WELBORN BAPTIST FOUNDATION
SUMMARY OF GRANTS AWARDED 2003
 

HEALTH MINISTRIES IN CONGREGATIONS
Health Ministries are congregation-based health and other support services directed toward the congregation and the community, delivered by trained health professionals and lay persons, both paid and volunteer. This is inclusive of parish nurse programs that can be developed as an integral part of a church’s program if the resources of a trained Registered Nurse are available.

The grants in this category are designed to assist congregations in forming and extending Health Ministries for their members and community.

GRANTS AWARDED: 8 Grants totaling $62,990

St. John The Apostle Catholic Church
Health Ministry
$15,000
Continuation of the parish nurse program, in conjunction with the church congregation and the S.O.U.L. Empowerment nutrition and exercise program. Focus is on preventative health activities, screenings and referrals, and health education.

North Haven General Baptist Church
Health Ministry
$4,240
Funding for adolescent programs to address topics of concern to teens, the 'Chance to Change' program for people with a gambling addiction, and equipment to support the ministry.

First United Methodist Church of Fort Branch
Health Ministry
$5,250
Funding to help support the 'Strengthening Families' program in this congregation and its surrounding community.

Evansville Ministers’ Wives Council
Health Ministries
$7,000
Planning and initiation of a coordinated health ministry to be led by the Evansville Ministers Wives Council, working closely with the WBF Health Ministry Coordinators. In collaboration with Eastview Missionary Baptist Church, this ministry will serve a group of approximately 15 smaller churches with health education and screenings. Goals will be developed to target specific health issues such as personal wellness, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

First United Methodist Church of Henderson
Health Ministry
$3,000
Continuation of health ministry which began in 2002. Focus is to integrate faith into helping people prevent or manage disease, make positive life-style choices, and maintain independence.

Bethel Temple Community Church
Health Ministry
$7,000
Establishment of health ministry, focused heavily on prevention and health education. Funding to purchase supplies and program materials, plus partially support a salary for a registered nurse.

St. Paul's United Church of Christ
Health Ministry
$6,500
Establishment of health ministry focused on stress management, exercise, and health education. Program is in collaboration with St. Joseph Catholic Church. Funding for blood pressure equipment, educational materials, office set-up and exercise supplies.

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center (Jasper/Dubois County)
Health Ministry
$15,000
Initiation of hospital health ministry team that would reach out to help churches and congregations establish health ministries in Dubois County and surrounding areas. Scope of services would include education for parish nurses and preventative health care education for the community, especially for their highest priority needs which include colon cancer, teen suicide, and organ donation education.

In addition to these grants, the Foundation also entered into eight (8) Health Ministries Covenants with area churches. These covenants are one-time grants of up to $1,000 that can be used as planning tools toward the establishment of health ministries programs. Churches receiving covenants in 2003 include: First Missionary Baptist Church (Henderson, KY), First United Methodist Church of Harrisburg (IL), Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, Melody Hill Free Methodist Church, Shiloh United Methodist Church (Jasper, IN), St. Clement Catholic Church (Boonville, IN), St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, and St. Philip Catholic Church (Mt. Vernon, IN).

SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION

Alcohol and illicit drug use are associated with many of this country’s most serious problems, including violence, injury, and HIV infection. The annual economic costs to the United States from alcohol abuse were estimated to be $167 billion in 1995, and the costs from drug abuse were estimated to be $110 billion.

Alcohol and illicit drug use are associated with child and spousal abuse; sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection; teen pregnancy; school failure; motor vehicle crashes; escalation of health care costs; low worker productivity; and homelessness. Alcohol and illicit drug use also can result in substantial disruptions in family, work, and personal life.

In recognition of the critically important need to steer young people toward positive life choices, the Welborn Foundation announces grants to the following organizations:

GRANTS AWARDED: 6 Grants totaling $106,160

Evansville Area Community of Churches
Curriculum enhancement
$3,000
The addition of two programs to the Weekday Christian Education program: 1) substance abuse prevention curriculum, written for third and fourth graders, offered by Youth First; and 2) discipline and character development curriculum drawn from a workshop sponsored by the Indiana Youth Institute.

First Christian Church (Mt. Carmel, Illinois)
Best of Kids program
$17,000
A substance abuse prevention project based upon research-based curricula (Project Northland/Lifeskills and Preparing for the Drug Free Years). Significant features of this program include: providing age-appropriate/research-based prevention curriculum for youth & parents; on-site counseling services for youth parents and families. Funds will be used to fund the coordinators, instructors, counseling services, parent workshops and workshop materials.

Collaboration of nine (9) churches, YMCA and Youth First, Inc.
Strengthening Families Faith-Based Collaboration
$47,750
A collaboration among nine (9) churches, the YMCA of Southwestern Indiana and Youth First, Inc. to expand the use of the Strengthening Families Program for Children Ages 10-14. The churches in the collaboration include: Crossroads Christian, Holy Rosary, Holy Redeemer, Good Shepherd, St. Agnes, St. Phillip, Corpus Christi, St. John and Holy Spirit catholic churches.

The funds will be used for training of facilitators and for program materials.

Patchwork Central, Inc.
Arts and Smart Moves
$5,000
Funding to conduct the 'Stay SMART' prevention program for youth ages 13-17, presented by the Substance Abuse Council. The goals of the program include: 1) increasing participants' knowledge about alcohol and other drugs, 2) increasing communication among staff members, parents and participants regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, 3) helping youth identify and resist peer and media pressure to use alcohol and other drugs, 4) helping teens develop and improve skills around making decisions, resisting social and peer pressure, and coping with the stress of growing up.

DOULOS Ministries, Inc. (Gibson County)
Substance Abuse Prevention Program
$12,500
The primary objective of this program is to offer a substance abuse prevention program for Gibson County using the Strengthening Families 12-14 program through Youth First, Inc. The target population is middle school students and their parents. A secondary objective will be to build a coalition of faith-based entities that can partner with other community and governmental agencies to accomplish the goal of reducing risks of today's youth from becoming involved in substance abuse. Specific goals include: 1) training for facilitators 2) offering the program in local communities and 3) developing a community mobilization strategy through a coalition of partners.

Funding will be used specifically for curricula and training for the program trainers.

Young Life Evansville
Reitz High School Ministry support
$20,910
This grant will provide staff support to continue the progress in re-establishing a Young Life chapter at Reitz High School. Specific activities ubder the grant include: 1) contact work - seeking kids, 2) operating a weekly club, 3) offering the Christian message, 4) conducting mega Weekend and 5) sponsoring kids at Young Life camp. Grant funds will be used specifically to conduct these activities.

GENERAL OPPORTUNITY
While the majority of the available funds are directed to the specific targets, the Foundation did consider and award grants to projects utilizing a faith approach to address issues of concern within the community.

GRANTS AWARDED: 3 Grants totaling $36,600

St. Philip Catholic School (Posey County)
Outreach Program
$4,500
Formal outreach program to provide assistance with children's special needs programming. Based on their successful collaboration and implementation of inclusive educational setting for special needs children. Funding for educational outreach, in-service training for administrators and teachers, web site update, training materials, and demonstration.

Baptist Children's Home & Family Services (Carmi, Illinois)
Transitional Living Program
$10,000
Transitional living program for young people who 'age-out' of the foster care system and are left on their own to transition into adulthood with no family to help them develop the necessary skills and sense of responsibility they need to be successful adults. Currently, this organization serves 38 children with five residences. These funds will complete renovations on one more home that would serve an additional 12 children each year.

Grace Baptist Church/St. Joseph Catholic Church
Garvin Street Community Enhancement Project
$22,100
Continuation of collaborative effort between Grace Baptist Church and St. Joseph Catholic Church to improve the stability of the North Garvin St. neighborhood. Current initiatives include strengthening the base of collaborative partners, involving local residents in neighborhood clean-ups, and providing opportunities for every neighborhood child to be involved in a character-building organization such as 4-H, Scouts, or 21st Century after-school programs such as tutoring as well as sports activities such as soccer. These funds will be used to expand upon the efforts of an earlier planning grant.