Dunham Nursing Scholarship – Advancing Nursing in Aurora/$750,000
Rush Copley Foundation, in partnership with Alden of Waterford, Aurora University, Dreyer Medical Clinic, Kane County Health Department, Visiting Nurse Association of Fox Valley and Waubonsee Community College, will implement a nursing scholarship program to build a high-performing, diverse workforce of nurses in Aurora, Illinois. Over the next two years, an estimated 100+ nursing education scholarships will be awarded at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels.

Breaking Free, Inc./$509,309 (2nd installment of three year grant)
Breaking Free provides in-school substance abuse counseling to area teens in their Dunham Student Assistance Centers.

Quad County Urban League/$333,334 (Final installment of three year grant)
From its John C. Dunham Educational and Vocational Training Center, the League provides advocacy and support programs that range from an alternative learning environment at Aurora Middle School Academy to emergency rental assistance.

Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund/$250,000
In the first quarter of 2009, the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund was established at the Fox Valley United Way in response to the unprecedented need for emergency food and shelter in the Aurora area during the recent economic downturn.

• Fox Valley United Way/$10,000
  This grant was made in appreciation of Fox Valley United Way’s administration of the Dunham Emergency Assistance Fund and for United Way’s achievement of the $100,000 match challenge for the fund.

 

Challenge for Change Grant Awards/$165,000 in total

• Institute for Collaboration’s Mathematics and Science Education System/$100,000
  The Institute and its partners brought together a collaborative coalition with the goal of developing an Aurora Mathematics and Science Education System that would culminate in a Magnet Academy for East Aurora and West Aurora elementary and middle school students who are gifted and talented in math and science. 
• Communities In Schools’ Community Assessment Project/$50,000
  The collaborators will develop a comprehensive, centralized data warehousing system for use by agencies who apply for funding both inside and outside Aurora. The primary focus of the project is to develop and analyze data that will support education and school-based community initiatives.
• Rush Copley Medical Center’s Binary Health Integration Project/$15,000
  Working with their six B-Hip collaborative partners in behavioral health, psychiatry, the Aurora East School District, and local human service agencies, the Copley family practitioners will coordinate the prevention, promotion, and especially, the early identification, intervention and treatment of mild to severe mental illness in children and teens in the Aurora area.


For a more comprehensive view of the Challenge for Change criteria and the three award recipients.

Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley/$180,000
The Dunham Fund Board of Advisors designated $180,000 for Dunham Scholarships for the 2010-2011 academic years to be administered by the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley.

• Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley/$2,700 The Dunham Fund Board of Advisors also allocated funding for hardware and software purchases to implement an on-line application process for the Community Foundation's Scholarship Program.

Hesed House Employment Training Program/$100,000
Hesed House, an area homeless shelter, in partnership with Waubonsee Community College and the Illinois Employment and Training Center, Aurora Jobs Council and local employers will collaborate in a transitional employment program to provide job skills preparation and employment opportunities for homeless individuals. The Dunham Fund grant will reimburse 50% of 20+ trainees’ salaries for 90 days with cooperating local employers.

Association for Individual Development Internship Program/$76,400 (Two-year grant)
This internship program is in collaboration with Aurora University and will provide twenty students in the Health and Social Services field the opportunity for hands-on experience in Behavioral Health, Development Training, Residential Services, and other interactions with clients. The goal of the program is to provide a path that leads to employment at AID and other service providers in the Dunham Fund service area.

Joseph Corporation/$50,000
Joseph Corporation is a community-based nonprofit organization that focuses on affordable housing and counseling programs for homeowners. This grant was given specifically to provide JoCo clients with home foreclosure counseling.

Fischer Middle School Math Innovation Project/$49,000
The Math Innovation Project at Fischer Middle School in Aurora's Indian Prairie School District 204 was funded by the Dunham Fund through the Indian Prairie Foundation to equip a state-of-the-art math classroom with the "Lrn2innovate" software program and thin client technology. 

Mutual Ground/$35,000
This Dunham Fund grant was provided for the continuation of Mutual Ground's domestic violence shelter which offers a unique program in the Fund's service area for women and children in need of protective emergency services.

Peaceful Schools/$25,000
The Dunham Fund grant provided staffing and materials for school sites for this Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley sponsored anti-bullying program.

Serenity House/$25,000
Serenity House provides housing for individuals with substance abuse issues who must be in a recovery program, be employed and able to pay rent. The residents maintain the home and cooperatively share household duties until they can relocate to their own independent living arrangements. The grant provided by the Dunham Fund will be used by Serenity House for a down payment on a new residence, with the mortgage on the home to be serviced by the rent paid by the residents.

Spectrios Institute for Low Vision/$25,000
This Dunham Fund grant will partially fund a program in the Aurora area providing educational opportunities, on-site clinics and financial assistance for adults and children in need of low-vision rehabilitation.

Rosary High School Student Scholarships/$23,675
This Dunham Fund grant will provide emergency assistance scholarships for two outstanding, minority women students from the Aurora area currently attending Rosary High School. This grant will help each woman complete her high school education and will be matched dollar for dollar by the Dominican Sisters' Minority Fund.

Kaneland School Foundation/$10,000
The Kaneland Foundation sponsors an annual arts festival for the educational benefit of area school children, their families and the community-at-large. This grant will fund quarterly performances for the community-at-large and the annual Home Town concert.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul St. Katherine Drexel Conference/$10,000
This Dunham Fund grant will help the St. Katherine Drexel Conference with seed money for a new 501(c)(3) organization of volunteers who will respond to the increased demand for individuals in need of emergency assistance with rent, utility, food, clothing and medical payments during the current economic climate.

Waubonsee Community College's Dunham Early College Academy/$574,500 (2nd installment of two year grant)
The academy makes it possible for qualifying students, who might not ordinarily aspire to higher education, at both East and West Aurora high schools, to take college-level courses each afternoon during the school year and, therefore, graduate from high school with nearly a year's worth of transfer college credit.

Quad County Urban League/$333,333 (2nd installment of three year grant)
From its John C. Dunham Educational and Vocational Training Center, the League provides advocacy and support programs that range from an alternative learning environment at Aurora Middle School Academy to emergency rental assistance. Overall, the League seeks equal opportunities for all disadvantaged persons and people of color, including African Americans, women and persons with disabilities.

Visiting Nurse Association of the Fox Valley/$200,000 (2nd installment of two year grant)
The Visiting Nurse Association built and equipped the John C. Dunham Pediatric Wing in the VNA's new, federally qualified health care center in Aurora.

Breaking Free, Inc./$144,756 (1st installment of three year grant)
Breaking Free provides in-school substance abuse counseling to area teens in their Dunham Student Assistance Centers.

Aurora University's Dunham Scholars Program/$100,000
Dunham Scholars are Aurora University juniors and seniors who major in Business fields. Selected based on scholarship, character, work ethic and commitment to service, Scholars receive one-year renewable tuition scholarships.

Rush-Copley Medical Center's Family Medical Practice Residence Program/$100,000
Rush-Copley Medical Center provides hands-on support programming for residents aspiring to be Family Practice physicians.

Joseph Corporation/$64,000
Joseph Corporation is a community-based nonprofit organization that focuses on affordable housing and counseling programs for homeowners.

Fox River Study Group/$50,000
This Dunham Fund grant will help to fund the Fox River Study Group for its computer modeling, watershed study of the Fox River to measure the environmental and developmental impact of the river on its river edge communities in the Fox River Valley region.

Paramount Theatre/$50,000
The Paramount Theatre will offer scholarships to disadvantaged youth in the Dunham Fund service area to attend the newly established Paramount School of Performing Arts, a program introducing youth to music, dance and theatre arts.

Peaceful Schools/$50,000
The Dunham Fund grant provided staffing and materials for two additional school sites for this Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley sponsored anti-bullying program.

Dominican Literacy Center/$45,000
The Dominican Literacy Center has completed a capital project to expand and equip its literacy programming area in its current facility to accommodate an increasing number of clients.

Boardroom Bound/$40,000
Boardroom Bound will provide board governance education to area nonprofit organizations.

Youth Outlook/$37,500
This community-based nonprofit organization which counsels youth on alternative life styles will open a new center in the Batavia/Geneva area.

Larkin Center/$35,000
This nonprofit residential and day treatment center for emotionally disturbed children and adults completed much needed repairs and renovations to the original Larkin home.

Mutual Ground/$25,000
Mutual Ground's domestic violence and sexual abuse counseling staff provides youth awareness programming to over 40,000 students in Aurora schools.

Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley/$10,000
This grant was made in appreciation of the Community Foundation's outstanding administration of the Dunham Scholarship Program for area high school seniors.

The Dunham Fund Board of Advisors also designated $150,000 for Dunham Scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic years, increasing their original allocation by $50,000. The Community Foundation also administered a community-wide nonprofit seminar, co-sponsored by the Dunham Fund, Fox Valley United Way and the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley.

Kaneland School Foundation/$10,000
The foundation sponsors an annual arts festival for the educational benefit of area school children, their families and the community-at-large.

Aurora University’s Dunham Scholars Program/$100,000
Dunham Scholars are Aurora University juniors and seniors who major in Business fields. Selected on the basis of scholarship, character, work ethic and commitment to service, Scholars receive one-year renewable tuition scholarships.

CASA Kane County’s Child Advocate Training Program/$75,000
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is a nonprofit, volunteer organization whose members advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in the Juvenile Court system.

Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity/$142,500
Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity constructed a Habitat home in Montgomery, Illinois.

Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley/$5,000
The Community Foundation administers the Dunham Scholarship Program for area high school seniors.

The Dunham Fund Board of Advisors also designated $100,000 for Dunham Scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic years.

Quad County Urban League/$333,333 (1st installment of three year grant)
From its John C. Dunham Educational and Vocational Training Center, the League provides advocacy and support programs that range from an alternative learning environment at Aurora Middle School Academy to emergency rental assistance. Overall, the League seeks equal opportunities for all disadvantaged persons and people of color, including African Americans, women and persons with disabilities.

Senior Services Associates, Inc./$5,000
A not-for-profit agency that helps seniors access appropriate social services.

Visiting Nurse Association of Fox Valley/$50,000 (1st installment of two year grant)
Visiting Nurse Association renovated and equipped the Dunham Pediatric Wing in the VNA’s new, federally qualified health care center in Aurora.

Waubonsee Community College Dunham Early College Academy/$495,750 (1st installment of two year grant)
The Academy makes it possible for qualifying students, who might not ordinarily aspire to higher education, at both East Aurora and West Aurora high schools to take college-level courses each afternoon during the school year and, therefore, graduate from high school with nearly a year’s worth of transfer college credit.