Des Plaines awards $250,000 in social service grants
Thirty-seven community programs and groups that aim to assist troubled kids, homeless people, sexual assault victims and others in need will receive grants totaling $250,000 through an annual initiative in Des Plaines.
The city council approved the latest round of social service grants Monday.
The city's human services division oversees the program. A grant review committee evaluated 37 grant requests totaling $341,486, city social worker Angelika Danek told the council.
The grants were awarded based on several criteria, including the number of Des Plaines residents served in the past year, local needs, community support and the applicant’s fundraising efforts.
The grants included:
· $10,000 to the Children’s Advocacy Center of Northwest Cook County, a Hoffman Estates-based organization that provides services for abused children.
· Nearly $9,200 to the Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault, a crisis center based in Arlington Heights.
· Nearly $8,100 to the Josselyn Center, a Northfield-based organization providing mental health services.
· More than $7,100 to MaineStay Youth & Family Services, a Maine Township department that provides counseling and other mental health services.
· Nearly $5,900 to the Alliance for Immigrant Neighbors, a Des Plaines group offering affordable legal services to immigrants and refugees.
· $5,000 to the Harbour, a Park Ridge-based group that provides shelter to youth and young mothers experiencing homelessness.
· Nearly $4,800 to a food program at Messiah Lutheran Church in Park Ridge.
Mayor Andrew Goczkowski called the grant program one of the best uses of taxpayer dollars in the city.
“It’s a very small amount in terms of the greater scope of our budget, but the impact that it creates is dramatic,” he said.
Thirty-eight grants totaling $216,000 were awarded in 2023. Nearly all of last year’s recipients also will receive grants this year.