For over a century the Rotary Club of Milwaukee has been proud to make a difference by CONNECTING PEOPLE AND RESOURCES. This year the Rotary Club of Milwaukee is again offering all members a fun way to make a difference in Milwaukee. Using $25,000 from the RCM Community Trust, and Rotarians' connections in the community, members were able to make an impact by enabling "Connecting to the Community" grants to worthwhile projects in metro Milwaukee.
Consideration was given to grants that address equitable access and structural racism across education, arts, the environment or health.
The 2024 Grant Winners are...
Penfield Children’s Center - $5,000
Penfield Children's Center helps children reach early milestones, overcome developmental challenges, and enter school ready to learn by strengthening cognitive, language, motor, social, and self-help skills. Wisconsin and specifically, Milwaukee ranks poorly for racial disparities in infant mortality and sees a high percentage of preterm babies born in the city of Milwaukee. Penfield, in partnership with Froedtert Hospital, will address this issue through our Growing Together: Milwaukee-based Group Pregnancy Care (GPC) initiative. This grant will support Growing Together which brings birthing individuals at similar stages of pregnancy together for sessions where care providers address individual health concerns, conduct physical exams, and provide education on various topics related to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care. These sessions create a supportive community where pregnant individuals can share experiences, learn from each other, and develop friendships. The combination of GPC and mobile clinic care targets modifiable risk factors and aims to improve access to prenatal services, enhance patient experiences, and contribute to healthier pregnancies and better birth outcomes. Learn more here.
First Stage - $2,500
First Stage touches hearts, engages minds, and transforms lives by creating extraordinary theater experiences for young people and families. Aiming to overcome the financial and transportation barriers that often prevent low-to-moderate income families from attending theater performances and enrolling in arts programs, First Stage will bring theater to them with IN MY GRANNY'S GARDEN—an interactive touring production suited for children (ages 0-5) and their caregivers. Based on the book by Pearl Cleage, IN MY GRANNY'S GARDEN helps young audiences understand that food doesn't just come from the grocery store: it's grown in the ground. This grant will help First Stage bring theater and its benefits directly to children and families historically excluded from professional arts experiences due to economic disparities and hardship. Learn more here.America's Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) - $5,000
America's Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) is an integrated virtual and physical museum experience which serves as a catalyst to educate visitors around our collective history, promotes healing, and empowers us all to be agents for change. This grant will support exhibit rotations by using archival best practices to properly handle, clean, move, and catalog artifacts currently stored in three different storage facilities to one newly acquired storage facility near the museum. Suitably caring for and preparing collections will allow ABHM to share even more history and perspectives with in-person and virtual visitors. Learn more here.
America's Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) is an integrated virtual and physical museum experience which serves as a catalyst to educate visitors around our collective history, promotes healing, and empowers us all to be agents for change. This grant will support exhibit rotations by using archival best practices to properly handle, clean, move, and catalog artifacts currently stored in three different storage facilities to one newly acquired storage facility near the museum. Suitably caring for and preparing collections will allow ABHM to share even more history and perspectives with in-person and virtual visitors. Learn more here.Forward Scholars (FS) - $5,000
Forward Scholars (FS) helps Kindergarten through 3rd grade Milwaukee Public School (MPS) students reach grade level in reading. Trained community volunteers provide one-to-one, research-based tutoring to over 200 students twice each week during school hours in seven schools. Students are provided individualized lesson plans which utilize high quality, culturally relevant, leveled, and decodable texts for practice. This grant will be used to purchase student supplies such as culturally relevant books/texts, certificates, school supplies, sticker charts, book bags and celebration treats. Learn more here. Milwaukee Homeless Veterans Initiative (MHVI) - $2,500
MHVI is dedicated to serving homeless and at-risk veterans throughout Wisconsin, with the majority served in the greater Milwaukee area. This grant will fund emergency transportation expenses. Transportation is one of the most common barriers veterans face so MHVI provides bus tickets or gas cards for veterans to remove those barriers. Learn more here.Charles Allis Art Museum and Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum - $5,000
This grant will help convert the Great Hall at the Charles Allis Art Museum, a nationally recognized historical space, to "The Hall," an open-to-the-public, free art gallery for Milwaukee Public School middle and high school students. Learn more here.
Many thanks to the Connecting to the Community Grants Committee, co-chaired by Pat Cronin and Beth Ridley, and members Scott Brown, Kaushal Chari, Krista Doelder, Elizabeth Evans Draper, Janine Kolbeck, Avrum Lank, Edgar Lin, Jody Lowe, Mary McCormick, Kathleen O'Brien, Theresa Reagan, Natraj Shanker, Barbara Velez and Marilka Velez.