community needs and sources of investment; expand its Small Business Growth Initiative; and convene and mobilize community leaders to drive positive change. As the community foundation for Lake County, LCCP serves residents in all 52 Lake County municipalities. With its community leadership programs, LCCP focuses on serving historically disinvested communities, which are primarily communities of color.
Mano a Mano
Mano a Mano empowers immigrant families by providing them with the resources, tools, and knowledge to become full participants in American life. Mano a Mano has five main programs: Engaged Citizens, Healthy Families, Productive Parents, Successful Children and Democracy in Action. Through this multi-dimensional approach, Mano a Mano provides adult education, immigration legal services, health education and navigation, early childhood education and parent support, and information and referral services. Mano a Mano is the only immigrant-serving agency in Lake County that provides such a comprehensive array of culturally competent supportive services to the growing immigrant communities.
Roberti Community House
The Roberti Community House’s mission is to nourish, educate and empower community members so that they can acknowledge, appreciate, and actualize their individual strengths and talents. This is accomplished through programming such as a culinary and life skills training program; adult and youth educational and enrichment programs; health and well-being programs, and special community-focused events. In 2023, its culinary pathway program provided 23,400+ meals to those in need. Roberti Community House educational and enrichment programs provide fun, academic based activities that incorporate math reading, science, art, cooking, music, and English. Lunch or dinner is prepared and provided by culinary interns.
Gorter Family Foundation's grantmaking is through an invitation-only application process.