Morgan Family Foundation provides $24,000 grant to Boys & Girls Club during COVID-19

When schools closed due to COVID-19, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota was called to provide childcare for the children of frontline workers, Morgan Family Foundation responded immediately to the need. The foundation provided Boys & Girls Club with a $24,000 grant to support the organization’s emergency services childcare program during the pandemic.

“The foundation has been a strong supporter of the Boys & Girls Club in a variety of ways,” said Lori Kuhn, executive director of Morgan Family Foundation. “Boys & Girls Club is a treasured haven for many youth, because of the opportunities the Club provides, including mentoring, quality programming and food.”

Kuhn said that Boys & Girls Club’s ability to pivot their model so quickly in the light of the pandemic to provide critically needed programs and services was astounding.

“We recognize what a significant need childcare is to keep essential workers on the frontline,” said Kuhn. “We wanted to support you taking that bold leap of faith to step up and help, without knowing if you’d have the funding support to do so.”

Boys & Girls Club’s desire to support families in this time of crisis fits right into their mission to be there for kids who need them most, said Kuhn. Right now, the families of front line workers need the Boys & Girls Club the most when it comes to childcare. But Boys & Girls Club’s services during COVID-19 extend far beyond childcare. The staff are working with school district personnel to support distance learning for all children in their programs.

They are connecting with the youth they can’t see in person virtually through weekly Zoom meetings and a virtual Club (www.bgcmn.org/virtual-club) that offers engaging activities in the arts, STEM, career exploration, physical education and fun challenges designed to help youth participate in the Club even from home. Boys & Girls Club is even curbing hunger for the community’s youth in need by providing a Grab & Go meal distribution program so that youth have access to super-size snacks and dinners seven days a week while normal Club programming is closed.

During COVID-19, Morgan Family Foundation is partnering with the communities they support to meet the needs of those who have been impacted most by the pandemic. Because of that, the Morgan Family Foundation has made a $100,000 initial commitment to COVID-19 relief efforts in the St. Cloud area through its support of the Boys and Girls Club and by supporting United Way’s COVID-19 relief fund.

Morgan Family Foundation is also partnering with Yellow Springs Community Foundation in Ohio to enable the local credit union to launch a special loan program for individuals negatively impacted by COVID-19.

Morgan Family Foundation has provided a grant to Venn Foundation to be used as a program-related investment in a company designing an N99 respirator called the B2 Mask. This is a lightweight, reusable respirator that offers industrial-level protection for use in daily life.

“We are so grateful for Morgan Family Foundation’s ongoing support of Boys & Girls Club’s programs,” said Deb Nebosis, Vice President of Resource Development. “We would not be able to respond so quickly to the needs of this community, if not for our many amazing partners, including Morgan Family Foundation, that make it possible for us to do whatever it takes to provide hope for our young people.”

 

About the Morgan Family Foundation

The Morgan Family Foundation is a private family foundation based in Yellow Springs, Ohio and funded in December 2003 by Lee and Vicki Morgan. The mission of the Foundation is to be a vehicle of change by:

  • broadening horizons and inspiring action through the power of education and experiential learning;
  • building stronger, more inclusive communities; and
  • providing opportunities to those willing to enact positive change in themselves or the world around them.

The Foundation awards grants and supports programs for charitable purposes primarily in Yellow Springs, Ohio, St. Cloud, Minnesota, and their immediate vicinity. The Foundation has awarded more than $35 million in grants since its creation.

For further information contact: Lori M. Kuhn, Executive Director, lkuhn@morganfamilyfdn.org or phone 937-767-9208.

For more information about the important programs the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota is providing during COVID-19 or to make a donation, please visit: www.bgcmn.org.