Groups of girls meet twice a week for 10-12 weeks in schools and community centers.  Each session combines running and walking with specific character development, life skills, and healthy living topics.  Races are held twice a year to celebrate the girls’ successes over the course of the program.  Girls get running shoes, a t-shirt, a healthy snack at each session, peer group support, the 5K experience, a team celebration, and tools that they can use to make healthy and positive decisions. 

To encourage diversity among participants, the participation cost ranges from $10 to $160 and is based on family income.  A Dater grant supported the scholarship subsidies.  

Grants made in March:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati, $20,000.   Adopt-a-School program connects mentors with at-risk youth in a school setting.  Many mentors are upper class high school and college students.

Cincinnati Arts Association, $20,000.  Artists on Tour brings talented artists-educators directly into schools and youth organizations, enhancing learning with unique programs that vary in culture and art form.  A ticket transportation subsidy fund supports SchoolTime performances for students at the Aronoff Center.

Cincinnati Recreation Commission, $12,000.  RiverTrek is a week-long program of self-discovery and team building for 50 young people ages 12-17 that features a supervised five-day, four-night 65-mile canoe trip along the Little Miami River. 

Girls on the Run of Cincinnati, $20,000.  Scholarships make it possible for underserved girls to participate in this program that teaches life lessons using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.

Butler Philharmonic Orchestra, $15,000.  Music lessons are provided to an auditioned ensemble of 85 high school musicians in the youth orchestra, which presents three public concerts annually.  

The Loveland Initiative, $10,000.  Expansion of the annual back-to-school backpack program that provides backpacks and school supplies to children in low-income families.

New Life Furniture, $20,000.  Low income families living in bare or sparsely furnished housing get up to 18 pieces of donated, gently-used furniture at no cost. 

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 2,900 grants totaling over $45 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.