Certified Child Life Specialists provide comfort, support and companionship to critically and chronically ill children who are enduring lengthy hospitalizations without the consistent presence of a parent or guardian by their side or, in some cases, at all.  The Specialists serve as surrogates for and links to the families who would be by their children's sides if they could.  They fulfill many roles including parental alternate, family connector, developmental play companion, teacher, and healthcare advocate.  

Grants made in November:

Assistance League of Greater Cincinnati, $40,000.  Operation School Bell is a back-to-school program that provides school clothes including uniforms, jackets, pants, shirts, underwear, socks and shoes along with hygiene supplies to about 3,300 children in need at 38 area public and parochial schools.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati, $10,000.  Diplomas to Degrees, a nationally developed program for Boys & Girls Clubs, is a series of workshops and activities that prepares youth for trade school, community college or a four-year college/university. 

Childhood Food Solutions. $25,000.  Winter Break Food Support is part of CFS’s year-round supplementary program for food-insecure elementary school students in low income urban areas of Cincinnati at a critical time of the calendar year.

Cincinnati Boychoir, $15,000.  Boychoir members expand musical opportunities for boys in underserved neighborhoods through an in-school Boychoir program and the All-City Boychoir Festival.

Fernside - A Center for Grieving Children, $15,000.  Upon the request of school officials, School Grief Support Groups meet weekly for six weeks to assist young people grieving the death of a family member or close friend. 

Josh Cares, $50,000.  Specialists in the Child Life Program provide special attention for infant patients at Cincinnati Children’s whose family members are unable to be with them due to lack of resources, work or other family obligations.

Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, $20,000.  The Don’t Trash My ‘Nati Litter Prevention Program is an umbrella for all litter prevention education.  It includes the long-standing Wartville Wizard and the popular How Litter Hurts Animals/Wings of Wonder assemblies, delivering an impactful message about litter prevention and environmental stewardship to elementary school children in the region.  

Pones, $15,000.  The youth focused Laboratory of Movement uses partnerships with schools and organizations to bring arts education and dance to underserved young people.  An emphasis is placed on reach student populations in Title 1 schools. 

Roundabout Opera for Kids Cincinnati, $20,000.  Roundabout Opera for Kids (ROK) connects eager grade school audiences to opera through high quality outreach programs presented by volunteer student and other performers.  Programs are provided to schools and community centers at no charge. 

The Dater Foundation makes grants to non-profit organizations in the Greater Cincinnati area to carry out programs that benefit young people and focus in the areas of arts/culture, education, healthcare, social services and other community needs.  Information about the grantmaking process and guidelines and links to an online grant application website are available at www.DaterFoundation.org.

The private foundation was established by fourth-generation Cincinnatian, businessman and philanthropist Charles Dater (1912-1993) to ensure that his resources would continue to fund worthwhile community programs after his death. The foundation has made more than 2,800 grants totaling over $44 million since its inception in 1985. 

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For additional information regarding this news release, contact Roger Ruhl (513/598-1141).

The Charles H. Dater Foundation, Inc. is located at 602 Main Street, Suite 302, Cincinnati, OH 45202.