2022 – Kessler Keener Foundation: Native Voices in Idaho II — $21,000
Kessler Keener Foundation will develop and create Native Voices II, an instructional resource package for schools in Idaho including film, lesson plans, and bibliographic resources to improve teachers, students and others’ understanding of the history and current lifeways of Idaho’s Indigenous people. Funds support the Pre and post-production costs for recording interviews of Native Youth and adults throughout Idaho including travel, project management for interview preparation, recording, post-production, film editing, curriculum resource development, and distribution.
2022 – Council Elementary School: Roots of Self Reliance Community and School Greenhouse Project — $26,000
Council Elementary will expand the Roots of Self Reliance project by purchasing a greenhouse. Students grow salad greens for the salad bar, vegetables for the community garden, and plants for pollinators. Funds would be used to purchase a greenhouse for the project, as the high school space they are using is not efficient for this ever-growing project.
2021 – Boise Public Schools Education Foundation: Boise Community Schools Expansion — $30,000
Boise Public Schools Education foundation will expand the Boise Community Schools program to Capital High School. Funds support equipment, furniture, programming and the Community School Coordinator salary to open a Community School at Capital High School.
2020 – Wassmuth Center for Human Rights: “Be An Upstander” toolkit — $30,000
The “Upstander Toolkit” will provide schools with prompts and visuals to illustrate the following: (A) Ask – When you said that, did you intend to be hurtful? (C) Choose – Make the choice to speak up when others are being picked on or laughed at. (T) Teach – By serving as an example for others. The toolkit will recognize the courage and compassion of students who stand up and step-in when they hear or witness injustice.
2019 – Learning Lab, Inc: Education through Community Partnerships— $27,275
In partnership with the Boise School District Community Schools, the Learning Lab will provide high-quality family literacy classes at two Community School locations. A professional educator from Learning Lab will work with parents on important basic skills, including English language, reading, writing and math in conjunction with Boise School District staff working with preschool children on essential literacy and developmental milestones.
2019 – Step Ahead Idaho: College Readiness Summer Program — $30,000
This grant will help reach students who believe in perceived barriers against attending college by providing education in topics including Financial Aid Literacy, Test Prep, and Career & College Exploration. It will finish outfitting the new Hillcrest College Advising Center and support the pilot and expansion of free summer programming focused on college-going topics for rising juniors and seniors in area high schools.
2018 – United Way of Treasure Valley/Sacajawea Community School: Extended Kindergarten – $28,600
United Way Sacajawea Community School Extended Kindergarten project will improve school readiness for the most at-risk students by extending the usual half-day Kindergarten session to a full-day to improve early learning/numeracy/literacy in the lowest achieving learners at the “low-income, high needs” Sacajawea Elementary School, in the impoverished, underserved Canyon Hill neighborhood/zone of Caldwell. According to Sacajawea Principal, Paul Webster, the Extended Kindergarten project will address, “…our biggest unmet need, and will make a huge difference in the future!” A pilot project was successfully tested between February-May 2014 and dramatically improved the number of students reaching benchmark – from 23% at-benchmark when entering project to 89% at-benchmark upon conclusion! These children are now in 4th grade and continue to do very well, according to Principal Webster.
2017 – Lee Pesky Learning Center: Mental Health Support at Meridian Elementary – $25,000
Mental health at Meridian Elementary School will be supported by providing self-regulation strategies and ongoing classroom mentoring over two school years.
2016 – Salvation Army: Equip Preschool at School for Teen Moms — $30,000
Children of immature parents frequently live in poverty and often don’t perform as well as children of older mothers on measures of child development and school readiness. The IWCF grant will equip and furnish new preschool classrooms and a playground for the children of student teen mothers attending the Booth-Marian Pritchett School (BMPS). Adding early-learning education to the on-campus child care services will benefit the children as their mothers complete high school.
2015 – Life’s Kitchen, Inc.: Life Skills and Employability Training Project – $ 30,000
Building on 12 years of Life’s Kitchen’s success, IWCF will fund its trainees for three years. They will learn skills to live as independent young adults and job skills to secure and maintain employment. They also will complete their high school diploma equivalent, earn professional food industry certification and be mentored to improve their sense of self-worth and gain the ability to set and accomplish life goals.
2014 – The Cabin: Expressive Writing Program for At-Risk Youth – $15,000
Using IWCF funds, The Cabin will expand its Writers in the Schools programs at the Boys and Girls Club in Garden City and Juvenile Corrections in Nampa, and reach children in other at risk schools. All the new programs were requested by administrators, parents, students or community members.
2014 – Junior Achievement of Idaho (JA): Expanded Financial Literacy for Youth in SW Idaho – $23,000
With IWCF funds, JA will expand its in-class financial literacy programs to low-income and high-risk students K-12, giving them a basic understanding of financial education and equal access to a business mentor and experiential curriculum in financial literacy.
2014 – One Stone: Leadership Mentoring Program – $12,500
In partnership with the Idaho Youth Ranch and the Hays Shelter Home, One Stone will use IWCF funds to increase access to its “design thinking” project development process for populations with barriers to participating, allowing them to identify community needs and create projects that address them innovatively.
2013 – Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County: After School Transportation Program – $10,000
The project provides transportation from school to the Boys and Girls Club of Garden City for students from Taft, Lowell, Mountain View and Koelsch elementary schools.
2013 – Interfaith Sanctuary Housing Services: Expanded New Directions in Supportive Services for Boise’s Homeless Population – $19,500
Adds an additional half-time social worker to help more of the single men and women move from homelessness to permanent housing. Working with a social worker has an immediate impact on the resources and prospects of a homeless person.
2012 – Family Advocates Program: Families First: Strengthening Families and Increasing School Readiness – $25,000
This project prevents child abuse by matching 250 trained CASA volunteers with 650 foster children annually, creating a cadre of volunteers to conduct home-visits with at-risk families.
2012 – Organization Assisting the Homeless Student: Operation Treasure Valley – $10,000
IWCF support will help OATHS expand from the Boise School District to 2500 homeless students of the Treasure Valley giving them a better chance of enjoying, succeeding in and staying in school.
2011 – Discovery Center of Idaho: Technology for Ongoing Transformational Learning $22,000
Develops a robotics lab for 4th-12th graders and creates a statewide contest for high schooler’s integrating science, technology, engineering and math.
2011 – Gateway School of Language and Culture: Family Resource Center – $5,000
Creates a space for families, parents and children, to get help with language learning (literacy for the whole family), computer training and access to community and social resources.
2011 – Lee Pesky Learning Center: Caldwell College Aspirations $6,528
Expands Caldwell P16 program into high school, enabling students with ability but no financial resources to engage in college preparation classes and activities.
2010 – Boys and Girls Club Ada County: Summer Program in Kuna - $24,000
Provided support to a day-long supervised education, nutrition and activities program for low income and at-risk children in partnership with Reed Elementary School.
2009 – Boise Urban Garden School: Toward an Edible Schoolyard - $15,000
Partnership with W.H. Taft Elementary School to create an on-site school garden and farm-to-table curriculum.
2008 – Treasure Valley Even Start: Family Literacy Program – $10,000
Expanded a family education program to provide parents with ESL, GED and parenting skills classes while their young children are better prepared to enter kindergarten.
2007 – Garden Valley School: After School Program – $13,000
Supported a newly established program providing a safe environment and enrichment for Garden Valley School’s many “latchkey kids.”
2006 – Whitney Elementary School: Math Improvement Project – $20,000
Provided startup funds for intervention curriculum to improve students’ skills in mathematics.
2005 – Si Se Puede! (Yes We Can) Idaho, Inc: Literacy and Language Acquisition – $24,667
Summer program to teach labor camp families English language through writing, computer learning and art.
