American Legion Child Welfare Foundation

Press Releases

News Release 2006
October 7, 2005

The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation, in its 51st year, has awarded $611,381 to 21 non-profit organizations. These grants, determined during the annual meeting of the Board of Directors, held at the Radisson Hotel City Centre in Indianapolis, Indiana on Sunday, October 2, 2005, have been awarded to support worthwhile projects through the dissemination of information to the general public and specific target groups. The following is a brief summary of the grants awarded for 2006:

American Humane Association of Englewood, CO was awarded $29,850 for their project entitled "Innovative Response to Families in Crisis." this grant will produce and distribute five thousand copies of "Protecting Children" and "State of the State Survey" to child protection professionals, state and federal legislators, administrators, policy makers and individuals serving children and their families nationwide. The Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.

Center on Media and Child Health, Children's Hospital Boston of Boston, MA was awarded $31,819 for their project entitled "Keeping Children Healthy and Safe in the Information Age." This grant will create user-friendly web sites to inform parents and teachers about the potential risks of media, the ways they can intervene to reduce harm to children, and how media can be used to help children grow into healthy and contributing members of our society. The Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.

Chadwick Center for Children and Families of San Diego, CA was awarded $20,000 for their project entitled "Disseminating Promising Practices for Preventing Child Abuse and Family Violence." This grant will produce a CD on the workshops of the 2006 Annual Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment for distribution to all 2,000 attendees. The Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.

Child Development Resources of Norge, VA was awarded $26,850 for their project entitled "Answers to Parents' Questions about Disabilities." This grant will improve the design and function of the CDR website; increase families' access to knowledge and information on the site to help them care for and obtain services for their young children with disabilities; and disseminate information about the CDR website to increase parents' access to information.

Child Welfare League of America of Washington, DC was awarded $i29,914 for their project entitled "Revising, Publishing and Disseminating the CWLA National Standards for Health Care of Children and Youth in Foster Care." This grant will revise, publish and disseminate the Standards for Health Care Services for Children in Out-of-Home Care. The American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.

Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation of Tenafly, NJ was awarded $40,000 for their project entitled "Giving a Face to Pediatric Cardiomyopathy - Understanding the Disease and living With It Patient DVD." This grant will produce and distribute a 30-minute DVD to 3,000 families nationwide through children's hospitals and through the top transplant, heart failure and pediatric cardiomyopathy programs in the United States.

Children National Medical Center of Washington, DC was awarded $25,000 for their project entitled "Hands on Approaches to Helping Children Heal from Traumatic Events." This grant will produce and distribute a new publication to schools, first responders, community agencies, and parents caring for children who have been traumatized by acts of violence, terrorism or natural disaster. The American Legion Auxiliary sponsors this grant.

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation, Inc. of Avon, CT was awarded $25,720 for their project entitled "The CdLS Foundation - 25 Years of Service." This grant will produce and distribute nationwide six issues of the CdLS newsletter "Reaching Out," to include a special Silver Anniversary issue. Danbury Children First, Inc. of Danbury, CT was awarded $41,500 for their project entitled "Keys to Great Caregiving." This grant will produce and disseminate 30,050 sets of the eight "Keys" brochures to parents and caregivers throughout the United States.

Family & Children's Service of Minneapolis, MN was awarded $36,000 for their project entitled "Children in Change and Seeing Red: Tools for Helping Our Nation's Children Manage Strong Emotions." This grant will provide two curriculum tools for social workers, chaplains and clergy, and nonprofit professionals who are helping children deal with stressful and upsetting changes in their lives.

Foundation for Children with Cancer of St. Louis, MO was awarded $15,000 for their project entitled "The Beaded Journey." This grant will produce kits for children's hospitals that will be used in a recovery program designed for pediatric cancer patients.

Institute for American Values of New York, NY was awarded $24,600 for their project entitled "Hardwired to Connect CD Production and Dissemination." This grant will produce and distribute a CD designed to encourage and inspire communities to better meet children's needs for long-term social and emotional connections. The Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.

Mercy Medical Airlift of Virginia Beach, VA was awarded $38,000 for their project entitled "Child Health Program - Info Dissemination Upgrade." This grant will update four websites providing full information to the public and the pediatric medical world regarding available charitable child patient long-distance medical air transportation. The Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.

The MY HERO Project, Inc. of Laguna Beach, CA was awarded $26,222 for their project entitled "The MY HERO Student Video." This grant will produce a 30-minute DVD promoting student computer literacy for distribution to public broadcasting stations, educational cable television programs and schools nationwide. The Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.

National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) of Raleigh, NC was awarded $25,000 for their project entitled "Youth Voices ...Grown-Up Choices." This grant will produce SAVE information packets, calendars and activity guides for dissemination to its chapters across the United States. The Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant. National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association of Seattle, WA was awarded $52,500 for their project entitled "National CASA Volunteer Training Curriculum Tool Kits." This grant will produce an updated edition of CASA's Volunteer Training Tool Kit to help equip and train the more than 50,000 volunteers throughout the U.S. who help abused children find their way to safe, permanent homes. The National Craniofacial Association of Chattanooga, TN was awarded $33,090 for their project entitled "Beyond the Face: What Every Teacher Needs To Know." This grant will produce newsletters, brochures and booklets designed to insure that educators and parents have the necessary tools to improve educational results of their elementary-aged children with craniofacial deformities.

National Marfan Foundation of Port Washington, NY was awarded $25,000 for their project entitled "NMF School Nurse Initiative." This grant will develop a CD titled "Marfan Syndrome: A Comprehensive Resource for School Nurses" for distribution to 22,000 school nurses, parents and pediatricians nationwide.

ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Foundation of Rolling Meadows, IL was awarded $34,116 for their project entitled "ThinkFirst for Youth: Disseminating a New Injury Prevention Curriculum." This grant will be used to distribute TFFY curriculums to schools nationwide designed to increase knowledge of injury prevention, decrease risk-taking behaviors and reduce the incidents of childhood injuries in elementary and middle school children.

Toby Tire Safety of Springfield, IL was awarded $15,000 for their project entitled "Toby Tire's Child Safety Storybook." This grant will print and distribute the "Toby Tire and the Magic of School Bus Safety" storybook to 25,000 children in grades K-3. The Sons of The American Legion sponsor this grant.

University of Minnesota of Minneapolis, MN was awarded $16,200 for their project entitled "Teen Talk: A Survival Guide for Parents of Teenagers," This grant will provide "Teen Talk," School Issues," and "Youth Choices" fact sheets to schools across the country utilizing the County Extension Service.