Grant Recipients | Milwaukee Peace Corps Association

Since 2002, MPCA has donated over $20,000 to projects throughout Milwaukee and the world. Please consider donating to MPCA to help fund new projects.

Announcing the Fall 2009 Recipients of $1,500 in MPCA Mini-Grants!

This fall the MPCA received several requests for financial assistance to help start-up and/or support community initiatives. This round of recipients includes 2 domestic and 3 international projects which will receive $300 each from the Milwaukee Peace Corps Association to help fund their community projects. We give a sincere 'Thank You' to all the donors who help keep the MPCA Mini-Grant program alive through your generous gifts! Our Fall '09 grants will go to the following Wisconsin PCVs and Milwaukee Community Organizations:

Sponsor	Amount	Location & Project
PCV April Williamson	$300	Co-ed Middle School Basketball Camp, Senegal: Middle school students in the area suffer from a lack of opportunity to participate in sports, recreation and extracurricular activities.
PCV Kelsey Schuder	$300	Women's Self-Awareness Project, Turkmenistan: Increasing self-esteem, self-confidence and health living practices among women.
PCV Judy Reed	$300	School Desk Project, Liberia: Assisting in the construction of an Elementary School by providing for roughly 25 of the 180 desks needed.
Michael Zahn	$300	Lissy's Place - Shelter for Homeless/Abused Women, Milwaukee: Providing food and shelter and assisting women in obtaining education, health care, and jobs.
Rodney Bourrage	$300	Operation DREAM - Youth Holiday Project: Purchase materials needed to make and sell Holiday decorations to fund a Winter Youth Outing.

Update from Library Project in Malawi

I apologize for not writing in the last few months.they have been the busiest yet of my service. I spent most of June holding meetings with the village headmen, chiefs, and villagers to discuss starting a community library. In the end, the chiefs donated an unused building (one of the nicest in the whole village-tin roof, cement, 3 rooms) and we established a gender-balanced committee to oversee the library and volunteer as librarians. We built shelves and moved a few thousand books, magazines, and newspapers by bicycle and balancing boxes on our heads. These books were donated by the National Library of Malawi, Peace Corps, and mostly, YOU!!! As the weeks went on, we received more and more members-children, out of school youth, parents, and grandparents. For less than 50 cents, they can become a member of our library-Nkhumbwe Community Library- for a whole year. Believe it or not, some still have to pay in installments. Sometimes I go and read stories to the kids, sometimes I help organize books, and sometimes I just sit and observe. But it always makes my day.

Other than the community library, I have been busy getting my seniors ready to take their national exams (next week) and organizing all of my teaching notes and materials to hand over to my colleague when I leave in 60 days! My experience has really come full circle and everything I felt 2 years ago- the bittersweet goodbyes and anxiety about what is to come-has come back to me. I am applying to graduate school-environmental science programs- and thinking about job opportunities until that happens. My last 60 days are going a lot faster than the 843 days did, and I am trying to spend time with the people I have to say goodbye to and savor what time I have left here.

I attached some photos of my two favorite activities in the village: community library and art club. Thanks again to everyone who has sent books, art supplies, etc.as you can see, they have been put to phenomenal use.

Until next time-which may very well be when I am back on American soil,

Jessica

April 2009 Mini Grant Recipients

5 Projects Receive Grant Awards!

MPCA is proud to announce the selection of 5 projects to receive a combined total of $1,500 in our third round of mini-grants! Among the recipients are two Wisconsin PCVs and three non-profit organizations (details below); each receiving a grant of $300. We thank all the applicants for their interest in our program, and wish the current beneficiaries all the best with their projects! As the recipients report back to us, we will post their stories and photos in our newsletter and on our website.

Recipient	Amount	Location & Project
Wisconsin PCV Katie Brown	$300	Aranos, Namibia, Africa: Student Camp – Taking a group of 20 students on a week long educational camping trip to the Namib Desert to learn environmentally friendly and economically feasible living.
Wisconsin PCV Tim Slattery	$300	Nahuala, Solola, Guatemala: Community Library – Expanding a small existing library with books, games and art supplies for low-income, rural indigenous youth
Swazilandse Sendi Ngkommissie	$300	Piet Retief, South Africa – Purchasing care-giving supplies (backpacks) for volunteer workers attending to rural victims of HIV/AIDS and their families.
Alliance Francaise de Milwaukee	$300	Milwaukee, WI – Launching the "French Through Food" summer day camp, teaching French vocabulary through healthy cooking lessons to at-risk youth ages 6-12.
Latino Entrepreneurial Network of SE Wisconsin	$300	Milwaukee, WI – Funding part of the cost of a week long summer camp for at-risk Latino youth ages 10-18, teaching entrepreneurship and basic business skills.

2008 Mini Grant Recipients

Recipient	Amount	Location & Project
Milwaukee Achiver Literacy Services	$500	Milwaukee, WI - Books for Adult Learners
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin	$500	Milwaukee, WI - Expanding Access to Care for Latina Women
Sefrou Women's Craft Association	$500	Sefrou, Morocco - Hand Weaving Project
Education Across Borders	$500	Dominican Republic - Adult Literacy Program
PCV Jessica Maxwell	$500	South Africa - HIV/AIDS & Health Awareness Day
PCVs Anne & Joe Mundell	$500	Honduras - Environmental Club for Youth Click here for a description and click here for the final report
PCV Jenna Mitchler	$500	Malawi - Secondary School Library
PCV Jessica Orlando	$500	Malawi - School Library Expansion
PCV Frederick De Worken-Eley	$500	Panama - Community IT Center

Community Giving to Milwaukee Organizations

Year	Amount	Project
2008	$340 (est. value)	Giving Tree for Hope House at Holiday Potluck $340
2006	$100	Sojourner Truth House
2006	$300	Lutheran Social Services (Refugee resettlement)
2005	$300	Catholic Charities, (Refugee resettlement)
2004	$200	Hmong American Friendship Association (Refugee resettlement)
2003	$200	International Institute of Wisconsin (Liberian refugee children support)
2002	$150	The Guest House
2001	$100	International Friendship Center (International student support, UWM)
2001 - 2005		Sojourner Truth House (Collection of items needed at annual Holiday party)

Peace Corps Partnership Projects

Year	Amount	Project
2008	$430	Philippines - Sustainable Farming
2008	$547	Mexico - Organic Crop Diversification
2007	$241	Mali - Composting Latrine
2007	$629	Mali - Well Repair
2006	$350	Togo - Sanitary Butcher Shop
2006	$350	Romania - Therapy Room
2006	$3,989	* Tanzania - Public Library
2006	$745	* Benin - Internships for Girls
2006	$300	Ukraine - Printer Project
2006	$300	India - Tsunami Assistance Project
2004	$250	Philippines - Job Training Center
2004	$250	Micronesia - Women’s Group Handicraft Shop
2004	$260	** Paraguay - Water Tank construction
2003	$250	Niger - Well project
2003	$250	Ghana - Basketball Court
* Possible through an anonymous donor ** Dover School/MPCA rummage sale profits

National / International Donations

Year	Amount	Project
2007	$250	Morocco - Women’s Cooperative Project
2007	$160	Kenya - Purchase of School Textbooks
2007	$302	Souls for Soles (551 pairs of shoes collected/shipped)
2007	$250	NPCA Virtual Community Fund
2006	$631	* Honduras/Tanzania - Book collection/shipping(2000 bks)
2006	$500	Global Giving Fund - Hurricane Katrina relief
2006	$150	Moldova - Youth harmonica band
2005	$150	Mongolia - ESL Resource Center
2005	$150	Grenada - Hurricane Relief
2005	$200	Niger - Famine Relief
2003	$200	Senegal - Casamance Fund (Ferry boat disaster)
2003	$300	** Togo - Girl’s Scholarships
2003	$100	Benin - Project Abeni
2002	$300	Afghanistan - International Refugee Committee
2001	$460	El Salvador - Girl's Scholarship Fund
1998-2002	> $1500	Trick or Treat for Unicef
* Possible through an anonymous donor ** Dover School/MPCA rummage sale profits