Press Archives: February 2008
MEAF AWARDS $ 1,117,000 IN GRANTS
posted February 04, 2008Grants Focus on Full Inclusion of Young People with Disabilities
WASHINGTON, DC, February 4, 2008 — The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation has announced $1,117,000 in grants that serve young people with disabilities. Six new national projects will receive $879,000, and continuing multiyear projects will receive $90,000. An additional $148,000 will be given in matching grants and matching gifts to organizations selected by Mitsubishi Electric US employees in the communities where they live and work.
The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation is dedicated to helping young people with disabilities maximize their potential and participation in society. For the past four years, the Foundation has been leading an Inclusion Initiative, which promotes the inclusion of children and youth with disabilities in mainstream programs and activities. The new grants build on the best practices and lessons learned from earlier projects and expand the Initiative to additional youth-service organizations, with the aim of making the organizations’ programs more accommodating of and attractive to youth with disabilities.
“MEAF’s Inclusion Initiative has opened up opportunities for youth with disabilities in community programs,” says Rayna Aylward, executive director of the Foundation. “Equally important, it is changing attitudes among people without disabilities. The leadership of national organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, have begun to embrace the value of inclusion—helping to demonstrate that youth with disabilities can and should be fully included in society. These new grants are designed to keep the momentum going.”
One of the grant awards is a three-year/$200,000 renewal grant to San Diego-based Kids Included Together to support the development of its new National Training Center on Inclusion, provide staff training to 10 national after-school program providers, and maintain the www.IncludingAllKids.org website as a source for inclusion-related resources. A new Include All Girls project will be funded by tandem grants: a three-year/$100,000 grant to the Girl Scouts of the USA and a three-year/$150,000 grant to the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital. The project is designed to provide volunteer leaders with the tools they need to fully incorporate girls with disabilities in Scouting.
The Education Equity Center at the Academy for Educational Development has been awarded a two-year/$100,000 grant to offer an After-school Inclusive Math program in partnership with after-school providers and science and technology museums. The Foundation will award a one-year/$35,000 grant to Disabled Sports/USA to pilot a sports mentoring program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Mexico. And, in partnership with the HSC Foundation, MEAF has pledged a one-year/$10,000 grant to City Year to help create opportunities for youth with disabilities to engage as service providers in the 17 U.S. communities with City Year programs.
Continuing grants related to the Inclusion Initiative include $70,000 for the second year of a three-year project with The Corps Network, which will expand its Inclusive Crew Model to develop inclusive work teams in Minnesota, Utah and Wisconsin.
In addition to the Inclusion Initiative grants, the Foundation has renewed funding for its signature MEAF-AAPD Congressional Internship Program. The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) has been awarded a three-year/$284,000 grant to continue its work in placing college students with disabilities in summer internships in Congress. The Foundation will also provide AAPD with a $10,000 grant for the Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award, which honors emerging leaders in the disability field. Another $10,000 continuing grant goes to Project SEARCH, based at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, for expansion of its pioneering program of placing young people with severe cognitive disabilities in competitive employment across the U.S. [A grants summary follows.]
The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation, based in the Washington, DC area, was established in 1991 by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation of Japan and the Mitsubishi Electric U.S. companies, which produce, sell and distribute a wide range of consumer, industrial, commercial and professional electronics products. With a current endowment of $20 million, the Foundation has contributed more than $9 million to organizations assisting young people with disabilities to lead fuller and more productive lives.
For more information, please visit the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation’s fully accessible website at www.meaf.org.
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Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation
2008 NATIONAL GRANTS
New Grants
Academy for Educational Development (two-year grant) $100,000
Supports the Education Equity Center’s working in partnership with after-school program providers and science and technology museums to develop an After-school Inclusive Math program.
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) (three-year grant) $284,000
This grant funds the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation/AAPD Congressional Internship Program, which provides summer internships on Capitol Hill for college students with disabilities.
City Year (one-year grant pledge) $10,000
Will support evaluation of the outcomes of City Year’s efforts to build opportunities for youth with disabilities to be engaged as service providers.
Disabled Sports/USA (DS/USA) (one-year grant) $35,000
Funds a pilot program in New Mexico, in partnership with Big Brother Big Sisters, to develop mentor relationships between DS/USA Wounded Warriors and youth with and without disabilities.
Girl Scouts of the USA (three-year grant) $100,000
Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital (GSCNC) (three-year grant) $150,000
Supports the Include All Girls Initiative to develop inclusion tools at GSCNC and identify best practices from other Councils, then disseminating those tools and practices to Councils throughout the U.S.
Kids Included Together (three-year grant) $200,000
Funds the development of a National Training Center on Inclusion, provides training to 10 National Affiliates, and supports the maintenance of the www.IncludingAllKids.org inclusion resource website.
Continuing Grants
AAPD (third year of three-year grant) $10,000
Helps fund the Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award, recognizing outstanding young leaders in the disability field.
The Corps Network (second year of three-year grant) $70,000
Supports the development and replication of an inclusive crew model, giving opportunities for youth with disabilities to engage in volunteer service activities and develop leadership skills.
Project SEARCH (third year of a three-year grant) $10,000
Funds support Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in implementing training programs in the health care and banking fields, aimed at providing competitive employment for young people with severe cognitive disabilities.
Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation
1560 Wilson Blvd.
Suite 1150
Arlington, VA 22209
1560 Wilson Blvd.
Suite 1150
Arlington, VA 22209