Deerfield Beach, Fla. - The Jim Moran Foundation (The Foundation) has announced its 2003 year-end grants totaling $160,676 to nine non-profit organizations actively working to help children and families in the state of Florida. Communities in Schools of Miami, Daily Bread Food Bank, Easter Seals Florida, Hispanic Unity of Florida, Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options (JAFCO), KidVentures, Kids House of Seminole, Nova Southeastern University and Young At Art Children's Museum all received funding for targeted programming that fits within The Foundation's mission to improve the quality of life for the youth and families of Florida through the support of innovative programs and opportunities that meet the ever-changing needs of the community.
"We strongly believe in these organizations and the valuable programs and services they offer in communities throughout the state," said Foundation Chairman and President Jan Moran. "By identifying these nine nonprofits that have developed meaningful programs, we are encouraged by the impact they will make for Florida's most disadvantaged children and families."
Total grants awarded to non-profit organizations in 2003 by The Foundation exceeded $282,000, with cumulative grants since its first funding cycle in 2001 of more than $333,000.
At a December 2003 Board of Directors meeting, the following grants were awarded by The Foundation:
Communities in Schools of Miami (CIS) - $20,000 for the Magic City Mentor Program in Miami-Dade County which consists of one-to-one mentoring, onsite mentoring at local schools, group mentoring, and school-to-work career mentoring. The target audience is at-risk middle and high school students. CIS connects needed community resources with educational sites to help young people successfully learn, stay in school and prepare for life.
Daily Bread Food Bank - $8,800 for the Kids Cafe after-school feeding program for needy children in the Liberty City area elementary schools of Miami-Dade County. The program educates children on good nutrition and the value of eating healthy by providing a healthy, after-school snack five days a week with literature handouts.
Easter Seals Florida (ES) - $21,100 to scholarship five West Palm Beach students enrolled in ES's after-school program for transportation, therapy and after-school snacks. ES operates the only therapeutic aftercare program in its community for children with special needs.
Hispanic Unity of Florida - $28,250 to support the Building Good Neighbors Program for Diverse Communities by providing bilingual educators and translators for school, community and civic functions to remove the language barrier and help promote involvement and good citizenship.
Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options (JAFCO) - $20,000 to fund the Family Preservation Program in helping to provide after-school, summer and winter camps for abused or neglected children in Broward County. The goal of the Family Preservation Program is to empower the family and prevent out-of-home placement whenever possible.
KidVentures - $12,526 to fund the Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) for at-risk youth in Miami-Dade County. Through YEP, disadvantaged youth in grades 5-8 are engaged in an active learning environment of running an actual business. The grant will fund the facilitation of classroom businesses in Charles R. Drew Middle School in Liberty City and Intel Computer Clubhouse in Little Haiti.
Kids House of Seminole (KH) - $10,000 to help provide sustainability to KH's mental health program for child therapy. In Central Florida, KH provides Seminole County with its only multi-disciplinary comprehensive children's assault treatment/therapy resource for children, families, law enforcement agencies, medical professionals and community agencies. Children facing the trauma of sexual and/or physical assault and their families receive specialized services by experts specifically trained in forensic examinations, treatment, counseling and crisis intervention.
Nova Southeastern University - $20,000 to provide 11 low-income child care centers in Fort Lauderdale with literacy and language development materials for children and families. All 11 centers will meet accreditation guidelines for the number of books available for children and parent-lending libraries will encourage parents to read with their children.
Young at Art Children's Museum - $20,000 to fund ArtReach, an after-school art and homework assistance program for Broward County's homeless children at Plymouth Colony and Broward Outreach. In addition, children will participate in a cooperative learning project where, as a group, they will design, create and install a public art project.
The Jim Moran Foundation (www.jimmoranfoundation.org) is a non-profit charitable organization, 501(c)(3). Significant funding for The Foundation is provided through a cooperative giving commitment with JM Family Enterprises, Inc. JM Family's Honorary Chairman Jim Moran established The Foundation in 2000 to continue his vision of charitable giving in perpetuity. For more information about The Foundation's grant-writing guidelines, visit its Web site or call 954-429-2046.
A $7.6 billion diversified automotive company, JM Family Enterprises, Inc., (www.jmfamily.com ), headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., is ranked by Forbes magazine as the 15th largest privately held company in U.S. In January 2004, the company was ranked by a survey in FORTUNE magazine at No. 19 on its 100 Best Companies to Work For in America list. Its flagship company, Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC, is the nation's largest franchised distributor of Toyota vehicles. Other major business operations include World Omni Financial Corp., the JM&A Group of companies, CenterOne Financial Services LLC and JM Lexus, the largest volume retail Lexus dealership in the world.