Foundation update:

Thanks to funding from the Foellinger Foundation, the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation is now offering grants up to $5,000 to organizations working to provide COVID-19 vaccine information and access to minority and low-income residents.

The Foellinger Foundation has awarded a $55,000 Critical Response Grant to the St. Joe Foundation to help eliminate barriers – such as language, transportation and misinformation – that keep people from being vaccinated.

The St. Joe Foundation will invest the funds in small community groups such as churches, non-profits and clubs. These organizations can apply now for COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Grants up to $5,000 by visiting www.SJCHF.org.

Funding should help organizations or churches help their vulnerable clients/members who need assistance to get vaccinated against COVID-19 safely. Preference will be given to organizations with a trusted relationship and history of supporting their members and neighbors.

The grant application is a simple process and St. Joe Foundation staff are available to talk with and help organizations complete the application. Anyone having questions or needing help should email joe@sjchf.org.

Grantee Spotlight:

Even behind a mask, you can tell Cynthia is smiling.

Her eyes crinkle at the edges, her mask moves up, and her cheerfulness shines through.

Cynthia Hayes, a member of the Carriage House in Fort Wayne, acknowledges that she isn’t always smiling. Born with Hydrocephalus, she also struggles with mental illness, including bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and most recently she was diagnosed with PTSD.

Health care workers and medication help her manage her mental health, but her Carriage House family is what brings joy to her days.

“If it weren’t for Carriage House, I’d be lost,” she says. “They have given me a lot of hope. Before I came to Carriage House, I was so depressed. I was so scared. I was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship; I didn’t have the courage to leave. After a few years coming to the Carriage House, I was able to leave.”

Grantees Spotlights:

Thanks to the Healing Seeds initiative, residents in rural East Allen County will soon be preparing and tasting nutritious meals, such as veggie pizza, overnight oatmeal, and lentil soup.

A special one-time grant offered by the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation is helping local rural organizations offer highly delicious and nutritious food with some educational activities such as cooking lessons to low-income seniors and youth.

At Cornerstone Youth Center in Monroeville, retired cafeteria workers are volunteering to prepare and deliver healthy meals and snacks to seniors and individuals with disabilities. With each meal will also be recipes and nutrition tips. This summer, kids attending the Youth Center will take part in a full week of learning about nutrition and simple ways to prepare meals.

In Woodburn, seniors living at Phoenix Manor will have the opportunity to watch a Healing Seeds video about cooking a nutritious meal, and then they will receive all the ingredients needed to prepare the meal for themselves.

A Healthy Chef Edition camping experience is on the schedule for youth and seniors who visit the New Haven/Adams Township Community Center this year. Throughout the summer and fall, participants will take part in a week-long camp experience in small groups of 10. Approximately 80 people will watch the Healing Seeds videos and learn the basics of preparing healthy meals.

There’s still time to apply for a Healing Seeds grant up to $10,000. If your group or organization serves low-income rural residents from East Allen County and is interested in sharing information and lessons about healthy eating and cooking, visit the Healing Seeds web page here. You may also contact mdistler@sjchf.org for more information.

Healing Seeds is an initiative of the St. Joe Foundation and Parkview Health. Funding is provided by the Indiana Department of Health and the Office of Community & Rural Affairs for the Stellar Community program.

 A ministry sponsored by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ.

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