TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- Tuesday afternoon, Rotary Charities of Traverse City announced more than $774,000 in grants.
The grants were awarded based on applications received during the fall of 2010.
A couple of the selected organizations are designed to help abused or homeless children.
Traverse Area Public Schools received $50,000 to support the 5-county homeless student initiative “Students in Transition Empowerment Program.” Over the past 5 months, they have provided services to 369 high school students in our region.
“Our overriding goal is to assure when families lose their houses or a student looses his or her house that they have full access to their public education,” said Students in Transition Empowerment Program Coordinator Joan Abbott.
The Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center also received a program grant. They were awarded $35,611 to support the addition of a full-time professional Family Advocate who will work directly with families whose children have been physically or sexually abused.
“This start up money is huge because right now it’s just myself that's funded and it takes more than me to help these families. That was just the beginning of what I see to be a huge start to our success and making sure the Children's Advocacy Center is here to stay” said Executive Director Brook Nettz.
Since the 1970’s, Rotary Charities has distributed more than $40.2 million in the form of almost 900 grants in Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Kalkaska and Antrim Counties.
