Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation’s summer grant cycle includes $894,000 in funding to support health and hunger relief nationwide
PORTLAND – The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation announced that a total of $45,000 is being granted to five local nonprofits to bring health and hunger relief to kids in southern Maine. This month, the Foundation celebrates its July of Joy summer grant cycle, which includes $894,000 in grants to 86 health and hunger relief-based nonprofits nationwide.
Footprints Food Pantry in Kittery will receive a $10,000 Joy in Childhood Foundation grant. The grant will support the food pantry’s goal is to create a children’s shopping and play area in which kids can relax while their parents shop or use child-sized carts to shop for healthy and nutritious foods they like.
Grahamtastic Connection in Springvale will receive a $10,000 grant to support its Backpacks Full of Joy program. The program helps seriously ill children in Maine and other New England states stay connected to family, friends and school while hospitalized by providing them with a backpack with a new laptop or iPad, protective case, and gifts such as art supplies, blankets, games, toys, books and huggable stuffed animals.
Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program in Brunswick will receive a $10,000 grant to support its School Pantry program. The program began nine years ago in elementary schools in the greater Brunswick region and has expanded into middle schools and high schools to meet the needs of children experiencing food insecurity. Children and families receive nutritious and easy to prepare food during the week to last through the weekend.
Rett’s Roost in Ogunquit will receive a $10,000 grant to support their unique retreats for cancer families. Rett’s Roost free Positively Healing Survivor Retreats offer holistic, therapeutic, and joyful support for families with a child who has finished or is transitioning off cancer treatment.
The Foundation for Portland Public Schools in Portland will receive a $5,000 Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation grant to support the creation of a culturally appropriate food pantry. The food pantry will benefit homeless students and their families at the Multilingual & Multicultural Center of the Portland Public Schools by providing food and groceries that are familiar to newly arrived immigrant families.
Grant funding from the Foundation’s summer grant cycle will support local programs that provide health and hunger relief to kids throughout the country. Programs range from summer camps for children facing severe and chronic medical conditions and multisensory equipment for hospitalized children with intellectual and developmental disabilities to afterschool and weekend meal programs that provide healthier options for youth facing food insecurity.
These grants are a part of a commitment by the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, Dunkin’ and its franchisees to bring the simple joys of childhood to kids facing hunger or illness. Since its inception in 2006, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation has granted more than $40 million to national and local nonprofits.
To learn more about the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation, visit www.bringjoy.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.