CWF awards $636,869 in grants

The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation awarded $636,869 to 19 nonprofit organizations. The grants were approved during CWF’s annual board of directors meeting in Indianapolis on Oct. 11.The grants awarded for 2010 include:American Legion Children’s Home of Ponca City, Okla., received $41,000 to increase awareness of the American Legion Children’s Home, which was established to support the children of veterans families in need. American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.The American Legion of Nevada received $3,037 for a project titled “Hear Today – Learn Tomorrow,” which will develop and distribute letters requesting discount services from medical providers and hearing-aid manufactures for HT-LT participants, produce information sheets about the availability of support to families of hearing-impaired children, and produce public-service announcements related to HT-LT.Boys Scouts of America Exploring Program of Denver received $35,717 for a project titled “Experience 9 to 5,” which will produce 12,000 course catalogs, 31,200 flyers and 90 posters associated with the program.Childhood Leukemia Foundation of Brick, N.J., received $48,000 to print and ship 1,600 Hope Binders to 160 hospitals nationwide for families facing the diagnosis of childhood cancer. American Legion Auxiliary sponsors this grant. Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters of Norfolk, Va., received $30,050 to develop and distribute “A Guide to Chest Wall Deformities in Children: Information For Parents, Patients and Primary-Care Physicians,” a CD-ROM intended to better educate families and physicians. Sons of The American Legion sponsors this grant.Children’s Institute, Inc., of Rochester, N.Y., received $30,500 to develop and provide the DVD “Possibilities of Play: Building Connections through Play” to schools and community agencies that work with military families and their children. American Legion Auxiliary sponsors this grant.Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation of Avon, Conn., received $16,744 to develop a Cornelia de Lange syndrome screening checklist for medical professionals and distribute it nationally to 16,000 pediatric offices.Diabetes Education and Camping Association of Huntsville, Ala., received $25,000 for a project titled “‘Ready, View, Go’ – Diabetes Camp Web Training Project,” which will produce diabetes training videos instructing camp directors and staff on how to handle diabetes issues in a camp setting.Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of New York received $39,500 for a project titled “I’m Aaron and I’m Bionic,” which will produce 4,000 DVDs to educate teachers, classmates and friends about the history of treatment for type-1 diabetes and the newest innovation, the artificial pancreas. American Legion Auxiliary sponsors this grant.Mercy Medical Airlift of Virginia Beach, Va., received $45,700 to develop five updated Web sites and a full social-media presence to provide information to the public and pediatric medical world regarding available charitable child-patient long-distance medical air transportation. Sons of The American Legion sponsors this grant.The MY HERO Project of Laguna Beach, Calif., received $28,872 to research, produce and distribute training videos for students to tell their own hero stories through video and filmmaking.National Center for Learning Disabilities of New York received $45,500 to revise and enhance NCLD’s Web site to make parents of children with learning disabilities aware of their children’s rights and inform parents that they can advocate for them.National Exchange Club Foundation of Toledo, Ohio, received $25,000 to produce, print and distribute 1,000 child-abuse prevention kits, expand and enhance its Web site, and purchase promotional items.National Reye’s Syndrome Foundation of Bryan, Ohio, received $38,200 to mail postcards to 131,377 U.S. schools, directing school nurses and health-care givers to its Web site to download handouts, brochures, bookmarks, literature, a list of products containing aspirin and wellness information, and to distribute information for students to take home to parents and caregivers. American Legion Auxiliary sponsors this grant.PKS Kids of Florissant, Mo., received $29,500 for a direct-mail campaign to raise awareness of Pallister-Killian syndrome by 50,000 pediatric doctors.Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Inc., of Marlborough, Mass., received $54,549 to redesign its Web site and integrate a new feature called the Parents’ Corner, which will offer practical advice, tips and information to parents, teachers, school staff, coaches, summer camp professionals and other caring adults to enhance adult/teen communication. Sons of The American Legion sponsors this grant.Spina Bifida Association of Washington received $40,000 to produce “Faces of Spina Bifida,” a social network for children with spina bifida designed to facilitate peer-to-peer support.Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc., of Bayside, N.Y., received $25,000 to create and produce presentation kits to help Tourette syndrome sufferers educate children about what Tourette syndrome is and is not.Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), Inc., of Washington received $35,000 to produce 5,000 Caisson Horse/Comfort Book packages and a Web site to help children who have lost a parent serving in the U.S. military in understanding and dealing with their grief. Sons of The American Legion sponsors this grant.