The Greater Salina Community Foundation recently awarded over $41,000 to 11 charitable projects and organizations in Saline County. The following organizations received funding:

• Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas, $5,000 to purchase playground equipment for children who access DVACK services at the organization’s new facility.
• Heartland Early Education, $5,000 for food to send home with children, birth to age five, with food insecurities.
• Salina Innovation Foundation, $4,929 to update The Temple’s wheelchair lift and ensure accessibility for the whole community.
• Salina Rescue Mission, $4,726.49 to replace the salad bar and add air curtains to the food preparation area.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Salina, $4,200 to host a weekly study hall for “littles.”
• Salina Media Connection, $4,000 for new cameras and equipment upgrades to the media truck.
• Salina Parks and Recreation, $4,000 for maintenance and updates to The Sound Garden in Oakdale Park.
• Sacred Heart Jr. Sr. High School, $3,134.95 for podcast and broadcast journalism equipment to implement into the STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) curriculum.
• Church of the Cross, $2,500 to host Night to Shine, a prom event to celebrate the special needs population (ages 14 and older) in the Salina area.
• Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas, $2,250 to develop a website, in collaboration with Salina Adult Education Center, which will serve as a comprehensive resource for job seekers and those who want to grow their workforce skills. The need for this project was identified during the Strategic Doing process.
• Friends of the River Foundation, $2,000 to create a documentary on the restoration of the Smoky Hill River, in collaboration with the Kansas Wesleyan University Communications Department.

This round of grants was made possible by four funds at the community foundation: the Dane G. Hansen Community Grant Fund, which supports projects and programs that improve the community’s quality of life; the Fund for Early Childhood Care, Education and Development, established by Mark and Jane Berkley to better prepare children in Ottawa and Saline Counties for kindergarten; the Kansas Health Foundation Fund, which supports the public health of Saline County; and the L.P. “Pat” Mullen Fund, which supports hands-on learning opportunities for youth in the areas of arts and humanities and science, technology and invention.

Applications for the foundation’s next community grant cycle are due by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, 2019. Detailed application and fund criteria are available at www.gscf.org/about-grants.