International Association of New Haven Awards $72,000 to Five Local Multicultural Organizations
March 19, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for many New Haven non-profit groups, but in March, the International Association of New Haven (IANH) awarded $72,000 in grants to help five local organizations fund projects that will continue to serve their diverse communities in 2021.
Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership, Inc (LEAP) was awarded a grant of $17,000 to expand Spanish and ELL -- English Language Learner -- materials for students and counselors in their summer program and on their website. They also plan to add after-school language and cultural enrichment classes when New Haven Public Schools resume full-time.
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) was awarded a grant of $10,000 to support performances and community conversations that will showcase works by composers of color. NHSO has created this musical project to encourage dialog and understanding about race relations in America.
Read To Grow, which provides picture books to new babies and mothers, was awarded a grant of $10,000 to fund the translation of childhood literacy materials for immigrant parents. The materials will be developed in Arabic, Farsi, French, Pashto, and Swahili. In addition, they will use the IANH grant to purchase bilingual children's books to distribute to families in New Haven.
Sanctuary Kitchen, a community-based culinary program led by refugee and immigrant chefs, was awarded a grant of $20,000 to develop curriculum modules for Culinary Training, English language classes and Public Speaking. To help recover from their catering loss during the pandemic, Sanctuary Kitchen will also use the grant to update their marketing and online sales platform.
Yale-China was awarded a grant of $14,700 to create a toolkit of art projects for classroom teachers based on untold stories of Asians and Asian-Americans in New Haven. The project will encourage partnerships between artists -- who have been struggling during the pandemic -- teachers, and groups in the community. The goal of the Asian stories and art projects in the toolkit will be to stimulate critical thinking, empathy, and imagination.
To be eligible for International Association grants and sponsorships, community non-profits can check the website at ianewhaven.org. Groups must be registered 501(c)3 organizations whose programs advance international, intercultural and global understanding. Grants can be awarded for up to two years in succession.
Past IANH grant winners have included Immigrant and Refugee Services (IRIS), Music Haven, The International Festival of Arts and Ideas, New Haven Children’s Museum, Long Wharf Theater and The Institute Library.