For Immediate Release
July 14, 2014
Contact:
Carol Simler Janelle Barcelona
President & CEO Vice President, Development
630.682.3846 Ext. 2310 630.682.3846 Ext. 2220
csimler@dupagepads.org jbarcelona@dupagepads.org
NOTE: Photo caption below.
The DuPage Community Foundation Generously Funds DuPage Pads’ Family Outreach Program
(Wheaton)—DuPage Pads was one of 22 not-for-profit organizations in DuPage County to receive a grant from the 2014 Spring Community Needs Grant Cycle of The DuPage Community Foundation. The grant, awarded at a special distribution breakfast on Tuesday, June 10, 2014, at Glen Oak Country Club, will help underwrite DuPage Pads’ Family Outreach Program.
“We are grateful for The DuPage Community Foundation’s support of the Family Outreach Program. This program assists families who are homeless to access stabilizing services such as housing, benefits and employment. This support allows us to grow one step closer in reaching our mission of ending homelessness in DuPage County,” said Carol Simler, DuPage Pads’ President and CEO.
As a result of this grant, case managers will work with families at a location that is convenient for them to ensure basic needs are met and develop a plan for long-term housing. Families work with their case manager to obtain mainstream benefits, access healthcare, obtain employment training and advocate for their children with local school districts. “At DuPage Pads we have the solution to end homelessness: housing coupled with support services and employment. The Family Outreach Program brings supportive services directly to families in the community to empower them to work toward their full potential and see their dream of a home become a reality,” Carol Simler says.
An additional eight grants totaling $59,938 were awarded from restricted funds to organizations which had also sought funding through the Spring Community Needs Grant Cycle. The total of all grants awarded during this cycle, whose amounts ranged in value from $2,400 – $20,000, was $337,356. Community leaders, Foundation trustees, benefactors and other stakeholders attended the event.
Foundation Director of Programs Barb Szczepaniak shared her pleasure with the Foundation’s support of local organizations: “Today is all about celebrating the great work each of you is doing in DuPage County and a celebration of our partnership together. I truly enjoy the grant breakfast every year because it’s such an uplifting occasion–a day to remind us that we are collectively making a difference in our community.”
The Foundation also makes grants to DuPage County not-for-profits working in the areas of arts and culture, education and environment as part of its Fall Community Grant Needs Cycle. That most recent cycle awarded $204,000 to 30 organizations this past December. (The list of these grant awards may also be found at www.dcfdn.org.)
In addition, the Foundation makes grants throughout the year from its various donor-advised and other restricted funds. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, the Foundation granted more than $2.3 million, representing a 25% increase over the previous fiscal year.
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DuPage Pads, founded in 1985, is the largest provider of services to those who are homeless in DuPage County. Providing the county’s largest Interim (Overnight) Housing and Permanent Supportive Housing Programs, DuPage Pads’ solution to ending homelessness is housing, coupled with support services and employment to rebuild lives. The administration office is located at 601 West Liberty, Wheaton, IL 60187. Additional information can be obtained by contacting DuPage Pads at 630.682.3846 or at www.dupagepads.org.
The DuPage Community Foundation seeks to raise the quality of life throughout DuPage County by fostering philanthropy, connecting donors to area needs and building community partnerships. Based on the American virtues of volunteerism and philanthropy, the Foundation fosters a legacy of support for the people of DuPage County by making grants to not-for-profit organizations working in the areas of arts and culture, education, environment, health, and human services. Since its inception, the Foundation has built its endowment to more than $59 million and awarded more than $19 million in grants to not-for-profit agencies serving the residents of DuPage County and beyond.
Established in 1986, The DuPage Community Foundation is a publicly-supported 501(c)(3) organization to which contributions are tax deductible. It was created to benefit the people of DuPage County and receives contributions and bequests into a permanent endowment from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations wishing to make lasting contributions to the people of DuPage. The earnings on these funds are then used, in accordance with donor wishes, for the Foundation’s grantmaking and community leadership activities.
For more information about the Foundation, or to arrange future media opportunities, please contact Joelyn Kott, marketing & communications officer, at (630) 665-5556, extension 19, or jkott@dcfdn.org.
Caption for Attached Photo: (From left) Mary Kay Kluge, Foundation Board member; Janelle Barcelona, DuPage Pads Vice President, Development; Carol Simler, DuPage Pads President and CEO; Eileen Trost, Grant Committee member; and Ruth Carlson, Grant Committee member.