April 7, 2010

As the Children's Librarian for the Big Horn County Library in Hardin, Montana, Donelle Boyer plans the library's annual summer reading program which gives many children a safe place to go with activities related to reading to keep their minds active all summer. This year, the summer reading program will involve one of Montana's most beloved outdoor activities, fishing, and Donelle requested $2,000.00 to purchase 150 copies of the “Fishing in a Brook: Angling Activities for Kids” book for each participant, life jackets, fishing hooks, weights and bobbers. With the new books and fishing gear Donelle's summer program is sure to bring lots of free educational fun to local school children.

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March 10, 2010

Sauuda Y. Eshé, our newest hero, works as a case manager at a job training center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, a city with one of the highest drop-out rates and youth violence rates of any of the surrounding cities. To help bring change to her community, Sauuda founded the Kindezi Rites Of Passage Youth Empowerment, which uses drums and movement as tools to reach troubled youth in the community. Sauuda has requested $5,000 to purchase a “family” of African drums to be used by hundreds of local children. The drums will include djembes, dun-duns, bells, rain sticks, a balaphone and other percussion instruments used in drum circles.

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February 20, 2010

Our newest hero, Kimm Cooney, is a licensed child and family therapist in Skowhegan, Maine. Kimm is also a runner and says she "wants to promote community wellness in an impoverished old mill town." She requested $2,000 to start a weekly walk/run race to get her community to either run, walk, or just come out and cheer their neighbors on.

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February 11, 2010

Applications continue to come in every day and in greater numbers than ever. To date there have been around 15,000 and it's harder than ever to narrow them down. I'm also seeing more smaller requests for two or three thousand dollars, in fact most requests this year have been for under $10,000. We are planning another surprise call next week. And here are a couple of hero updates: School nurse Alisha Obando's AED units have arrived at the school in American Falls, Idaho and they are all set to start training. And we just bought more running shoes for the inmates at the Topeka Women's Correctional Facility in Kansas thanks to our 2008 hero, Suzanne MacDonald.

January 26, 2010

With the current crisis in Haiti, we're proud to see that our Miami hero, Laura Kallus, who has been helping Haitian gang members turn their lives around by job training, is using their new silk screening equipment to raise money for Haiti's earthquake victims. The kids in the PanZOu project worked overtime to get T-shirts printed and to make a great poster. Kudos to Laura and everyone involved!

January 20, 2010

We’ve all seen news stories of a high school student who suddenly collapses and dies with no warning. In many cases, an automated external defibrillator (AED) could have saved that life. Our newest hero, Alisha Obando, is a school nurse in American Falls, Idaho, who hopes to prevent such a tragedy in her school district. Alisha requested $6,000 to purchase three AED units as well as the necessary cabinets, alarms, and hands-on instruction needed to train school staff members.

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January 12, 2010

Here's proof that a little can really go a long way. Assistant Warden of the C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center for Men in DeQuincy, Louisana, Jolene Constance, received $7,000 for books for their literacy program. So far, she has purchased over 12,000 books and she's only spent about half of the money. Jolene is the bargain shopper of the year!

January 7, 2010

A Teen Maze is a life-size game where participants examine the consequences of life's choices in a realistic, creative and fun way. Our newest hero, Shelly Bohl, who works as an office assistant for the Family Crisis Center in Bottineau, North Dakota, recently started the Teen Maze project at the local schools. Until now, she has had to borrow the pipe and drape system required to divide the stations but they are not always available. Shelly requested $6,000 for the tools needed to create at least 25 stations of their own, which will allow her to make the maze available to even more students.

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January 1, 2010

Happy New Year, everyone! I can't believe it's already been two years since I started Jenny's Heroes. As the new year begins I am excited to continue this grant program with even more Heroes who want to help those in need, one community at a time. I can't wait to see what 2010 will bring!

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