by The Rev. Kevin Todd
Chair, PMH Grant Committee
On behalf of the Patricia Minkler Howell Grant Committee, I am pleased to share with you the Programs awarded grants for the 2024-25 Grant Cycle. The purpose of the Patricia Minkler Howell Grant is to encourage congregations, dioceses, and nonprofits to develop creative, new community-based outreach programs to and with children and youth in need. We are grateful to all those who applied for the grant this year, and we are excited to see how this grant continues to inspire holy imagination around ministry to and with children and youth, while also helping resource such work. We are deeply grateful for the generosity of George Howell and the Patricia Minkler Howell family for making this grant possible.
Organization: Camp Henry
Program: Bilingual Camp
Program Description: The Bilingual Camp session at Camp Henry offers access to traditional camp experiences for the Latino community in WNC. This session will follow the traditional flow of Camp Henry summer camp sessions, with morning and evening faith formation programming, and all of the outdoor activities available at Lake Logan. Last year, over 50 campers attended this session, and they are hoping to increase this number in 2024 as funding allows. The awarded amount will provide scholarships for 14+ campers.
Amount Awarded: $10,000
Organization: The Cathedral of All Souls
Program: Youth Acolyte Festival
Program Description: In collaboration with the Diocese of WNC youth programming, The Cathedral of All Souls, plans to host and organize an Acolyte Festival for youth in the Diocese in the Fall of 2024. This one-day festival will offer an array of workshops related to encouraging and educating acolytes, a luncheon, and a concluding worship celebration. 50-80 youth acolytes are expected to be impacted through this event.
Amount Awarded: $1,200
Organization: Children & Family Resource Center
Program: Full Tum, Dry Bum
Program Description: Children & Family Resource Center exists to nurture the development of children by building a strong foundation of family and community, serving nearly 4,000 children annually through its 17 different programs. The Full Tum, Dry Bum program is a formula and diaper assistance program open to all Henderson County families, offering this basic need at no cost to families while also creating relationships with caregivers; the program currently serves 180-200 children a month. The funds of this grant will be used to place a full-time intern through Blue Ridge Service Corps to support the duties and roles required by the program.
Amount Awarded: $6,300
Organization: Diocese of WNC Youth
Program: Pilot Program for Children’s Curriculum and Resources
Program Description: This program will help the DWNC Youth purchase curriculum and resources that they can share with churches as they discern and navigate building and growing their own children and youth programming. This program will also provide financial resources for smaller churches to purchase curriculum that suits their needs. The program plan includes hosting a Resource Fair event that will help churches navigate planning their community’s children and youth program.
Amount Awarded: $3,000
Organization: Food Connection
Program: Mobile Meals for Kids
Program Description: Food Connection’s Mobile Meals program rescues food that would otherwise go to the landfill, repackages it into individual meals, and delivers them to low-wealth communities with their Mobile Meals truck. This program allows children and families to receive nutritious, restaurant-quality food in a way that fosters a sense of dignity and empowerment. The Mobile Meals program currently serves 627 meals every week to children in Buncombe County.
Amount Awarded: $7,000
Organization: Grace in the Mountains
Program: Children in the Garden
Program Description: Grace Church in the Mountains will offer a program in their Community Garden space for children in Haywood County. The purpose of the program will be to create space for children to learn about life and death through gardening activities, and to reflect on their own experiences of grief and loss. The awarded funds will be used to hire a Garden Manager to create and oversee this program.
Amount Awarded: $5,000
Organization: Lake Logan Conference Center - Outdoor School
Program: School Outreach
Program Description: The Outdoor School at Lake Logan was awarded funding to support staff members for the 2024-25 season. The Outdoor School offers transformative outdoor experiences for youth and multigenerational groups, focusing on environmental education, leadership development, and personal growth, all aimed at empowering students to connect with nature, themselves, and each other. They hope that with the addition of seasonal Outdoor School instructors, they will be able to increase and diversify their program offerings to targeted clientele. The Outdoor School hopes this School Outreach program will continue to grow while also helping increase the exposure and growth of its summer programming.
Amount Awarded: $7,500