Contact:
Fred Whiting
Points of Light Foundation
(202) 729-8177
fwhiting@pointsoflight.org

Grants Awarded to 13 Communities to Improve Housing
Mini-grants made possible by Home Depot and the
Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 3, 2006) – Thanks to a $5,000 grant from Home Depot, children in 13 American communities will learn about the critical need for decent housing, and they will be able to spruce up and repair homes or to partner with an agency involved in such an endeavor. 

Below are some of the projects awarded funding:

In Frederick, Md., Volunteer Frederick has chosen the Kids Care Week 2006 Hands Helping Homes project to partner with the Frederick County Health Department  Guy's Only Program and Community Living Inc. staff to restore and renovate three homes of residents with severe developmental disabilities. 

The Bolingbrook Kids Care Club in Bolingbrook, Il., will partner with the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars to identify families for their "Spruce Up for Winter" project.  The club realizes that many family members in the Illinois Reserve and Armed Forces serving overseas now have limited budgets and limited man- or woman-power at home.  The Club will do yard work, internal and external weatherizing and will handle minor exterior paint jobs.

The Westcoville Kids Care Club of Macungie, Pa. will partner with Westcoville School's Angel Network and local Girl Scout troops to rebuild an entire dilapidated bathroom for a family of seven.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, the Pieces of a Dream Outreach Kids Care Club will partner with Resources for Seniors and Mighty Men of Valor to assist 60+ Seniors living in eight substandard homes bag debris, remove abandoned vehicles, make dump runs and do minor dry wall, floor and plumbing repairs.

The Kids Care Club of Hot Springs, Ark., will also reach out to a homebound senior in need.  They will partner with a local church to rebuild her porch, which was destroyed by recent storms and decay.  When they finish she will be able to once again enjoy the outdoors.

Other grant recipients of the mini-grants ranging from $250 to $500 include:

• Volunteer Center of Lehigh Valley, in Bethlehem, Pa. 
• Sacred Heart Kids Care Club in Shawnee, Ks.
• Play with a Purpose Kids Care Club in Swarthmore, Pa. 
• 4-H Explorers in Bessemer City, N.C. 
• G.S.Troop 827 in Missouri City, Tex. 
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Reading in Reading, Pa. 
• Polar Kids Care Club in Minneapolis, Minn. 
• St. Hilary's Kids Care Club in Akron, Oh. 

Kids Care Clubs have been reaching out to others locally and globally for 15 years.  Each club is unique, and they are organized in schools, Volunteer Centers and faith-based institutions, responding to needs and issues in a thoughtful, compassionate and meaningful way.

The Kids Care Clubs program is sponsored by the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, which engages and mobilizes millions of volunteers who are helping to solve serious social problems in thousands of communities. Through a variety of programs and services, the Foundation encourages people from all walks of life — businesses, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, low-income communities, families, youth, and older adults — to volunteer. 

If you want to read more about what Kids Care Clubs do, go to www.kidscare.org and click on Club of the Month.  For more information, contact: Kathy Saulitis, Director, Kids Care Clubs, at 203-656-8052 or ksaulitis@pointsoflight.org.

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