Grants in 2011
2011 – MAK TOWN: The Mark Andrew Kreusch Memorial Fund donated the funds for all of the buildings at The Life Enrichment Center’s new safety village, called MAK Town. MAK Town will serve young children with fun, practical lessons that address multiple aspects of safety. This self-contained program will highlight safety on the road and sidewalk as a bicyclist as well as a pedestrian, focusing on personal safety, responsibility and wellness. The focus will be on accident prevention highlighting the importance of wearing a helmet during biking, practicing biking rules of the road, basic bicycle maintenance, on personal safety and on fire safety. The centerpiece of the program is the permanent mini-town featuring scaled down buildings, streets and road signs just the right size for peddle cars and children. Children will be excited to navigate a town just their size and will learn to recognize and follow traffic signs and rules of the road. Children will use peddle cars in the program. Involving children in the program will include taking turns at being a driver, being a pedestrian, and being a crossing guard so that learning is maximized and reinforced. Classroom space in the LEC Bike Shoppe will be utilized for appropriate segments of the lessons. The program, adjusted to match specific age/developmental groups, will be available to local pre-school and elementary programs as well as individual families. Sessions will be offered several times a year, starting in the spring of 2011 and will be staffed by volunteers and managed by the Program Coordinator. Assistance from local police and fire departments will be solicited for curriculum and/or teaching expertise. Coordination is already underway with area organizations such as Greater Dayton Area Safe Kids (Coordinated by Dayton Children’s Medical Center) and Creating Healthy Communities. The grand opening was held on April 30th. Community leaders, volunteers and friends of the program all gathered to celebrate the opening of MAK Town. This will be a staple in the safety of the children in our community for years to come.
2011 – CHRIST CHILD SOCIETY – CLOTHE A CHILD PROGRAM: Christ Child Society of Dayton provides coats, shoes and uniforms to the neediest children in the Miami Valley. The children are given vouchers for these items and may go to area JC Penney stores to “purchase” the item of their choice. This project plans on handing out almost 1,000 vouchers to children in our area. The goal of this program is to keep children in school by providing them with the basic necessities in school clothing. Children will come to school in a warm, winter coat, their very own new shoes that fit, and the correct school uniform.