Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The 2011 alinea Holiday Giving Guide



During this busy time of year, while you are enjoying family and friends and counting your blessings, you might be planning year-end gifts to charities as well.  

We wanted to take this time to make you aware of all the amazing schools and nonprofits we have worked with that could benefit by your donation.  

Enjoy skimming our list and click on the link to learn more about any that interest or inspire you.  Feel free to contact me if you would like to receive a case statement for any of them or schedule a tour. 

Deb and the alinea team wish you a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year!


Schools and Education 

A2Accelerated AcademicsCharter and Jackson Elementary School Jackson Elementary School promotes high expectations, personal responsibility, independence and life-long learning.  Students develop academic aptitude, social skills, creative talent and their personal best.

A² (Accelerated Academics) Charter Elementary School utilizes state of the art technology and innovative curriculum to promote creative, imaginative and critical thinking through personalized small group and project-based experiences. Students are self directed, embrace challenges and are intellectually curious, willing to lead and accepting of others and themselves.
 
As part of the Sheboygan Area School District, Jackson and A² embrace all students, providing a comprehensive education model that ensures that each child is educated based on their unique skills and talents.

BHK Child Development Board To ensure quality early childhood education and family support by creating positive community involvement and by raising and distributing funds to support excellence and innovation in education.

Christ the King Palm Coast Christ the King is committed to serving, children, family, and community. Though there have been many blessings and successes so far, there are also big dreams for the future!

Oostburg Christian School The mission of Oostburg Christian School is to provide distinctly Christian, quality education, which will equip God's children to function as Christians in society, church, and home.
  
The Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship empowers young people ages 9-24 to see themselves as the CEO of me as they experience personal and professional growth through programs and coaching related to financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

Divine Savior Lutheran Academy Divine Savior Academy will continuously integrate the wisdom of God's Word with the best pedagogical practices to offer a holistic education that allows her students to grow in mind, body, and soul. DSA's faculty will continue to grow professionally by means of seminars, workshops, and advanced studies in order to provide the students of our church and community a challenging, developmentally appropriate and balanced curriculum.

Janus College Preparatory and Arts Academies (JCPAA) is a not-for-profit  organization designed to prepare students for a post-secondary education and a career. 
  
KingsAcademy Mission: To motivate, educate and elevate all students to become productive citizens through a curriculum that promotes academic excellence.

Lutheran Urban MissionInitiative (LUMIN) is setting a new standard for effective, Christ-centered, results oriented urban education in Milwaukee. Under God's provision, we have developed a network of Lutheran schools that shares resources and expertise to create safe, high-quality Lutheran schools focused on educational success, leadership development and spiritual growth. 

Mt. Lebanon  Empowering students to excel in their academic life, Inspiring students to act as Christians, Equipping families to walk the path to heaven

NE WI Montessori Charter School   is a parent- and teacher-initiated, community-supported school offering authentic Montessori education beyond the already existing private schools which serve ages 3 through kindergarten. The school enrolls students in grades 1-6.  

Red Cedar Environmental Institute To give students the opportunity to take ownership of their education by developing 21st Century skills in a challenging, comprehensive, project-based learning environment with a focus on the Earth system.   

Roosevelt I.D.E.A. School (Instructional Differentiation for Education Achievement) School values the unique strengths and talents of each child.  We are committed to creating a path of instruction best suited to meet individual student needs.  We accomplish this by setting high expectations for each student, offering diverse learning materials, encouraging student ownership of learning, providing opportunities to community resources, fostering character development, engaging learning opportunities, every child finds success in the classrooms, sense of belonging, contributing members/role in community, and a nurturing environment.


SCCHS Sheboygan County Christian High School partners with parents to help students develop the Biblical understanding, tools and proper heart necessary to serve God in his world. 

Sheboygan Christian School partners with families and the community to provide an excellent education rooted in Biblical truth. Our students grow in their knowledge of God and His creation and respond in service to Him.

Shiocton International Leadership Academy empowers students in grades 6-11 to become confident, caring and engaged citizens of the world.   

St. Marcus Lutheran School and Church  We seek to make the compassionate love of God visible and tangible through our church, school and community outreach programs, by reaching out and inviting everyone to celebrate God’s love, strengthen their faith, lead positive lives and share their gifts with others. 

St. Patrick Parish School, being faithful to the Gospel of Jesus, provides a strong academic foundation while teaching the beliefs and traditions of our faith. 

Wauwatosa School of the Trades prepares students for success in college and a career in the trades professions.  Students in grades 11 and 12 experience a rigorous college prep curriculum while learning the technical skills needed to pursue a lucrative career in the trades.  Students who thrive at our school are self motivated and have an intense interest in building.  They are serious about pursuing a career in the trades or seek an innovative hands-on approach to learning as they prepare for college.


 
At-Risk Youth

Above the Clouds, Inc Incorporated in 2001, Above the Clouds, Inc. is a non-profit, faith-based, free, creative arts program, which originated to reach disadvantaged children ages 5-17 years old in the Milwaukee area who would otherwise not have the means, or opportunity to participate in such programs.

House of Love Youth Homes, Inc. is a Christian-based organization, which prepares youth to lead self-sufficient lives by providing the loving family environment that is missing in their lives. We do this through our group homes and independent living support programs. 

Kingdom Princess Society  Our mission is to assist daughters of God who've moved their permanent residence from the World  to the Kingdom in order to firmly establish their dignity, destiny and duty as Princesses.
 
New Beginings are PossibleChristian Youth Center provides urban youth exposed to at-risk conditions in Milwaukee with a Biblically-based moral foundation needed to make healthy choices to become contributing members of the community.

Servant Manor Our vision is achieved through our mission to improve family reunification and permanency rates, utilize the least restrictive environmental treatment approach, deliver youth behavioral treatment in residential and non-residential settings, and offer family support services.  To this extend we have created partnerships with leading community care providers, social services agencies, businesses, foundations, parents, mentors, and religious leaders who enable us to produce concrete results in the lives of our children and their families.

 Tessa’s Black Entertainment and Youth Center (TBEY) strengthens youth and young adults through exposure to the arts and opportunities for creative expression.  Youth and young adults ages 6-19 receive professional arts instruction, enjoy performances and exhibits, and receive tutoring, mentoring and coaching to achieve academically and pursue their interest in the arts.


Arts and Culture
Community Arts and Funk Festival In addition to offering a lively, end of the summer cultural and artistic experience in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, the Community Arts & Funk Festival will offer its guests a multi-media artistic visual experience of music and original art in a festival setting. 

Cream City Baseball  The Cream City Baseball Foundation, Inc. is dedicated to preserving and promoting the game of base ball as it was played in its formative years of the 19th century.  This interactive style brings the game to life for the kids, families and communities we invite to share and participate in the unique experience of a vintage base ball game. 


Older Adults 

Interfaith Older Adult Programs  Since 1975, Interfaith has established many other programs focusing on quality services, social opportunities, and valuable resources to enhance the welfare of older adults and family caregivers who support them. Our Mission: Linking older adults with a caring community.  


Community 

The Alma Center  works to motivate peaceful change through education in intimate relationships, family and community. The Alma Center provides gender specific training, education and mentorship to men who have a history of perpetrating violence or abuse toward their partner. 
Nehemiah rebuilds walls of our community one brick at a time through personal transformation. Like a caterpillar that surrounds itself by a cocoon and emerges as a completely different insect, shedding its old skin, individuals emerge from the difficult internal work required to address root causes of self-limiting behavior, shedding their self- limiting beliefs and able to better respond to their environment.  We achieve our mission by combining personal transformation with these four ministries: Prison After-Care support; Housing; Summer Learning Camp; Low-Cost Incubator Space.  

Sheboygan Neighborhood Pride  is a community resource empowering citizens to work together to improve their neighborhoods, reduce crime and enhance the quality of life in the community.


Foundations and Associations

National Christian Foundation is the largest Christian grant-making foundation in the world. Our innovative, tax-smart solutions help you simplify your giving, multiply your impact, and glorify God. Since 1982, we have received over $4 billion in contributions and made over $3 billion in grants to thousands of churches, ministries, and non-profits.

WCCAAWisconsin Childcare Administrators Association To Support Each Other As Child Care Administrators in Providing Quality Programming for Wisconsin's Families.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

An Angel at the SOS Center


Just after sharing the last story about SOS Center, I received yet another testimonial from Jodi. I’ve written over and over about the power of telling your story in a compelling manner, and shared many of my clients’ successes.   I was was so pleased with her testimonial, I just had to share this email  These are her exact words, and her testimonial speaks about the power of this new mindset.  

Hello Everyone ~
Just wanted to share a story of an angel at the SOS Center.  I met with a member of Faith Lutheran in Germantown yesterday.  She had volunteered at Faith to organize an activity between them and us to get some volunteers to the Center.  She lives in Milwaukee and has been an educator for over 20 years, most of them in MPS.  She is currently on the MPS Response to Intervention Service and Support Team.  We spent most of the hour and a half talking about her experiences in MPS and she reaffirmed that what we are doing at the Center is a huge support to MPS schools and students. 
At the end of our tour she happened to leave at the same time as the repairman. (The furnace in the upstairs back was at 43 degrees on Wednesday morning).  She had heard my conversation with him that it wasn't major and he fixed it right away.  She stopped him at his van and paid our bill!  It is not even so much the $90.82 she saved us, but the fact that she thinks enough of the SOS Center and what we are doing here to do that for us!!  I called her a few minutes later to thank her immediately.

This is exactly what alinea is talking about!!  We've learned to tell our story in a more compelling manner and I learned about her and her interests first and I never asked her for anything!  She is going to organize a day to get a group from Faith here to volunteer, and use her contacts to try and get us some After School tutors through MPS!

This is a wonderful testament to all of us and the work we are doing at the Center.  We are so blessed!  Thank you all for continuing to work and support the SOS Center, it is worth it!
Peace and Grace,   

Jodi Kessel Lyon
Executive Director
SOS Center, Inc.