IndyStar's Our Children initiative gives away more than $180K to help kids

As part of our commitment to the community, IndyStar's nonprofit Our Children initiative has awarded $180,000 in grants to help kids in the greater Indianapolis area.

IndyStar’s Our Children project, funded in part by our annual Season for Sharing campaign, uses the power of journalism to make a difference in our city.

We know that hunger is a profound problem in Central Indiana. Gleaners Food Bank estimates there are 316,470 food-insecure residents in its 21-county service area; in Marion County alone, one in four children have limited or unreliable access to food.

Because of the seriousness of this challenge, we at IndyStar chose to focus our attention this year on new initiatives that address hunger in our community.

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Thanks to support from IndyStar readers and its employees, we recently granted:

►$50,000 to Edna Martin Christian Center for its Generation Gardens Project, a 12-week urban gardening program in Martindale-Brightwood designed to give families the skills and resources to become self-sufficient when it comes to producing food. At the end of the program, families will receive a gardening certification and will be able to keep all of the supplies they have received, including access to their raised beds for planting.

►$50,000 to the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee to reduce food insecurity by developing a smartphone app that will connect households in need with government and charitable food assistance.

►$50,000 to Second Helpings to fund new meal programs for homeless youth at Outreach Indiana, at-risk teens in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and children in after-school programs at Martin Luther King Community Center.

►$25,000 to TeenWorks for an employment/education program for disadvantaged teens at Indy Urban Acres. Ninety high school students will complete a six-week paid farming work experience, then go on to provide tours and nutrition education to 1,500 elementary school students. In addition, 2,000 clients at Bethel Food Pantry will receive the healthy crops grown by TeenWorks participants. Teens also will develop a business plan for an entrepreneurial venture selling vegetables and herbs.

►$4,500 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis to feed 100 families each week in a new after-school program at Global Prep Academy.

Also, we are continuing our commitment to fund and support a school-based food pantry. Now in its second year, the pantry at Stout Field Elementary in Wayne Township served 42,674 meals to 819 households last school year. IndyStar employees volunteer monthly to set up and distribute food to families.

Casey Foust, parent liaison at Stout Field, said the school's pantry has become more than just a place for families to get food.

"It has allowed us to cultivate a deeper relationship with our families," she said, giving staff an opportunity to see families at a vulnerable state and show them respect, kindness and concern beyond homework and spelling tests.

"It's also a real eye-opener for our staff on what our kids and parents are up against," Foust said. "This food pantry has made Stout Field a better neighbor to our community. We could not be more grateful for that."

Jennifer Vigran, CEO of Second Helpings, said the grant will provide tens of thousands of meals to children in after-school programs as well as homeless teens.

"Partners like IndyStar make it possible for Second Helpings to ensure that kids have the nutrition they need to thrive and grow," she said. "Because of the Our Children grant, more children around our city will be able to focus on homework and not hunger this year."

Since 2011, IndyStar's Our Children program has granted more than $1 million to local agencies in support of children in Central Indiana. But it's not just money that matters. When we write a story about a need or a problem in the community, we will tell you how to get involved — how you can mentor a child, volunteer at a school or donate to a food pantry.

"We want to inspire our community to come together to help children," said Patricia Franks Miller, president, Gannett Indiana.

Call IndyStar reporter Maureen Gilmer at (317) 444-6879. Email her at maureen.gilmer@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter: @MaureenCGilmer.