Greater Lewes Foundation announces 2016 grants
The Greater Lewes Foundation announced its latest grant recipients. Support for athletic gear, funds to help neighbors in emergency situations, large print books and expanding a pet therapy program were among the good causes these grants supported.
A total of 12 proposals were received this fall for grants to maintain and improve the quality of life in the Greater Lewes region. The successful applicants will use their grants to support a variety of efforts. Art in Bloom will produce promotional materials for fundraising efforts. The Cape Community Fund will generate promotional materials explaining the fund to local Cape region residents. The Cape Henlopen Educational Fund will help Shields Elementary students continue in the Odyssey of the Mind competition. Clear Space Productions will offer program scholarships. The Community Resource Center will purchase a computer to use in their services to the vulnerable.
The GFWC Zwaanendael Women's Club will provide college dorm necessities to Cape Henlopen High School graduates in need. Girls on the Run Delaware will provide scholarships for athletic gear. The Lewes After School Program will offer matching grant to assist students from Shields Elementary School. Lewes Public Library will increase their collection of fiction and nonfiction large print books. Paws for People will expand their pet therapy program in the greater Lewes community. The Ronald McDonald House will provide assistance to Lewes families; during 2015, 26 families were helped.
Joe Stewart, foundation chair, said "There are so many worthwhile causes in our region that we wish the GLF could do more, but we are limited by the size of our endowment." He said, "Any donations to help grow the foundation's endowment would be greatly appreciated, and 100 percent of GLF gifts will go, in perpetuity, to local charities." Stewart noted that, in addition to annual grants made from the GLF endowment, the foundation has raised and distributed over $5 million to local charitable causes through its various funds and program activities over the past 16 years.
Each June, the foundation also provides college scholarships to graduating seniors from Cape Henlopen High School and other Sussex County high schools, from five of the funds it maintains. For more information about supporting the Greater Lewes Foundation endowment, leaving a bequest or starting a scholarship or charitable fund, call Executive Director Michael Rawl at 302-644-0107.
