Area teenagers award $10,000 in grants through Teens for Tomorrow Program

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A group of local teenagers have spent the past year identifying promising opportunities and pressing needs in the Quad Cities area as part of the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s Teens for Tomorrow program.

The students immersed themselves in the grant process by learning about community needs, developing a grant opportunity, evaluating applications, making site visits, and awarding grants. This year’s students chose four areas to focus their grants, including the environment, human safety, hunger and mental health.

“Year after year, the students who choose to be part of this youth philanthropy program remind me that the future of our region is in really good hands,” said Kelly Thompson, vice president of grantmaking and community initiatives, who leads the student group. “They take the role they play in making our region better very seriously, carefully learning about community issues that they believe should be addressed, meeting with nonprofits doing the work, and evaluating and awarding grants to organizations who are making our community stronger.”

The seven recipients of Teens for Tomorrow grants this year are:   

  • Christians Who Care, Inc.—$1,250, to support hunger relief efforts;

  • Churches United of the Quad City Area—$1,250, to support hunger relief efforts;

  • Family Resources—$2,000, for a summer program for children impacted by violence;

  • Lutheran Services in Iowa—$1,500, for behavioral health intervention services;

  • River Action—$2,000, to support the greening of Davenport’s riverfront;

  • Rock Island County Children’s Advocacy Center—$1,260, for human trafficking investigation education; and,

  • Vera French Foundation—$740, to support summer camp experiences at Rick’s House of Hope.

Applications are currently being accepted from local teenagers who wish to participate in the 2019/20 Teens for Tomorrow Program. Students can click here to fill out the application—which is due by May 31, 2019. The program is open to high school students in the Iowa-Illinois Quad Cities.

Ted Stephens IIITeens for Tomorrow, T4T Grant