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The NASP Children's Fund
NASP Children's Fund Haiti Earthquake Relief
The NASP Children's Fund is collecting donations for the Haiti Fund to help provide
relief for the people of Haiti who have suffered the devastating affects of the
earthquakes in January 2010. The Children's Fund will be establishing two funds:
the first will come from the monies donated by mail or online through the NASP website
and will be given to the American Red Cross for the immediate relief effort; the
second fund from donations at the Children's Fund booth at the Chicago Convention
will be used for support of Haitian children and families who have come to the United
States for basic needs such as clothing, eyeglasses, etc. One hundred percent of
all donations will go directly to the recovery effort, both in Haiti and the United
States. The Board of Directors of the Children's Fund has allocated $1000 to be
used to match contributions as they are received.
Credit card donations can be made online. Donations by check can be made
out to the NASP Children's Fund, marked "Haiti Fund," and mailed to: Judy Martin,
NASP Children's Fund Treasurer, 9000 226th Court, Villa 14-A, Salem, WI 53168. Thank
you for caring.
NASP resources for supporting students here in the United States
are available online.
Purpose
The NASP Children's Fund is a tax-exempt, non-profit, independent charity. The Fund
accepts and disburses monies for charitable purposes that are consistent with the
Fund's priorities. These include:
1. Advocating for the essential rights and welfare of all children and youth;
2. Embracing individual and group differences in children and youth based upon gender
and diverse ethnic, cultural, language, and experiential backgrounds;
3. Promoting learning environments which facilitate optimal development; and
4. Producing effective interventions that address both learning and social/emotional
issues that impede a child's success and happiness.
Structure
The Children's Fund is administered by a board of ten trustees elected by NASP Delegates
at Delegate Assembly that occurs in conjunction with the NASP annual convention.
Two representatives are elected from each of four regions and two others are elected
as at-large members. Trustees serve staggered four-year terms.
For more information about the NASP Children's Fund, please consult the
NASP Children's Fund Annual Report (PDF) or contact one of the current members
of the Board of Trustees listed below.
Donations and Membership
Anyone may donate to the Children's Fund. The Fund accepts cash donations and gifts
of goods or services for their auction at the NASP annual convention. NASP members
may add a cash donation to their NASP membership application/renewal form or send
a check payable to the "NASP Children's Fund" to NASP, 4340 East West
Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814.
There has been some confusion in the past regarding how to become a member of CF.
The easiest way to become a member is to send $10 to Judy Martin, CF Treasurer,
stating that you want to become a member. A donation alone does not constitute
membership in CF. The same can be done through the NASP office as
long as a statement of intent to become a member is included.
Board of Trustees
Northeast Region
Janet Friedman (New Jersey) jannasp@comcast.net
Mark Roth, Vice President (Maine) mmroth1@myfairpoint.net
Southeast Region
E. Jeanne Pound, Secretary (Georgia) ejpound@aol.com
Beverly Winter (West Virginia) bevwinter1@suddenlink.net
Central Region
Juliette Madigan (Ohio) Julmadigan@aol.com
Judy Martin, Treasurer ( Wisconsin) MARTIJUD@salem.k12.wi.us
West Region
Joelene Goodover, President (Montana) jsong@mail.centric.net
Abby Gottsegen (Utah) abby.gottsegen@comcast.net
At-Large
Fulvia Franco (Utah) fulvia.franco@jordan.k12.ut.us
Joe Gerard (Alaska) jgerard@gci.net
Ex-Officio
Susan Gorin, NASP Executive Director sgorin@naspweb.org
Staff Liaison
Joseph Janela, NASP Chief Operating Officer jjanela@naspweb.org
Current Projects
Community Outreach
In 2002, during the Chicago Convention, the Children's Fund initiated a project
in Chicago to give something back to the community in which the NASP convention
takes place. With the cooperation of school psychologists from Chicago, two
schools were located and over 250 books were distributed to preschool and primary
level students. Each book was personalized with the name of the first name
of the student, two friends, the child's teacher, school and principal. Board
members and NASP leaders visited the schools to hand out the books and spent time
in the classrooms reading and visiting with students.
The project was so successful that the Board decided to do the same thing in Toronto,
Dallas, Atlanta, Anaheim, and New York City. The Board decided last year that funds
in New Orleans would be directed towards a project that would have a lasting impact
on the community. CF was the lead sponsor for a playground build that was conducted
during the New Orleans Convention week in February 2008. The Board was excited to
participate in this event with community leaders, NASP members, and children and
parents of the community school. Information can be found regarding the build on
this website and past issues of the Communiqué.
Thanks to all who participated in this wonderful project and donated their time
in the interest of children and community. Without all of you it never could have
happened!
Youth Empowerment Mini-Grants
The Children's Fund continues to support student-initiated projects based on the
work of Peter Benson and the Search Institute. Youth Empowerment Mini-Grants are
designed to support student projects that promote asset development.
Benson's research identified 40 "developmental assets" embedded in relationships,
supports, and values that youth experience in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.
Youth who possess 30 or more of these assets are highly likely to be successful
and less at risk for making bad decisions. On the other hand, a higher risk for
difficulty in life is associated with access to 10 or fewer assets. The Children's
Fund believes that young people are acutely aware of the strengths and needs of
their community but may not have the resources or encouragement to effect change.
The intent of the Mini-Grant Program is to empower youth to build better communities
by giving them the means to design and implement ideas that will create access to
assets. If you have questions, contact Janet Friedman. Click
on the links to
read a brochure, see
a list of the assets, or
download a copy of the application.
Tiny Grants for Kids
Tiny Grants provide small grants - up to $150 directly to NASP members to help meet
children's welfare, educational, or mental health needs. Items that help meet
basic needs of children at school are acceptable: such things as clothing, eyeglasses,
book bags, school supplies, etc. Mental health Tiny Grants are intended to
encourage school psychologists to enhance their own capabilities to provide mental
health services within their schools. Acceptable purchases could include therapeutic
video tapes and games, relaxation tapes, classroom guidance materials, books for
bibliotherapy, etc. To learn more about Tiny Grants and to complete a brief
online application, click
here. As long as funds are available and your intent is within guidelines,
you will receive an e-mail acknowledgement within a day or two. That e-mail will
explain a simple reimbursement procedure.
Service Project Support Available from NASP Children's Fund
The NASP Children's Fund encourages school psychologists and others to apply for
funding (up to $2,500) for service projects that directly benefit children.
Download
the application (PDF) or contact Mark
Roth (Service Projects Chair) or any Children's Fund Board member
for more information. Proposals may be submitted at any time although funding
for accepted projects will depend on availability of funds at the time of acceptance.
Watch the Communiqué for articles from recipients describing their projects.
Please see the 2008-09
Annual Report for last year's funded grants.
Children’s Fund Summary (2007-08 Overview)
Everyone is aware of the KaBOOM! build at Live Oaks Elementary School in New Orleans.
This NASP Children’s Fund project brought together school psychologists from across
the country to fund, plan and build a playground to support the resiliency of children
in the area hit by Hurricane Katrina. The NASP Children’s Fund received support
for the KaBOOM! build from many state associations, the NASP 5K run/walk, and many
individuals. NASP Children’s Fund, Inc. took in over $14,000.00 in donations to
the KaBOOM! build. Thank you to all who donated to this project.
Other projects supported by the NASP Children’s Fund, Inc., included Service Projects,
Youth Empowerment Grants, and Tiny Grants for Basic Needs or Mental Health resources.
The Fourth Grade Kindness Retreat at Bridgewater Elementary School was a rousing
success thanks to the $1710 grant from the NASP Children’s Fund. One hundred and
fourteen students had the opportunity to develop their skills in identifying and
responding to bullies and bullying and at the same time increase their sense of
how a school can be caring and kind towards every student. The display of kindness
boomerangs was very moving. Another service project that was funded was the Parent
and Student Resource Center for Gifted Education in the Miami-Dade School District.
The $1,900 grant was used to provide resource materials from parents and teachers
to better meet the needs of gifted students. Former Children’s Fund trustee, Phil
Bowser, was instrumental in writing a grant for his school in Roseburg, OR, to receive
a $2,500 grant to sponsor a “Challenge Day”. The grant focused on a series of activities
that raised student awareness of bullying, name-calling and social exclusion. Dianne
Martin’s grant called Wishing Well-Center Based Mental Health Initiative was completed
with a final award of approximately $890 and Gerri Ann Hartnett received $1,205
for her Bully Project. JoAnne Morgan has received $1,160 for her Families Investing
in Readiness for School Today.
The Youth Empowerment Grant program provided four grants this past year. The students
at South Oceanside Elementary used their $479 to plan and carry out a school wide
Olympics. The program was designed to address school involvement, healthy lifestyles,
and fitness. Another $500.00 YEP Grant went to Rachel Coronado for the Interactions
of Peace at her school. The American Red Cross received $225 for training that they
provided as part of a grant dealing with teen resiliency.
School psychologists received over $12,000.00 in Tiny Grants ($150 each) to meet
the basic needs or the mental health needs of children in their schools. Tiny grant
funds have been used to pay for glasses for a needy student, for graduation items
for a child who was homeless, and for socks and pants for children who get wet at
recess. These funds are available to NASP members who ask for them.
NASP Children’s Fund, Inc., trustees thank Pearson Publications for their continued
support of the Children’s Fund auction at the NASP annual convention. Their contribution
to this enjoyable event adds to the resources available for various projects of
the Children’s Fund. The trustees also thank the NASP Board for their support and
financial contributions.
Membership---The NASP-CF is continuing to work on establishing consistent
procedures for membership. It was determined that CF membership would coincide with
the start of the NASP membership, thus the Children’s Fund Membership year will
be from July 1st to June 30th. NASP-CF Membership from 7-1-2007 to 6-30-2008 totaled
446 members and 48 other individuals gave donations. We will continue to recruit
CF members and encourage all delegates to join.
Disaster Relief--- The NASP-Children’s Fund Sponsorship of the New
Orleans Community Recovery Project
Each year, in conjunction with the convention, NASP supports a local service Project
to promote the education and well-being of children in our host city. The goals
are to make a tangible difference and to highlight the needs of children that have
a negative impact on healthy learning and development. This year NASP - Children’s
Fund was the lead sponsor of the NOLA Community Recovery Project.
NASP-CF spearheaded a KaBOOM Playground Build at Live Oak Elementary School in the
NOLA Recovery School District which had been affected by Hurricane Katrina. NASP-CF
made a significant financial commitment, ($75,000.00) to the project. NASP and CF
members, as well as other convention attendees were asked to support the project
throughout the year via monetary donations and/or volunteer to work on site in some
capacity during the build at the NASP Convention, (date of the playground build
was Saturday, 2-9-2008). Additional information was provided in issues of Communiqué,
on the NASP and KaBOOM websites, as well as at the NASP Convention Program.