THE COOKERY PROJECT
The Cookery Project is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to instilling healthier eating habits through food literacy, and life skills training to economically disadvantaged youth in South Alabama. The mission is to engage and empower children and adolescents through food sourcing, nutrition education, and culinary experiences. The Cookery Project has four key pillars that guide its goals and desired outcomes: The importance of knowing how to source and grow affordable food, understanding the impact of nutrition and healthy eating on our bodies, developing a love for cooking as a lifelong skill, advancing STEAM education through culinary experiences. The Cookery Project intends to partner with Florence Howard Elementary School and build 10 aeroponic garden towers. Through these towers and potential farmers market and culinary club, The Cookery Project could serve up to 480 people in the Avenue community.
$25,000
ROUND BUT SQUARE ART STUDIO
Round But Square's mission is to empower people to live artful lives, develop creative confidence, and experience self-expression through art as a healthy alternative to screen time. The art teachers of the studio intend to partner with Florence Howard Elementary School to provide art education and the resources to invest in the creativity and confidence of the children in The Historic Avenue Foundation community. Resources and teachers will be provided to children so they can leave with art they are proud of. Kids being kids, able to express themselves.
$8,500
City of mobile swim association
City of Mobile Swim Association’s Water Safety Initiative. The grant funds would enable this program to educate 100 students from the Florence Howard Elementary School in water safety and swim lessons. The two-week, 8-class program will be held during the summer to accommodate the busy schedules of enrolled families. Supporting this initiative will give enrolled students the opportunity to learn how to swim and potentially save a life. CMSA will provide each student with a pair of goggles and a t-shirt. Additionally, students will be registered as a USA Swimming Outreach Athletes and become eligible to join the City of Mobile Swim Association as a member once they have sufficient skills.
$8,500
FLOURISH
Flourish is a community that empowers teen girls to grow into the women they were created to be. They offer life coaching, mentorship & skills training for over 20 girls weekly in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Grant funds will be used to purchase a 12-passenger van to help improve their obstacle of transportation and also fund the Flourish Community Center through 2023. These funds will also allow them to expand their health and wellness mentoring into The Historic Avenue Foundation. They plan to execute a monthly gathering for The Historic Avenue Foundation community girls at Fuse Factory to offer Flourish services.
$8,500
DWELL MOBILE
Dwell Mobile is a nonprofit that provides post-resettlement acclimation services and support to refugee families who have relocated to Mobile, Alabama. In 2019, Fuse Project awarded Dwell Mobile with a $20,000 grant to start an after school tutoring and soccer program. The Dwell Mobile tutoring and soccer project will serve the children of international refugees who have been resettled in our city by equipping them with the educational skills they need to succeed in school while also providing a sense of belonging and community on the soccer field– a place in which many of them already excel. These children have come from violent conflict or refugee camps and, upon their arrival, face barriers to thriving in their schools and communities due to past trauma, cultural differences, poor English language skills, and a lack of formal education compared to their American peers. With these funds, Dwell Mobile will be able to fully develop an after-school program designed to alleviate these obstacles and to prepare these children to be contributing members of their communities by partnering them with subject and language tutors and encouraging them to build cross-cultural relationships through team-based activities such as soccer.
$20,000
REDEMPTION’S PLACE
Redemption’s Place is a therapeutically-infused organization that will offer educational, employment, community involvement, and mentoring programs that are assisted by mental health clinicians and all uniquely designed for underserved and disadvantaged communities. It will be a hub in which effective organizations in the area will be able to collaborate in providing cohesive efforts under a Trauma-Informed Care system of support, bringing “the village” back. An affiliate of ICU Mental Health, Redemption’s Place was awarded a $20,000 grant by Fuse Project in 2021 to pilot a program to improve mental health awareness, access to mental health services, and community engagement for youth and their families in the Historic Avenue communities. More specifically, these funds will be utilized for 50 non-Medicaid families and individuals to receive up to 12 individual therapy sessions.
$20,000
Boys & girls club of south alabama
Boys & Girls Clubs of South Alabama’s vision is to provide a world-class club experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who walks through their doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle. The Boys & Girls Clubs plans to utilize this funding for their Power Hour: Making Minutes Count homework help program at our 5 Clubs. This program provides every child the opportunity to complete their homework Monday – Thursday at the Club with staff and volunteers. Specifically, the funds will help restock their homework areas with the needed supplies such as pencils, paper, folders and other school supplies for youth.
$1,200
100 black men of greater mobile
The 100 Black Men of Greater Mobile, Inc. is a non-profit organization designed to create a pool of resourceful leaders who are committed to the formation and implementation of programs set up to enhance the four goals of the future: Mentoring, Education, Health/Wellness, and Economic Development. Mentoring The “100 Way” is designed to help boys and girls, who exhibit poor academic performance and who frequently engage in risk taking behavior. We at the “100” provide these students a positive, adult role model to assist in becoming productive citizens. The tutorial program is designed to improve academic performance, increase self-confidence, improve school behavior, and increase knowledge of career choices by providing individual and group mentoring on a regular basis.
$10,000
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS of south alabama
The Big Brothers Big Sisters mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. In 2020, Fuse Project awarded BBBSSA with $15,000 for Mentoring in the Avenue. These funds will allow 10-15 new mentor/mentee matches in the Avenue community.
$15,000
big brothers big sisters of south alabama
Awarded in 2018, these funds will be utilized to enhance BBBSSA’s ongoing volunteer training opportunities starting with a "lunch and learn" event at the Crescent Theatre. They’ll be showing the film "Resiliency" and hosting a panel discussion focused on Trauma Informed Care. This will be the first of many continuous learning opportunities that will support and help equip our volunteers and community members with the skills needed to be the best possible "Big Brothers' and "Big Sisters" as they strive to develop meaningful long term relationships with the children we serve, our Littles.
$3,000
THE HISTORIC AVENUE FOUNDATION
In 2019, Fuse Project awarded The Historic Avenue Foundation with $20,000 to help launch their Housing Rehabilitation Initiative. The Historic Avenue Foundation’s approach is proven and inspired by the Purpose Built Communities model, which gives us the unique opportunity to transform our community with a truly holistic approach, focused on housing, education, and community wellness. Within a defined neighborhood, we are making investments in mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education, and community health and wellness. We believe the nature of the problem dictates that the solution needs to be both place-based and address the full range of challenges that, collectively, contribute to the negative outcomes in our community.
$20,000
Light of the village
Light of the Village is a hands-on Christian Ministry designed to share Christ’s message of faith, hope and love to the inner city. Serving six days a week, the organization strives to have a consistent presence where the love of Christ can be discovered. The $4,000 awarded to Light of the Village by Fuse Project in 2018 will help underwrite Camp Peace, their new ministry site at the Figures Center in Toulminville. This site will be similar to their existing four sites across the city. Children will participate in Bible study, sports, arts and crafts and overall adult mentorship. The six weeks of Summer Bible Camp will be followed by an after-school program. Children are not charged any fees- thus all children wishing to attend may do so.
$4,000
wilmer hall children's home
Wilmer Hall Children’s Home is a nonprofit faith-based organization that has been serving children in need in Mobile since 1864. Wilmer Hall serves children and young adults through several on-campus programs that provide tutoring, on-campus living and other tools needed to succeed. These funds, awarded by Fuse Project in 2018, will go towards Wilmer Hall’s Education4Life Program. This includes some renovations to one of the main buildings on campus, McDowell Hall, and moving the education program into this space which will allow them to have more room and expand the program. Funds from Fuse Project will be specifically used for internet and new desks.
$3,000
alabama coastal foundation's mobile bay estuary corps program
ACF's Mobile Bay Estuary Corps Program is now able to promote wise stewardship to 1,200 area middle school children about water quality and living resources of Alabama's estuaries through education, volunteer experience, and career path guidance. Alabama's natural resources are at risk, and the best way to correct this problem is through education.
$10,000
Fuse Factory
Fuse Project's Nonprofit Co-Working Space is a new co-working space for local nonprofits located on the 4th floor of 200 Government Street. It will be a modern space that is forward thinking for our community and will continue the groundswell of momentum for the re-development of downtown Mobile. It will allow nonprofits to collaborate, network and share ideas to eliminate cross-over and create best practices among them.
$30,000
soccer4life
Soccer4Life’s founder is Zenzo Ndlovu, Coach Z, who came to the University of Mobile from Zimbabwe on a soccer scholarship in 2000. After graduating, Coach Z accepted as his life’s mission to use his soccer skills to bring discipline, faith, respect for self and others, and an emphasis on education to at-risk inner city children. Soccer4Life currently provides fall, winter, spring and summer soccer programs with some 60-70 children in each program. Fuse Project will help funding for insurance, assistant coaches, transportation and equipment.
$5,000
The Family center
The Family Center’s mission is to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect by providing free and low-cost education, training and support to parents and caregivers in Southwest Alabama. Fuse Project provided funding that would be utilized for their Divorce Care 4 Kids Program, which is a 12-week course for children ages 6-12 experiencing the difficult transition of their parents’ divorce. The children will meet two hours each week and do a variety of activities and lessons with the group leader, an LPC, and two co-leaders.
$500
wilmer hall children's home
Wilmer Hall Children’s Home is a nonprofit faith-based organization that has been serving children in need in Mobile since 1864. Wilmer Hall serves children and young adults through several on-campus programs that provide tutoring, on-campus living and other tools needed to succeed. In the fall of 2016, Fuse Project donated funding for new laptops for Wilmer Hall’s Satellite Education Program.
$3,000
prichard preparatory school
Prichard Preparatory School was founded in 2005 and provides top quality education to children in low-income areas. Prichard Prep offers the choice of private school to parents at a highly discounted, affordable tuition rate. The school will outgrow its classrooms next school year and needs to reconstruct parts of the second building in preparation. Fuse Project would help with funding for this endeavor.
$5,000
Daphne Kappa League
Nationally, the Kappa League revolves around five separate but mutually interactive phases: Self–Identity, Training, Competition, Social and Health Education. Projects, which vary from attending cultural affairs to planning college fairs, to learning proper etiquette in formal and informal settings are all generated from the nucleus of the five phases. The Daphne Kappa League consists of students from the following schools: Baldwin County High School, Daphne High School and Spanish Fort High School. Fuse Project will help fund college tours and college readiness programs for the Daphne Kappa League.
$5,000
Feeding the gulf coast
Feeding the Gulf Coast’s mission is to provide nutritious food and meet the challenge of feeding people who are hungry as a result of personal crisis or disaster. They work to educate the public regarding domestic hunger, proper nutrition, and related issues. In 2016, Fuse Project’s Order of Fuse organization approved the donation of $25,000 for Feeding the Gulf Coast’s feeding and nutrition programs in Baldwin County. During the 2016-2017 year, Feeding the Gulf Coast will implement the following programs in Baldwin County:
4 Cooking Matters for Kids Series;
2 School/Community Gardens; and
15 Taste Tests; and
15 School Pantry Distributions.
$25,000
the learning tree
The Learning Tree’s mission is to provide a warm and loving environment with individualized empirically validated services and supports to persons with a significant educational, medical and behavioral challenges; helping them develop and maintain a quality of life expected by non-disabled members of their family and community. Woody’s Song School is a non-traditional year-long day school serving children with autism spectrum disorders. This unique educational program focuses on increasing skills in the areas of language, socialization and cognition, while decreasing behaviors that interfere with learning.
$25,000
Team focus
Team Focus is an enrichment program for fatherless boys, founded by Mike and Mickey Gottfried in the year 2000, that aims to fill the “void” in the lives of these boys and young men and help each to succeed and become a moral productive citizen that contributes positively to society. In 2017, Fuse Project’s Order of Fuse approved the donation of $25,000 to Team Focus for Team Focus Summer Leadership Camp on July 13-16, 2017 in Mobile, Alabama. The goal of Team Focus is to provide young men that do not have a father figure in their life (ages 10 – 18) with leadership skills, guidance, Godly values and a continual relationship with a mentor. Implementing Fuse Project’s IMPACT standards, Team Focus will strive to achieve this goal by serving 70 young men in the local community during the 2017 summer camp.
$25,000
NEST of Mobile
NEST of Mobile serves the needs of at-risk families and children in Mobile County. Their goal is to nurture children, equip parents, strengthen families, and transform communities by pairing teams of court approved volunteers with at-risk families who are in need of support, mentoring and skill development. They utilized this grant to provide academic tutoring funds for their newly formed teams. Their teams work with families and schools to help coordinate the tutoring sessions for their youth referral. Team members provide transportation to these sessions as well. The number one need for NEST youth is academic assistance.
$1,200
Light of the village
Light of the Village is a hands-on Christian Ministry designed to share Christ’s message of faith, hope and love to the inner city. Serving six days a week, the organization strives to have a consistent presence where the love of Christ can be discovered. In May 2016, Fuse Project’s Order of Fuse Organization approved the donation of $22,040 so Light of the Village could purchase a van for use at their summer bible camps.
$22,040
big brothers big sisters of south alabama
For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people.
$25,000
University of south alabama college of education
The University of South Alabama’s College of Education’s (USA) Literacy Center serves as a community outreach program that provides best practice literacy instruction and educational support to P-12 students and families seeking to acquire the skills necessary for success in academics and, in doing so, to improve their quality of life. These funds will be used for center materials and supplies, Summer Literacy Camp for an estimated ten students, Fonde Elementary Literacy Enrichment Camp for an estimated 40 students, Williamson High School and Middle Grades Preparatory Academy tutoring for an estimated 20 students, and assessment and 20 one-on-one tutoring sessions on-site for an estimated ten students with financial need.
$20,750
Mobile police department
Mobile Police Department (MPD) will use these funds to expand the “You Still Have a Choice” program throughout the Mobile County Public School System. MPD will use these funds to train officers by having them complete a ten-hour online training program. Following completion of online training, the officers will attend the immersive program in Chicago that teaches the officers how to operate within the classroom space for the above named initiatives. Officers will then use these enhanced skills to interact with 6th grade students in a classroom setting with the goal of fostering more permanent relationships with the students as they enter high school. Together with the Fuse Project IMPACT program, MPD’s goals for the 2017-2018 school year are to help the students acknowledge who they are, eliminate bullying, and encourage them to report any illegal activity.
$7,250
Mobile baykeeper
Mobile Baykeeper’s mission is to protect and preserve the beauty, health, and heritage of the Mobile Bay Watershed, Alabama’s waterways, and coastal communities. These funds will be used for the Strategic Watershed Awareness Program (SWAP) educational project. SWAP addresses the lack of connection and awareness to local watersheds by educating and engaging youth and adults about the environment to encourage lifelong learning and stewardship. Mobile Baykeeper will conduct 25 full day sessions of SWAP. The goal for attendance to each session will be 60 students, resulting in approximately 1,500 students being engaged throughout the program year. Excursions will also be conducted allowing approximately 110 students to participate in guided kayak trips and delta safari boat trips.
$15,000
Little Angels, inc.
Little Angels, Inc. is a newly formed nonprofit organization in Mobile County providing unique assistance to children at an economical disadvantage. Their mission is to help families in meeting the needs of children from birth to five years of age who are negatively impacted by the economy by providing certain daily essentials. Little Angels will implement the Teen Parenting Project and will provide free access to diapers and wipes to children in need while preventing and diminishing abuse and neglect. These funds will be used to support administrative costs of Little Angels and to purchase diapers and wipes to increase their inventory designated for the participants of the Teen Parenting Project.
$5,000
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS
The Big Brothers Big Sisters mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people.
$25,000
DANCE WITHOUT LIMITS
Dance Without Limits (DWL) strives to provide professional dance instruction to all special needs individuals – regardless of their dis”ability.”
All of our dancers participate to their maximum potential. Wheelchairs are forgotten, tight muscles are stretched, social skills and confidence are enhanced and no speech is needed in dance. It is truly an art form that we believe EVERYONE can participate in! Each dancer gets a “helper” to assist them through class. Some need no assistance, just some encouragement. Others need help standing, staying with the beat or just help staying on task. These “helpers” are all incredible volunteers ranging from Occupational or Physical Therapy school students, Camp Smile Volunteers, Special Ed teachers, moms, or just really incredible individuals with a heart for special needs kids. They are what make DWL work and we love them!
$25,000
