Events Calendar
In This Section
WILLARD: Latest plan would cut total funding to schools
Holiday festival has world beat
Tuesdays are special for 7 friends
Spicer housing finding tenants
Knight Center to take over historic Greystone building
Jackson's former publicist recalls 'innocent little man'
Patriots at risk of being forgotten
Most Read Stories
Blogs:
Pets:
Summit teams up with Rescue Waggin' to save dogs
The Heldenfiles:
Songs for an American Day
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Northern Illinois
Browns Bulletin:
Single-game ticket sales begin July 11
Tribe Matters:
Laffey making it tough on self
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Updated: Free Agency: Another Gone - Apparently
All Da King's Men:
IPCC Already Wrong About Global Warming
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Wow….Sarah Palin Resigns Governorship
Akron Law Café:
Abraham Lincoln and the Fourth of July
Varsity Letters:
Highland senior receives honor
See Jane Style:
Picnic Wear
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Hate Crime in Fort Worth Texas: "That F***t had it Coming"
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Linda asks-where is the Ohio Chautauqua?
Sound Check:
Rundgren fans rejoice!: Second night of AWATS at The Civic added
HRLite House:
Morscruethal Behaviors or Just Lip Service?
Akron Gamer:
Hot link: Best of Nintendo at E3
Grants given to programs pay to feed kids in need, encourage literacy, aid victims of violence
By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, Nov 28, 2008
BARBERTON: Times were hard for Craig Woodard even before economists began debating whether the U.S. economy is in a slowdown or recession.
He was working a dead-end job, trying to stretch a $200 paycheck from a full-time job to take care of his four-member household.
''I realized there was no chance for advancement where I was, so I made a decision to go to school and work part time because I want to make life better for my two children,'' said Woodard, 26. ''Now, I'm going to the University of Akron, working on a business degree and working part time as a short-order cook, making $200 a week.''
To make ends meet, Woodard has cut back on his spending by doing things like shutting off cable service.
But one place Woodard can't cut costs is on food for his 20-month-old daughter, Sophia, and formula for his 7-month-old son, Wyatt.
''Formula is so expensive,'' Woodard said. ''Sometimes, we can't afford to pay $4 a can.''
When that happens, Woodard stops by the Community Pregnancy Center at 1058 Wooster Road W., where a $2,000 grant from the Millennium Fund for Children has made it possible to keep formula on the shelves for hungry babies in needy families. The grant is one of 26, totaling $39,770, awarded this year to support arts, education, health and human
services programs for local children.
''I don't know what we would do if we couldn't come here when we run short or run out of formula,'' Woodard said. ''This place is a lifesaver because the people here do everything they can to help. It's amazing!''
The Millennium Fund
The Millennium Fund for Children has been helping grass-roots organizations, like the Community Pregnancy Center, by providing small grants that can make a big difference in the lives of children in Greater Akron. Since it was established in 1999, the fund has provided more than $330,000 in grants to places such as the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve, the Children's Center of Medina County and the Victim Assistance Program Inc.
The permanent endowment was formed as a partnership between the Akron Beacon Journal and Akron Community Foundation to celebrate the millennium. It is made possible through contributions from donors across the newspaper's circulation area. Each year, the foundation asks community members to contribute a minimum of one hour of their annual salary or income to the fund.
John T. Petures Jr., foundation president and chief executive officer, said the current economic crunch has increased the local need. He is encouraging people to support the fund with a year-end gift.
''By donating your last hour's pay of the year, you can help feed needy children, encourage literacy and provide respite to young people who have experienced violence,'' Petures said. ''It is during these very difficult times that our friends and neighbors need our help the most.''
Donations to the fund are invested and grow over time. Only the fund's investment income is used to make grants. Since its beginning, the fund has grown to more than $575,000, with $74,997 contributed in the past year from 465 donors. Petures encourages donations of all sizes:
• A $50 donation will help a refugee child learn English.
• A $35 donation will buy a year's worth of milk for a needy child.
• A $20 donation will fill a backpack with healthy food for a child to take home every weekend.
• A $5 donation will provide a fun-filled day of music, food and games for a child who has witnessed or has been a victim of violence.
''This is such a generous community. Whenever there is a need, people step up,'' said Tina Boyes, the foundation's vice president of communications. ''We are trying to communicate that this is a time when our fellow residents need us most.''
Grant is a 'blessing'
Therese Visner, executive director at the Community Pregnancy Center, regularly sees the parents of some of the children the Millennium Fund is trying to reach. She said the $2,000 grant will help her agency provide formula for parents like Woodard, who are trying to keep their babies from feeling the impact of hard economic times.
''This grant was a real blessing for us,'' Visner said. ''We were expecting another grant to buy formula and it was cut back, but the Millennium Fund came through for us. That's been the history here — you think that things are getting short or you won't be able to do something, and God works it out.''
The Community Pregnancy Center is a Christian, nonprofit organization that assists people concerned about pregnancy. The goal of the pro-life organization is to provide support to women and the people who influence their lives. The items it provides include cribs, mattresses, breast pumps, clothing, car seats, diapers, food and formula.
''My girlfriend gets WIC [Ohio's Women, Infants and Children program, which provides vouchers for infant formula] but it's not enough to get us through the month,'' Woodard said. ''That's why this place is so amazing because it fills in where other places fall short.''
For more information about the center, go to http://www.communitypregnancycenter.org or call 330-825-1900. To find out more about the Millennium Fund or to donate, call 330-376-8522, use the coupon with this story, or visit https://www.akroncommunityfdn.org and click on the Family of Funds link.
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.
BARBERTON: Times were hard for Craig Woodard even before economists began debating whether the U.S. economy is in a slowdown or recession.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
akron, oh
Posted 08:10 AM, 11/28/2008
People should not be having babies before they are capable of supporting them.
