Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Awards Nearly $500,000 in Grants to Area Nonprofit Organizations

Detroit, MI, November 08, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The Board of Trustees of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan approved $495,350 in grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve the quality of life in the region. The Board approved the grants at its September meeting. The following organizations are among those receiving grants from the Community Foundation:

• Matrix Theatre Company, Detroit, $80,000 (over three years) for support to increase access to live theatre for people with disabilities. The “Building Theatres of Inclusion” project is designed to expand the accessibility of live theater performances to persons with visual, mobile, cognitive and hearing disabilities. The project ultimately seeks to build the capacity of the local theatrical community through the use of outreach, training and technology.

• Rackham Symphony Choir, Grosse Pointe, $15,000 for support for an educational outreach program. The project, “Singing It Real,” will help students understand that music can convey messages of culture and history, and inspire children to enjoy learning through the arts.

• Wild Swan Theater, Ann Arbor, $25,000 for support to educate students about environmental issues. The theater will adapt the Caldecott-award-winning book, “Hawk, I’m Your Brother,” for stage and deliver the performance to more than 20,000 students and the public in the seven-county region of southeast Michigan. The project will encourage respectful use of local parks and natural areas and promote responsible stewardship of wildlife and the environment.

• Community Legal Resources, Detroit, $52,750 for support to expand referral, education and outreach programs. Community Legal Resources provides services to nonprofit organization that serve low-income and at-risk populations by connecting these organizations with lawyers and law firms that offer volunteer legal services.

• Boys Hope Girls Hope, Detroit, $56,000 for support for the opening of the Rosyln home – the third Boys Hope Girls Hope home in Detroit. By opening this third home (for boys), BHGH seeks to expand its capacity, reaching ten more boys immediately and potentially hundreds more over time.

• Traffic Improvement Association, Sylvan Lake, $17,000 for support for expansion of the Mature Driver workshop program into St. Clair and Monroe counties. The purpose of the program is to assess and enhance senior driving skills and encourage seniors to make better informed decisions about their driving capabilities.

• Lions Hearing Center of Michigan, Detroit, $9,600 for support for hearing testing and care for students in Detroit. This grant will assist in providing hearing screening services for 16 schools in Detroit. The schools were identified through a partnership with Communities in Schools of Detroit.

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations committed to the future of southeast Michigan. The Foundation works to improve the region’s quality of life by connecting those who care with causes that matter. The Foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs. The Foundation has assets of more than $635 million and, since its inception, has distributed more than $317 million through more than 30,000 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties. For more information, please visit www.cfsem.org.

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