Hephzibah is honored to be one of 30 area nonprofits selected to receive some major league support in the form of new grant funding from Chicago White Sox! Last month, Board President Byron Taylor and Hephzibah Foundation President Mark Trinka, along with Executive Director Merry Beth Sheets and Director of Development Juliet Yera, attended Grant Recipient Recognition Day and participated in the on-the-field, pre-game ceremony.
Funding from the Chicago White Sox Community Fund supports Chicago areas agencies with programs in the areas of Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment, Health and Wellness Initiatives and Youth Education. The overreaching goal of the fund is to concentrate on poverty alleviation strategies that ultimately assist lower-income children, youth and families and provide tools and services to move them from poverty toward stabilization and self-sufficiency. For Hephzibah, the funding will help strengthen support for foster care children and foster care families through the services of a clinical advocate.
“The high needs of children in specialized foster care require extra attention, and maintaining placement stability for these children in their foster care families is a high priority,” says Julie Dvorsky, director of Family Based Services. “Multiple failed placements further traumatize the child, thus delaying, reducing or preventing his/her ability to recover and live a healthy life. With the services the clinical advocate, we can ensure that all children transitioning from living in an institutional or group home to living with a foster care family receive the specialized services they need and that the foster care families receive the critical support, services and training they need to ensure that the placement remains stable and successful for all.”
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