Blog, Press Releases

Grant will help give at-risk students living in low-income/high crime areas the chance to succeed

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (July 2, 2015) – Family & Children’s Place, which protects and heals children and families from abuse, has received a $50,000 grant from the Gheens Foundation to support the agency’s after-school programs for at-risk students. This is the second consecutive $50,000 gift from the foundation, which has provided about $800,000 to the agency’s work, including a $100,000 gift to the recent capital campaign for the agency’s Fifth and Kentucky streets campus. The foundation was established in in 1957 by C. Edwin and Mary Jo Gheens to provide support in the community for education, religious programs and human services. “We are thrilled to be one of the agencies funded during this round of giving by the Gheens Foundation,” said Pam Darnall, president and CEO of Family & Children’s Place. “The families in this program are some of the most vulnerable in our community, so this helps ensure that families, working with social workers, teachers and school administrators, can help their sons or daughters succeed in school and in life.” “These children and their families need these vital services and we are delighted to have Gheens Foundation as our partner in this work,” added JT Henderson, vice president of Resource Development. The agency’s after-school initiative, part of its Family & School Services program, emphasizes character building, learning, social competencies and establishing a core support team between schools, families and students living in low-income/high crime neighborhoods. The program provides positive alternatives and solutions to the negative environment through highly structured interactive hands-on activities that help students develop positive values

and self-worth and improve social competencies, all aimed at giving students the support and skills they need to succeed.