Three organizations that help Starke County kids through some of the most critical moments of their lives have gotten funding help from The Hive Ladies’ Giving Circle. The Hive announced this year’s grant recipients in a Facebook video Thursday.
The Just in Case Foundation was awarded $2,500. It was launched just a few weeks ago by Oregon-Davis Kindergarten Teacher Kayla Borton, after her son Case passed away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. “So my foundation brings awareness to SIDS,” Borton told Hive members in a video message. “We provide Owlets, and I also provide CPR training to parents because it’s important for parents to know how to do CPR for their child, just in case they ever needed it. I hope they never will, but we’re here just in case we’re needed.”
Borton says the wearable Owlet devices, which monitor a child’s heart rate and oxygen levels, are often out of reach to parents, both due to cost and lack of awareness. She plans to use the grant money to buy them for babies at high risk.
Meanwhile, Dunebrook was awarded $1,250 to expand its sexual abuse prevention education programs in Starke County’s schools. Starke County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates program also got $1,250. It plans to use the money to recruit new volunteers through billboards, radio ads, or public television underwriting.
The Hive is a ladies’ giving circle established through the Starke County Community Foundation. Membership dues are pooled together, and members vote on how to allocate grants to a list of finalists.
