Community Response Grants

The Junior League of Lansing provides Community Response Grants to help support organizations in the Lansing area that offer programs focused on Essential Needs—programs that provide shelter, food and/or access to food or shelter.

To be eligible, applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations located within a 25-mile radius of Lansing. Proposed projects must support the overall purpose of the Junior League and its commitment to voluntarism and improving the community.

Apply by March 22, 2024. 

 

Past Recipients

Since 2005 the following Response Grants have been awarded:

  • $2,000, Child and Family Charities – Kevin J. Moody home, a homeless youth shelter
  • $2,000, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Inc. – bed, sheets, mattress or frame for homeless youth
  • $2,000, Footprints of Michigan, Inc. – winter boots for children
  • $1,200, The Davies Project for Mid-Michigan Children – reliable transportation for seriously ill children and pregnant women to essential care
  • $2,000, Haven House – Partners-in-Progress program
  • $2,000, Habitat for Humanity Capital Region – HVAC system for staff and volunteers
  • $1,200, Communities in Schools of Michigan – backpack giveaway
  • $5,000, Capital Region Community Foundation – COVID-19 response/activities
  • $3,000, Haven House – COVID-19 response/activities
  • $2,000, Holy Cross Services – COVID-19 response/activities
  • $3,000, Lansing School District – COVID-10 response/Weekend Survival Kits
  • $1,500, Refugee Development Center – THRIVE program provides direct food and clothing to refugees
  • $1,000, Eastside Community Action Center – After-school action program (food for kids)
  • $500, Highfields – Family Preservation Program providing resources for immediate needs while the family is in treatment
  • $1,500, Housing Services of Mid-Michigan – Emergency fund that will give small amounts of money to those in need of assistance getting an ID, apartment application, bus pass, etc.
  •  $1,000, Child and Family Services – Purchase mattresses and crib sheets
  • $750, Clinton Gratiot Habitat for Humanity – Purchase kitchen cabinets for a home that will house a single mother and her two children
  • $750, Haven House – Purchase new mattresses
  • $1,000, Many Hands – Weekend Survival Backpack Kits
  • $300, Child and Family Services of Michigan/Operation Good Cheer – Christmas gift-giving program for children in out-of-home placements
  • $450, Downtown YMCA Wellness Center Exercise Program with Footprints – Exercise program for at-risk girls at the Residential Treatment Facility Footprints
  • $250, MSU Community Music School – Financial aid for students in children’s music programs
  • $500, Hannah’s House – New freezer for the shelter
  • $250, MSU School of Social Work Foster Youth Alumni Services Program – Care Package Program **given by JLL Community Service Committee
  • $300, American Red Cross – Scholarships to babysitting classes for kids
  • $800, MSU Community School – Financial aid to needy children enrolling in music classes.
  • $1,100, Help A Willing Kid – Purchase and establish a permanent location for their program.
  • $1,100, Main Street Association – Drug abuse prevention education programming.
  • $1,000, Highfields – Winter clothing and boots
  • $1,100, Education Options Program – Support at-risk teens
  • $1050, Haven House – Mattress covers
  • $500, Jumps Start – Infant car seats
  • $250, R.J. Scheffel Toy Project – Wooden toys & memory boxes for Ele’s Place
  • $1,100, Ballentine Stepping Stones – Emergency needs (bus tokens, clothes, etc.)
  • $500, Fairview Lansing School – Sarah DeRuiter Listening Center
  • $500, Haslett Family Learning Center – Daycare scholarships
  • $1,100, Expectant Parents Organization
  • $200, Ronald McDonald House – Playground equipment
  • $900, Shared Pregnancy Services – Just for teen’s mom’s class
  • $1,100, Head Start – Covered 5 parent’s emergency dental needs
  • $825, North Network Center – GED program which focuses on low-income families. Funding used for part-time teacher.
  • $400, William Donley School Association – Books
  • $625, Shared Pregnancy – Volunteer materials and to start a class for new parents.
  • $625, Child Abuse Prevention
  • $825, Michigan Women Work – Summer Girls Club for middle school girls.

Fall 2021 Recipients

  • $1,000 to City Rescue Mission to purchase new dryers and washers for their Women’s and Children’s shelter.
  • $500 to Faith Lutheran Church to purchase food and toiletries for their two pantries, which amounted to about two months’ worth of supplies.
  • $500 to Southside Community Kitchen to buy local produce for guests.
  • $500 to the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing to provide comprehensive mental health services to women

Spring 2022 Recipients

  • $1,000 to L-Town Jubilee for a new computer and printer for their nonprofit work.
  • $500 to Helping Women Period to purchase menstrual cups for their Menstrual Cup Petting Zoo.
  • $500 to Cross-Cultural Community Connections (an outreach of Liberty Christian Church) to create a resource room that houses clothing and household items for refugees arriving in the area.
  • $500 to Peckham, which requested additional funds to address housing insecurity (in the form of rental assistance and utility assistance) to ensure that those who need assistance with housing stability have an outlet.