$222,000 lucky, in fact! Dave Matthews has again given out another set of grants to Charlottesville non-profits, totaling $222,000 in grants, and benefitting 39 grateful (and deserving!) non-profit organizations here in town. Evidently BAMA Works holds a competitive grant application process and selects the groups most in need of their funds every year (side note- this is very similar to the United Way’s Program Review and Funding Committee, that determines the allocation of the United Way’s grant monies each year.) We are blessed to have such strong supporters of our non-profits here in Charlottesville! Take a look at some of the grants, and what they are going to be used for.

If any of the projects sounds interesting, I’d venture to say that many of these non-profits are likely looking for volunteers to help carry them out!

The following is a complete list (Credit to Newsplex.com):

1. Albemarle County Schools (Monticello High School) – $3,000 for school supplies, books, field trips, glasses, and clothing to financially needy Monticello High School students.

2. Albemarle County Schools (Stony Point Elementary School) – $1,000 stipend to a professional songwriter who will teach music literary to students in Pre-K classes.

3. Albemarle Pipes and Drums Band, Inc. – $1,500 for musical instruments for the volunteer Celtic band at various community functions.

4. Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries – $5,000 to support a dance instruction curriculum to enhance the 5th-8th grade tutoring program at Walker Upper Elementary and Buford Middle School.

5. Charlottesville Area Dental Access – $10,000 to support the Community Children’s Dental Center that provides full service pediatric dental care for low-income children in Central Virginia.

6. Charlottesville City Public Schools (Adult Education Program) – $2,000 to help fund a one-day Festival of Cultures in Lee Park in the spring of 2010.

7. Charlottesville Jazz Society – $3,000 to fund educational program by which jazz artists teach local students.

8. Charlottesville Police Department Foundation – $10,000 to support police/community activities, including the Cops4Kids program that provides positive engagement with disadvantaged youth.

9. Children, Youth & Family Services – $8,000 to support the STAR Kids program that teaches positive social and decision-making skills to low-income preschoolers.

10. Covesville Child Development Center – $5,000 for scholarships to financially disadvantaged preschoolers from Albemarle and Nelson counties.

11. Fluvanna County Habitat for Humanity – $10,000 to help build one of five Earthcraft-certified homes for deserving Fluvanna County residents as a part of a new rural conservation cluster subdivision design.

12. Fluvanna County Schools (Fluvanna County High School) – $1,500 to help fund the Fluvanna County High School Blue and Gold monthly newspaper.

13. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville – $10,000 to help complete critical electrical work at Southwood Mobile Park.

14. Hope Foundation, Inc. – $10,000 to support the Hope Community Center’s afterschool program for elementary and middle school children in the Tenth and Page neighborhood.

15. International Rescue Committee – $10,000 to create an emergency fund for medical and dental assistance to Charlottesville refugees whose health insurance programs do not meet their health needs.

16. James River Association – $5,000 to support education efforts of the Upper James Riverkeeper program.

17. Monticello Area Community Action Agency (MACAA) – $10,000 to fund the Hope House transitional housing facility for homeless families.

18. Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville-Albemarle – $9,000 to provide hot meals for seven homebound disabled clients for one year.

19. North Branch School – $5,000 for the Naomi Scherr Memorial Scholarship to provide tuition assistance to needy students attending the North Branch School in Nelson County.

20. People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry (PACEM ) – $8,000 to fund the salary of the Guest Advocate position to assist shelter guests by creating a relationship of trust and to provide information about jobs, housing, and identification documents.

21. Piedmont CASA, Inc .- $5,000 to support a part-time teen specialist position to increase the effectiveness of advocacy for teens (13 to18) who are victims of abuse and neglect.

22. Quest Institute, Inc. – $2,500 for the Books Behind Bars program that collects and provides books without charge to incarcerated individuals in Virginia prisons.

23. QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia – $5,000 to introduce children throughout the CACF service area to the game of tennis.

24. Second Street Gallery – $2,000 to support Family Art Day and the Public Art Project which provide art education for the Charlottesville community.

25. Senior Center, Inc. – $5,000 to support arts and humanities programs to enrich the lives of area seniors.

26. Service Dogs of Virginia – $7,000 to provide a Service Dog Scholarship to support advanced training and placement of one diabetic alert service dog.

27. Spay/Neuter All Pets, Inc. (SNAP) – $2,500 to provide low-cost spay/neuter services to low-income residents of Louisa County.

28. Special Olympics Virginia – $7,500 to support a tennis tournament for individuals with intellectual disabilities in Charlottesville with participants from across the country.

29. Thomas Jefferson Area Coalition for the Homeless – $8,000 for supplies for the community kitchen at “The Haven at First and Market” (formerly known as the First Street Church Project) that provides daily meals and a food service job training program.

30. Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission/Jefferson Area Disability Services Board (DSB) – $3,500 to develop a home modification network for people with disabilities in the planning district.

31. Town of Mineral – $6,000 to modernize and expand Walton Park utilizing a plan by the Virginia Tech Design Group to attract more performing arts activities to Louisa County.

32. University Montessori School – $3,000 to complete construction of an outdoor classroom for environmental education classes.

33. UVA Rector and Visitors (UVA Children’s Hospital) – $3,000 to provide helmets to third grade children in Charlottesville and Albemarle, to be distributed through the Bike Helmet program.

34. Urban Vision – $8,000 to help start an incentive program for Friendship Court families with the goal to make families more self-sufficient.

35. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy – $3,000 for travel, lodging and honoraria for 10 authors/storytellers/illustrators to give presentations fostering the love of reading and literacy skills to local schools, youth and community organizations during the Virginia Festival of the Book March 17-21, 2010.

36. Virginia Organization of Consumers Asserting Leadership (VOCAL) – $5,000 to support Firewalkers: Changing the Story of Mental Health, a book and outreach project to educate the Charlottesville community about mental illness and to improve mental health services.

37. Wildlife Center of Virginia – $8,000 for environmental outreach programs for area elementary schools.

38. Wintergreen Adaptive Sports – $8,000 to support an ongoing sports program for wounded servicemen and women.

39. Writer House, Inc. – $3,000 for scholarship funds for disadvantaged youth to develop creative writing skills.

[From Dave Matthews Band Gives Back to Hometown]

[Photo Credit: http://wknc.org/blog/post/wp-content/uploads/dmb.gif]