Bellewood Receives $53,000 in Grants

Bellewood recently received two grants totaling $53,000 to aid vulnerable youth throughout Kentucky.

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation granted $30,000 to Bellewood at a check presentation yesterday. The grant money will be used for staffing and educational equipment for residential youth who attend the on-campus school, including the purchase of Kindle Touch e-readers and book downloads.

“We are unwavering in our commitment and dedication to help vulnerable children live better, self-sufficient lives and grants like these help us provide the direct support they need,” said Brad Williamson, senior vice president of administration and chief financial officer of Bellewood. “If our children are engaged and willing to learn, meaningful life skills can start to take place.”

The Walmart Foundation selected Bellewood to receive the grant through the Foundation’s State Giving Program, which supports organizations and programs that have a long-lasting and positive impact within a state or region.

“We’re proud to support an organization like Bellewood that is doing so much to help the young men and women in this community realize their potential,” added Jason Wetzel, Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations with Walmart. “We know we can make the greatest impact on our communities by supporting causes that are important to our customers and our associates.”

Bellewood teachers and counselors look forward to using the Kindle e-readers in the classroom to encourage reading in and out of the classroom, as well as to reinforce language, speech and academic skills.

“The addition of the Kindles will continue our use of advanced technologies in the classroom and further enhance education,” said Sam Casper, head teacher of Bellewood School. “We feel like technologies like the Kindle is a very creative way to show that learning can be fun. Watching a child enjoy learning and improve their skills is priceless.”

He added that the Kindle offers unique tools for the students, including a built-in dictionary, to encourage them to build their vocabulary, and will assist in reading fluency.

In addition, Bellewood received $23,000 from WHAS Crusade for Children for funding to support therapists and youth care counselors at the Louisville Transitional Living program.

The transitional living program provides 16 to 18 year olds with structured housing that supports positive living. Residents receive careful guidance, monitoring, clinical care and service planning before transitioning into adult world.

“We cannot overstate what a valuable resource the Crusade is to our community and to Bellewood as we work to meet the needs of Kentucky’s children,” said Williamson.

Since its inception in 1954, the WHAS Crusade for Children has raised more than $148 million to assist children with special needs.

Bellewood serves abused, homeless and other troubled youths with offices in Louisville, Bowling Green, Lexington, Owensboro and Paducah. They provide residential treatment, foster care, independent living for young adults who have aged out of foster care and prevention services for unstable families.

Left to Right: Julie Greenwell, Brad Williamson, Sam Casper, Martin Laffoon, Jason Wetzel, Aleksandra Desanovski-Burns, Jeremy Hedges, Bryan Milburn, Glenn Francisco