Kentucky’s most comprehensive children’s charity celebrated five important Shelby County nonprofits on Tuesday and announced $108,085 in funding for programs to help children in need live life to the fullest.
Kosair for Kids awarded grants to Centro Latino, Father’s Love, Dorman Preschool Center, Little Light House of Central Kentucky, and Operation Care. All five organizations play critical roles in the lives of Shelby County children. The effort is projected to benefit 555 local children.
“This funding demonstrates Kosair for Kids’ commitment to Shelby County kids,” said Barry Dunn, President & CEO of Kosair for Kids. “From assisting with medical devices, therapies, and hospital bills families cannot otherwise afford, to investing in research, education, social services, and child advocacy, Kosair for Kids is determined to spread more joy, care, and hope than ever before.”
Since 2019, Kosair for Kids has invested more than $600,000 to help children in Shelby County. In addition to grants to local nonprofits, Kosair for Kids has spent $72,915 on 11 Shelby County children through the Kosair Kids Financial Assistance Program. This year, Senior Development Director Sarah Flowers became the storied organization’s first employee based outside of Jefferson County. Flowers works from Kosair for Kids’ Shelby Campus at 512 Main Street in Shelbyville.
Kosair for Kids awarded $15,000 to Centro Latino. Part of the funding will help a program that provides low-income children and families with nutritionally balanced food at no cost. Food security is a tremendous obstacle to the well-being of Latino children and a huge challenge when serving the Latino population in and around Shelby County.
“This generous grant from Kosair for Kids will allow Centro Latino to purchase much-needed refrigeration and storage equipment for our food distribution program - Healthier Eating = Healthier Children,” said Centro Latino President Rosemary Riggs. “It will also provide new audio-visual equipment that will greatly enhance our educational summer camp - Camp Learn, Play, and Grow! We extend our most heartfelt thanks to Kosair for Kids for their interest in and support of Centro Latino's mission.”
The focus of Dorman Preschool Center's $25,000 grant will be rebuilding and enriching its learning center to nurture a love of learning. A key goal for the project is to improve the developmental milestones of at-risk children by providing them with the right tools to help ensure they are fully equipped in their development endeavors.
"Dorman is so grateful to Kosair for Kids for their continued support of our program,” said Dorman Preschool Executive Director Leann Sutter. “This grant will serve to enhance the learning centers and classrooms of the children we serve, thus giving each child an inviting space and materials to grow and thrive. Thank you, Kosair for Kids!"
Father’s Love provides critical support and resources for at-risk youth. Its $35,000 grant will benefit children who take part in after-school programs by funding an expansion and renovation project.
“This expansion and renovation project presents a unique opportunity to significantly improve the lives of countless vulnerable young people in our community,“ said Gerald Terrell, Father’s Love Executive Director. “We cannot thank Kosair for Kids enough for this grant that will be instrumental in creating a safe haven where children can heal, thrive, and become healthy, contributing members of society.”
Proper posture and seating are foundational to a child's learning and key to allowing children with a physical disability to access learning materials. That’s why Kosair for Kids awarded Little Light House of Central Kentucky $25,000 to purchase adaptive seating and positional devices for their students.
“We are so thrilled to receive a Kosair for Kids grant toward adaptive seating for our students,” explained Little Lighthouse of Central Kentucky Executive Director Kerry Tanis. “Seating adapted to our students' needs will help them engage more with their environment and important developmental activities with their peers while reducing stress on their bodies. It can also help develop motor skills, enhance feeding skills, and facilitate scanning and tracking skills. We are grateful to Kosair for Kids for helping us give our students the scaffolding support they need to grow and thrive.”
Operation Care received an $8,085 grant for a transformative initiative designed to break the cycle of poverty for sheltered children by providing them with comprehensive support and life-enriching experiences. Children helped by Operation Care live with their mothers, who are in shelter for up to two years while they complete a housing program designed to move them from homelessness to financial self-reliance.
“Kosair for Kids is an incredible blessing to our community,” stated Operation Care, Inc. Executive Director Jennifer Decker. “This grant will allow our Child Enrichment Program to expose our sheltered children to the same type of life-enriching activities that children in families with means have. Enrichment programming has a significant impact on life success outcomes, and we are grateful that Kosair for Kids is helping to ensure that this type of positive influence is available to the children we shelter.”
The grants announced Tuesday are 5 of the 110 grants to organizations across Kentucky and southern Indiana, totaling more than $12.4 million, which the Kosair for Kids Board of Directors and Kosair Kids Advisory Council recently approved.