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Communities In Schools (CIS) is the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization, with a mission to surround students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. For more than 30 years, CIS has connected needed community resources with schools. By bringing caring adults and a wide variety of services into schools to address children’s unmet needs, CIS provides a linkbetween educators and the community. The results of CIS’s model are that teachers are free to teach and students, many at risk of dropping out, have the opportunity to focus on learning. To help students stay in school, we identify and bring together in one place – public schools – all the resources and services available in the community that kids need to be successful. These services vary from one community to the next and from state to state and address specific needs such as academic support, mentoring, health care, family strengthening, career development, summer and after-school programs, alternative education models, and service learning. Today, the CIS network is comprised of nearly 5,000 passionate professionals working in close to 200 local affiliate nonprofits in 27 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 53,000 community volunteers, serving 1.2 million young people in more than 2,400 schools around the nation.

Story Tapestries is a leading arts service organization that serves our Montgomery County, Maryland community and beyond through: 1) Professional performances in storytelling, theater, dance, spoken word and other art forms in a variety of public spaces including community centers, local theaters, libraries, and schools; and 2) Workshops and in-depth training programs for adults and children to develop skills in various art forms, cultivating how to use the performing, visual, and literary arts to develop their voice, share their stories and increase their literacy, social-emotional and STEAM skills. We use the arts as a bridge to increase accessibility and equity in educational and community settings. Our aim is to establish coalitions of organizations and individuals prepared to support meaningful, long-lasting arts-based programs. Since becoming a 501c3 in 2010, we have reached more than 840,000 individuals collaborating with over 1,300 organizations. We present programs employing a team of 30 professional artists, who are also master educators. Our motto “Empower. Educate. Engage.” guides us to create collaborative arts programs that cater to communities’ needs through free or affordable performing arts events and workshops for families, children, community leaders, artists and educators. We collaborate with local arts and humanities organizations to design sustainable, multi-year arts programs with support from individual donors, foundations, corporations and government entities.

After years of careful planning and preparation, the community responded and in less than two years of fund raising through private gifts and grants, $6 million was raised to bring Ronald McDonald House to Long Beach. The Long Beach House joined more than 300 other Ronald McDonald Houses in 58 countries and regions around the world.  Locally, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California operates Houses in Bakersfield, Loma Linda, Los Angeles, Orange, and Pasadena.  The chapter also operates Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a free, medically-supervised, year-round sleep away camp for children with cancer and their siblings, as well as two Ronald McDonald Family Rooms at CHOC in Orange and CHOC at Mission in Mission Viejo, which serve as an oasis for families inside of hospitals. Additionally, the chapter awards scholarship funds to exceptional high school students and community grants to non-profit organizations that benefit children. Research shows that a family's presence in the hospital helps children heal. Staying close by allows parents to better communicate with their child's medical team and improves adherence to complicated treatment plans. These are only some of the reasons that make Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California an important organization. The Long Beach Ronald McDonald House is a program of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California.

BEST Kids is a nonprofit mentoring organization that empowers youth in foster care to build better futures, one child at a time. BEST Kids Mentoring Program is guided by the belief that all children are talented. Through our one-on-one volunteer mentoring, our extensive training, staff support and our experiential-learning-based peer group, we encourage our youth to discover and develop their unique skills and abilities. Beginning with children as young as six and continuing, as needed, until adulthood, BEST Kids Mentoring Program works to enable youth to develop a positive sense of self, to acquire teamwork and group social skills, and to become productive members of society. BEST Kids, Inc., is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides mentoring to foster care children in the District of Columbia’s Child Welfare System. One of the strongest single protective factors a child can have is a close relationship with a caring adult who serves as a mentor and role model. Despite this, long term, consistent, one-on-one mentoring is almost non-existent for foster care children. We are the first pilot program in the District of Columbia to provide volunteer mentors dedicated to mentoring children in foster care. Operating under the first ever Volunteer Mentor Partnership (VMP) Grant with the District of Columbia’s Child and Family Services Agency, BEST Kids mentoring program is able to provide volunteer mentors for children as young as six and continue, as needed, until they reach the age of twenty-one years old. BEST Kids asks mentors to commit to at least one year of mentoring and to perform, on average, 10 hours a month of face-to-face contact.

The African SOUP's Vision is to transform the lives of Ugandan youth through education system reform. The African SOUP leads a national education reform effort through Active Learning and provides educational opportunities to vulnerable children in rural eastern Uganda. The African SOUP School utilizes the following strategies to fulfill our vision: The African SOUP Model School Secondary Enrichment Program The Active Learning Project Baby SOUP SOUP Model School Mission: To educate, nurture, and inspire scholars to unleash their potential and that of their community. Vision: The African SOUP School will become the premier active learning model school in Uganda Active Learning Project Mission: To improve the quality of primary education across Uganda through the implementation of active learning. Vision: The African SOUP's Active Learning Project will bring active learning into every primary classroom and teacher training college in Uganda. Secondary Enrichment Program Mission: To provide secondary scholarship support, mentorship and leadership training to African SOUP School Alumni so that they develop the skills needed to meet their potential and transform their community. Vision: The African SOUP's Secondary Enrichment Program will produce leaders who will transform their community. Baby SOUP Mission: To serve vulnerable children and pregnant mothers by providing health education, growth monitoring, and nutritional supplements to ensure holistic child development. Vision: The African SOUP Emma's Baby SOUP Program envisions a future where every child has the ability to survive and thrive in Namutumba District. Sustainability Mission: To cover all organizational operating costs through local, income-generating projects. Vision: The African SOUP will become a financially independent and secure Ugandan NGO.

Learning doesn’t begin when a child starts school. Amazingly, 85% of a baby’s intellect, personality, and social skills are developed in the first three years of life. But because babies don’t come with operating instructions, all parents need a little guidance on how to make the most of this critical period. That’s where Bright by Three comes in. Bright by three visits with parents and other caregivers and provides a three-step program to make sure their little ones get the best start at life. And it’s absolutely free for these families, supported entirely by charitable contributions. Since it was founded in 1995 by then-governor Roy Romer and former Procter & Gamble chairman Brad Butler, Bright by Three has reached an increasing number of families across the state each year — nearly 21,000 last year alone. But an average of 68,000 babies are born in the state each year, so we’ve got a lot more work to do to put these tools in every Colorado home where there’s a baby or toddler. That’s where you come in. There are two ways to help us reach more families: tell a family member, friend, neighbor or anyone who has or is expecting a young child about us. This is a program that’s proven to be helpful for all families, regardless of their income or background. (it’s even available in Spanish) Help support this statewide initiative. A donation of as little as $25 pays for a kit for one family. If you can afford more, you can help us reach even more families. With enough people spreading the word about these programs and donating, we can realize our goal of ensuring that every Colorado child gets the same great start.

Originally founded in downtown LA as an orphanage, our initial mission was simply to provide safety to children who had no home. In time, our mission expanded to also focus on the well-being of our clients and caring for the mental and emotional health of children who were increasingly coming to us as a result of abuse or neglect. Having grown to an agency caring for nearly 8,700 children and family members annually across five counties, we now strive for permanency – a permanent, loving home – for all those in our care. These three pillars; safety, well-being and permanency provide the framework for all of Five Acres’ current programs and they will guide our steps in the future as we continue seeking even more effective means of caring for children and families in crisis. For over 129 years Five Acres has been committed to preserving successful childcare programs and developing innovative services for children and families in crisis. With over 100,000 clients served since its founding in 1888, Five Acres currently cares for 8,700 children and families annually, across five counties including Los Angeles. Safety For over 129 years, children’s safety has been one of our priorities. Five Acres works to address and heal the trauma that effects children and their families so that children can grow safely and thrive within a loving family Well-being Healthy families are more likely to remain intact and enjoy a greater level of well-being. Five Acres believes families stay together when they are provided with essential prevention and intervention resources for success Permanency Five Acres actively strives to provide a sense of belonging by connecting children to caring adults with safe, permanent and loving families. With strong stability and the chance to stay in a loving home, children are able to rebuild their sense of belonging and grow.

The Artolution is a community-based public art organization that seeks to ignite positive social change through creative, participatory and collaborative art making. We facilitate projects around the world that connect diverse peoples in order to address challenges that they face daily and in the future and to develop common social objectives. Our projects bring together children, youth, families, artists, educators and community groups. Our founding objective is to address critical issues related to conflict, trauma, and social marginalization by cultivating sustainable initiatives that promote reconciliation, healing and community empowerment. Our process empowers artists, youth, and communities to be agents of positive social change, explore critical societal issues, and create opportunities for constructive dialogue. Artolution collaborative art projects engage youth and communities that have faced social exclusion and trauma, including refugees, street youth, the incarcerated, people with physical and mental disabilities, and young people living in areas of violent conflict or extreme poverty. These projects have been organized and facilitated in partnership with local artists and educators, grassroots community groups, schools, religious centers, museums and international institutions in over 20 countries across Latin America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, North America, the Middle East, Europe and South Asia. We utilize visual public art mediums such as mural art and community sculpture, as well as street performance genres including dance, theatre, and music. In our workshops, participants explore important community issues. Supported by us, they collectively decide on the subject and content of the artistic production, culminating in the collaborative creation of works of public art. Through this process, we emphasize the building of positive relationships among participants, skill-building, the sharing of knowledge and the encouragement of community creative activism.

Our mission is to elevate the quality of life through human enrichment experiences for families that have children with life-altering conditions. 25 years ago, Kidd and Carol Cradick had a seemingly-routine sonogram for a naturally-conceived, otherwise normal pregnancy. But for Carol, it wasn’t the outlined image of her unborn baby that worried her. It was the unnerving description from the OB/GYN. Before long, they understood the possible complications this child could face following her birth. Even somewhat positive readings from future sonograms couldn’t shake the fear that their daughter may never walk or leave a wheelchair. Fortunately, Caroline Cradick was born healthy. It was then that Kidd made a commitment to help families whose outcomes vastly differed from their own. As with the birth of their own miracle, Kidd’s Kids was born: a charity devoted to families touched by tragedy or disease, families who rarely saw a smile on their children’s faces, families who struggled with serious economic strangleholds due to the high cost of medical care and deserved a few days of happiness. 
 Initially, the program began as a bus ride to Sea World in San Antonio, Texas. During the charity’s infancy, the Cradick’s struggled with a lack of experience and funding. However, thanks to the volunteer efforts from medical professionals, nurses and physical therapists, as well as the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show listeners’ willingness to embrace and fund the trip, Kidd’s Kids started growing at an exponential rate. As Caroline grew healthy and matured, so did Kidd’s Kids. She would eventually go on to fulfill her destiny as the face and executive director of Kidd’s Kids. By this time, the charity had evolved to feature a full charter plane trip to Disney World. To this day, the charity remains a family affair - a family that includes all of the children, their loving care-takers and families, and the Kidd’s Kids staff working in tandem. Together, they create memories that most thought were impossible. For this, Kidd Kraddick and Kidd’s Kids, shall always be remembered.

One To Many is publicly operating as Teach For Pakistan I. History and Future: Teach For Pakistan was founded in 2010, based on the global model of Teach For All and with support from our incubating partner, The Aman Foundation. The organization was incorporated in 2011 with the name "Teach For Pakistan" and operated as part of the Aman group of companies until 2016. All historical financial and operational materials shared in this application are from this last phase in Teach For Pakistan's journey. Teach For Pakistan has started its next chapter as a new organization with an independent board and diverse funding base. This new entity is legally registered as "One To Many", a non-profit company incorporated in May 2017. We operate publicly under the name "Teach For Pakistan" by virtue of our agreement with Teach For All, the global organization that owns the trademark. Teach For Pakistan is now headed by Khadija Shahper Bakhtiar, who originally co-founded the program in partnership with Aman in 2010, and led the work as CEO and Advisory Board member until 2015. We carry with us six years of learning in program and organizational development, and the commitment of over a hundred Alumni and former staff. II. Mission and Vision: Teach For Pakistan leverages our country's most promising young talent to create a multiplier effect on the education system. We recruit and train top graduates and young professionals from all fields for a two-year Fellowship, and place them to teach in struggling schools in low-income communities. During their two year commitment, Fellows work with their students, school staff and parents to transform learning and life-outcomes for children. After the Fellowship, our Alumni use their experiences to tackle Pakistan's most pressing problems in education, fostering action to change policy and curriculum, mobilizing resources, turning around schools, and spurring social innovation. Collectively, this movement aims to reform the system so that every child in Pakistan has the opportunity to participate in an education that nurtures them to become loving, thinking and engaged citizens.

Viet Dreams is a 501(c)(3) charity non-profit organization founded by musicians, artists, and music enthusiasts who all share a common goal - to provide disadvantaged children in Vietnam and United States with better educational opportunities and a more healthy, sustainable way of living. It is our duty to provide these children with vital medical supplies and educational assistance so that they may live better lives and one day fulfill their dreams. 100% of every dollar donated goes to our projects. Some of our projects include donating bicycles and helmets, granting scholarships, medical supplies, workshops and most recently, providing access to clean drinking water , which will reduce water-borne illness among children. Our organization also collaborates with local networks and other non-profit organizations such as Hope for Tomorrow, ICAN, Friends of Vinh Son, Fund for Vietnam, Children of Vietnam and Because Vietnam in order to successfully create an environment where every child is safe, self-sufficient, and able to pursue their education. But what sets our organization apart is our unwavering commitment and passion. We are devoted to giving these children a healthier lifestyle and a promising educational future. Our efforts are focused on children living in the poorer, rural areas of Vietnam. We do not discriminate among ethnic backgrounds, religions, minorities or medical circumstances. Every child deserves our assistance. We use our musical talents to raise the necessary funds to support our projects. The majority of our funding coming from benefit concerts, auctions, sponsors, and selling CDs and various artworks. We hope that our efforts and commitment will serve as a powerful reminder that there are many children in Vietnam who still need our help. Our goal is to give these children an opportunity of a lifetime and to make their dreams a reality. "Clean Water in Vietnam - A Project of Viet Dreams"

“Transform families by providing help, hope, and healing for mothers and their children to live responsible drug-free lives.” Created from the vision of a small group of women in the Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale in 1995, The Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center has grown from one group home, housing five mothers and six children, to a beautiful 5.5 acre campus in Pembroke Pines with the capacity to serve over sixty families. In addition, through satellite campuses, we are increasing our capacity to serve many more. Our ultimate goals are the removal of barriers for women entering addiction treatment, the prevention of foster care placement for their children, and an end to the cycle of addiction and abuse for families. Since we began in 1995, Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center has helped to reunify over 850 families and has provided the intensive services necessary to stop the cycle of family dysfunction and substance addiction for over 1500 children. One of the largest barriers to entry for mothers seeking treatment is child placement. At the center we focus on supporting both the mother and child(ren). We reduce or eliminate family risk factors by promoting a positive sense of self, delivering individual and group counseling services, providing peer group activities, maintaining well defined structure and offering many opportunities for support. Most importantly, we strive to stop the cycle of addiction by providing the most important protective factor of all, a healthy parent intervening on behalf of the child(ren) during their early development. For nearly 20 years we have done amazing work. Yet, prescription pain killers and heroin use is on the rise, despite the efforts of many. The negative effects to our community are compounded when the addict is a mother and her children are at risk of neglect and abuse. Often, children who are prenatally exposed to drugs or alcohol are also at a high risk for emotional and behavioral challenges. Without intervention, these children are much more likely to become addicts themselves, some in their early teens.