CareSource Provides Food and Grants to Support Local Families

Employees donate two tons of food; Foundation gives $148,500 in grants

DAYTON, Ohio, December 20, 2011 – This December, CareSource joined the fight against hunger by collecting more than two tons of food for area food banks in Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland and Lansing, Michigan. CareSource recognizes that hunger is a growing issue nationwide. For one in six Americans, hunger is a reality. The average food bank in the Midwest has seen requests for food assistance almost double in the last five years.

Last Thursday the food was tallied. CareSource employees donated over two tons of food which will go to 80 food banks in Ohio and Michigan.

The CareSource Foundation also awarded 25 non-profit organizations across Ohio and Michigan with a total of $148,500. The organizations focus on children’s and community health issues, special needs populations and the medically uninsured.

Foundation grant recipients include:

OHIO

  • Boys & Girls Club of Dayton: $7,500 to support a comprehensive health and wellness program for children aged 5 - 18 in the Dayton region
  • Catholic Charities of Toledo: $5,000 to fund operations of the Miriam House transitional housing facility for homeless women and children
  • Cherry Street Mission: $7,500 to provide shelter, food, medical exams, literacy tutoring and transitional housing for women coming out of homeless shelters in the Toledo region
  • College Mentors for Kids: $5,000 to fund a mentoring partnership between University of Dayton and the Dayton Boys Prep Academy
  • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Cincinnati: $5,000 to fund a 1,500-patient care center and CF-related research development program
  • The Drop-In Center: $5,000 to serve over 4,000 documented single homeless adults in Cincinnati with basic emergency shelter supplies
  • Free Medical Clinic of Cleveland: $15,000 to support operations of Ohio's largest free clinic serving over 11,000 individuals annually with medical, dental and behavioral health services
  • Family Outreach Community United Services (FOCUS): $5,000 to help homeless families in NW Ohio link to assistance services and gain economic stability
  • House of Bread: $7,500 to provide transportation of healthy, fresh food to after-school programs in Dayton's low-income neighborhoods
  • Linking Employment, Abilities & Potential (LEAP): $5,000 to fund advocacy work for people with disabilities including public policy, workforce development and statewide funding
  • Local Matters: $5,000 to help transform the urban food system in east Columbus by increasing access, supporting family farms and advocating for fair food policies
  • Madison County Health Partners: $7,000 to provide basic healthcare, social service counseling, prescription and financial assistance for the uninsured population of Madison County, Ohio
  • Meals on Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties: $5,000 to help underwrite the cost of meals to low-income, homebound and at-risk individuals in the Stark/Wayne county region
  • MLK Kitchen for the Poor: $6,000 to provide support for the comprehensive food program that serves almost 30,000 meals annually to sick, elderly individuals and low-income families
  • Ohio Association of Free Clinics: $5,000 to increase services for the uninsured throughout the state by bolstering the capacity of Ohio's free clinic network
  • The Potter's House: $7,000 to help support stationary and mobile food pantries for poor families in Scioto County, ranked least healthy of any of Ohio's 88 counties
  • Pregnancy Care of Summit County: $5,000 to help support programs for young, low-income mothers with education, cribs, diapers and baby clothing
  • Training in Prevention Services (TOPS): $3,000 to provide assistance for the Dayton-based AfterSchool Advantage program with an emphasis on healthy nutrition and physical exercise
  • Valley Counseling Services: $5,000 to support operations of the comprehensive mental health center in Warren serving over 5,000 individuals annually
  • Warren County Community Services: $5,000 to implement the "Get Healthy, Get Employed" program for low-income, head of household women in the Lebanon region

MICHIGAN

  • Baxter Community Center: $6,000 to support the volunteer-based pediatric clinic which supports over 600 children in the Grand Rapids region
  • Family Futures: $5,000 to help protect children from abuse and neglect through education, prevention and intervention
  • Hospice of Northwest Michigan: $5,000 to develop a grief support program for young children and teens
  • Manna Food Project: $7,000 to help provide a refrigerated van for the growing Food Resource program serving 35 pantries in Emmet, Charlevoix and Antrim counties
  • Mid-Michigan Medical Center: $5,000 to develop a wellness and anti-obesity campaign to assist the 30% of Gladwin-area youth living in poverty