For 2020, Impact Grants are being awarded in two areas:
Project summaries for consideration by our membership can be found below.
- Two grants up to $5,000 each for Mental Health & Wellness
- Two grants up to $5,000 each for Education & Literacy
Project summaries for consideration by our membership can be found below.
- There are 4 applicants in Mental Health & Wellness.
- There are 5 applicants in Education & Literacy.
2020 Impact Grant Proposal Summaries: Mental Health & Wellness |
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South Tahoe Middle School"The Drugstore Project"
Amount requested: $5,000 Website: https://makeschoolssafe.com/the-drug-store-project *Previous Grant Award: 2018 Impact Grant ($3,000) under Soroptimist of Tahoe Sierra Grant Awarded. |
The Drug Store Project is a reality-based drug prevention event for the 6th grade youth in our community. It addresses the consequences potentially experienced should an individual choose to use drugs. It is delivered in an experiential method to best meet the learning styles of our kids. Students are actively a part of the event and student learning is measured. “Choices, what are Yours?” is our program’s mantra. The Drug Store Project is a comprehensive drug prevention program designed to educate our 6th grade youth about the dangers of substance use and abuse and is provided thanks to 45 local, state, and federal agencies and 225 volunteers the day of the event. A series of vignettes take youth through a storyline for the day as we work to increase their knowledge about the effects drugs have on an individual’s body, mind, social and mental well-being. It’s also an opportunity for youth to experience the different agencies in their community. Yearly our event is visited by other community members so that they too can provide their own event. Our goal is that more communities use their grassroots ability to ensure that as many youth as possible experience The Drug Store Project.
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Kids & Horses, Inc."Research Based Dementia/ Carepartner Workshops Using Interactions with Horses"
Amount Requested: $5,000 Website: https://kidsandhorses.org/ |
Kids & Horses, in collaboration with Connected Horse(R), is requesting $5,000 for its program serving people with an early stage dementia diagnosis and their care partners. The program, developed from research conducted at UC Davis and Stanford University, is unique in that is uses a dyad model meaning the person living with dementia and the care partner participate together. Through non-riding activities with horses, participants begin to feel relaxed, confident, and happy in the moment. They also learn about self-compassion, stress reduction, and communication and awareness practices. The worshops involve a group of dyads along with trained facilitators and horses. Situations are provided for the dyads to interact with horses and each other. Quantitative and qualitative findings from the research show these activities significantly increased positive perception of social support, greater sense of reciprocity, awareness, hopefulness, and appreciation of one another in dyads. The funds would be used for the support of the ten horses used for these activites along with an hourly fee for the facilitators, the equine manager, and the photographer. Early screening is done to insure the participants are ambulatory and have an early stage diagnosis. There is no fee to participate.
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Sacramento Ballet Association"Fall Prevention through Movement for Seniors"
Amount Requested: $5,000 Website: https://www.sacballet.org/ |
Sacramento Ballet requests $5,000 to introduce and implement our Fall Prevention Through Movement for Seniors in partnership with the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center. Designed in 2018 with Kaiser Permanente and Eskaton Assisted Living, Fall Prevention Through Movement gives seniors a greater sense of mobility, agility, confidence and balance. Activities include movement and music that incorporate contemporary, modern, classical and other forms of dance, tied to appropriate medical and therapy protocols that improve balance. Trained members of our Ballet staff or certified associates, accompanied by a pianist, lead the classes. We will train and certify instructors and pianists who live in the South Lake Tahoe area. We provide appropriate dance shoes for participants. Each class session lasts eight weeks, one hour per week. Typical class size is 18 people, though we can extend to 25 or so. We propose two sessions. We will use the funds to train, certify and pay instructors and accompanists, secure the shoes, promote the classes and to support other expenses. We have received support from the Senior Center leadership for this partnership.
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Live Violence Free"Make The Call" Movement
Amount Requested: $5,000 Website: https://liveviolencefree.org/ *Previous Grant Award: 2018 Focus Grant ($10,000) Grant Awarded. |
Even in the time of the MeToo movement, victims of domestic violence and sexual assault still struggle to access services largely out of fear of reporting, as well as a lack of knolwdge that services do exist, and, additionally they often do not understand just how these services can in fact help them. To expand and deepen victim's access to LVF services, especially mental health, Live Violence Free (LVF) is requesting $5,000.00 for its “Make the Call” Project. This new project will expand and deepen domestic violence and sexual assault victims' understanding of and trust in LVF so that they will be less afraid to reach out for help and supportive services including counseling. The awareness and media campaign is focused on empowering victims as well as the community to become still more informed about LVF so they can reach out for the help and mental health services that they need. Funds will be spent on a Marketing Consultant to create and implement a media campaign that increases victims' connection to Live Violence Free, helps them overcome their fear of calling and reporting, empowers them to “Make the Call" and begin the healing process.
2020 Impact Grant Proposal Summaries: Education & Literacy |
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Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra"Summer Reading Program"
Amount Requested: $2,500 Website: https://sitahoesierra.org/ *Previous Grant Award: 2018 Impact Grant ($3,000) Grant Awarded. |
Literacy is a focus of Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra. Because students lose reading skills over the summer and the fact that there are many households in our community with no home libraries, our Summer Reading Program gives at least one book to every student on the South Shore Grades K-8, in June, shortly before summer vacation. These books are theirs to take home and keep. We are Literacy Partners with Scholastic Books and so we are able to purchase bargain boxes of books at a deep discount. For the last few years these books have not kept pace with the interests of our middle schoolers. We are asking for $2500 to enable us to purchase other books - still from Scholastic and still at a discount - that will be more in line with student interest. This will be done with teacher input at each grade level. It will potentially cost us an additional $2500 over our regular budget of approximately $6000.
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DCSD- Whittell & Zephyr Cove Elementary |
The Douglas County School District - Lake Schools, consisting of George Whittell High School and Zephyr Cove Elementary School, is requesting $5,000 for it’s Videography Project which will allow students to produce classroom and school-related videos to support content instruction. Funds will be used to purchase cameras, tripods, lighting equipment and green screens to create a video “studio” in each building. Student will have access to this equipment to engage in classroom projects and both schools will begin to develop a school “news” program that is broadcast to the student body weekly (with a goal to do a live broadcast to the student body daily). Development of the skills associated with videography support Nevada State Standards in English/Language Arts, Mathematical Practices, and Employability Skills. This program will help develop literacy skills as students learn to select and research a topic, write a script, create a storyboard, edit and present a final product. We believe that with this funding, the Lake Schools will be able to provide exciting and engaging 21st century, practical learning opportunities for our approximately 300 students.
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Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation |
LTEF is requesting $4,000 to be allocated solely for the Gift of Literacy project. None of this grant will go to fund LTEF Enrichment Grants or other activities. The Gift of Literacy is a fun and exciting program designed to help foster a lifelong love of reading in South Shore's 300 first graders. The program spans months of learning to read six to eight new books (selected by teachers on a variety of topics), discussing them in class, and selecting their favorite. On the day of the Spring event, students go to LTCC and hear an inspiring and engaging talk from the actual author/illustrator of one of the books they've read. They tour the campus and meet college professors for interesting age-appropriate lessons. For many of the kids, this is their first time on a college campus. Adult community volunteers from all walks of life read and discuss the books with the kids. Students receive a backpack with healthy snacks, fun learning aids, and their own new hardcovered book to take home - the one they selected as their favorite. Please join Soroptimists, LTUSD, LTCC and LTEF in giving this amazing Gift of Literacy.
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Lake Tahoe Environmental Science Magnet School PTA"Upgrading Our Bookroom to 2020 Standards"
Amount Requested: $5,000 Website: https://sites.google.com/view/ltesmspta Grant Awarded. |
The LTESMS PTA is requesting $5000 to upgrade our instructional reading resources (BOOKS!). This project will include doubling the size of our current bookroom with texts that support ELA and STEAM standards and inspire a love of literacy for our increasingly diverse student population. When LTESMS opened its doors in 2005 we were given used books handed down from other schools sites, those still make up 70% of our books used for teaching reading. This has left us with a random collection of texts that are tattered and falling apart, have been re-stapled and taped many times over, show very little diversity in race, religion, and cultural background of book characters, and discuss outdated social topics. A book room upgrade would include buying hundreds of books ranging from early phonics readers to higher-level chapter books to support students’ instructional needs and foster a love of reading. It would include purchasing bookshelves as well as investing hours in choosing, leveling, and labeling books. Most importantly, it would allow us the opportunity to respond to the specific needs of the students at LTESMS by stocking our shelves with books that can be used to teach reading for many years come.
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Whittell High School Boosters |
Whittell Boosters Club Inc. is requesting $4,482 for its Literary Support Project which will give our students opportunities to broaden their literacy tools in education. New equipment purchased will help students facilitate team work, creative thinking, reading and writing scripts to support fluency as well as individual reading levels. Projects will be centered around increasing reading comprehension and writing skills. Teachers and staff will be able to make posters to enhance student writing and extend student vocabulary on specific subject matter. The desktop will give students access to technology that aids in projects ranging from infancy to completion, in centralized, interdisciplinary and modern units.