20 grants from Osborne Trust this year to nonprofits aiding needy in local area
 Representatives of the entities that received awards from the Osborne Trust in 2015 are (from left), SEATED: Libby Kinder, Westside CARES; Janet McIntosh, TLC Pharmacy; Janie Child, Community Cupboard of Woodland Park; Mary Bielz, Community of Caring; Brooke Girlando, Boys and Girls Club of the Pikes Peak Region; Amanda Rogers, Community Partnership for Child Development; Lorri Orwig, Silver Key Senior Services; Barbara Berger, Teller Senior Coalition. MIDDLE ROW: Jody Mijares and Jen Drummond, Community Partnership Family Resource Center; Nikki Pfeiffer, Multiple Sclerosis Alliance; Kelly Jackson, Greccio Housing; Janel O'Hayre, REACH Pikes Peak; Barbara McDonough and Diane Barnard, Assistance League of Colorado Springs; Laurie Onstott, Silver Key. BACK ROW: Charles Schroeder, Help the Needy; Ted Borden, Community of Caring; Lynne Telford, Care and Share; Andy Barton, Catholic Charities; John Tighe, REACH Pikes Peak; Marli Fitzgerald, Boys and Girls Club; Gary Smith, Reading Success Movement; Steve Brown, Westside CARES. Westside Pioneer photo
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After reviewing more than 30 applications for the $119,600 available from the fund's interest, the Garden of the Gods Rotary Club wrote 20 checks to 19 nonprofit organizations.
Three of them are based on the Westside. One of these, Westside CARES, received the largest gift this year ($26,300), according to a Rotary list.
The checks were presented at a luncheon in late October.
According to current Rotary President Martha Beatty, the focus this year was on “high-priority requests for necessities such as food, shelter, transportation and medication.” She said this was not due so much to an increase in area poverty but to more applications. “We had over 30 agencies request funding this year with a total request for $192,000,” Beatty noted.
In terms of immediate impact, the apparent exception to the “necessities” category was a $1,000 grant to help a two-year-old local program using the strategies of the Reading Success Movement (TRSM), a national organization. However, TRSM addresses the roots of poverty, in that poor reading skills lead to that condition. Gary Smith, representing the nonprofit, told luncheon attendees that when children are not able to read effectively by fourth grade, most wind up on public assistance or in jail.
The following is a list of the 2015 recipients and their projects (starting with those based on the Westside, including their addresses; the rest are in Colorado Springs, except as noted).
- Diakonia, located in the Westside Community Center, 1628 W. Bijou St., $1,800 (preschool support).
- Westside CARES, 2808 W. Colorado Ave., $26,300 (rent and pharmaceutical help).
- Silver Key, 2250 Bott Ave., $8,000 (food for seniors).
- Assistance League of Colorado Springs, $6,000 (children's clothing).
- Boys and Girls Club of the Pikes Peak Region, $5,000 (healthy snacks).
- Care and Share, $1,500 (food for children).
- Catholic Charities, $7,500 in two separate grants (one for its soup kitchen, the other for emergency services).
- Community Cupboard of Woodland Park, $8,000 (food assistance).
- Community of Caring, Cripple Creek, $15,000 (food and shelter).
- Community Partnership for Child Development, $2,000 (medical, dental).
- Community Partnership Family Resource Center, Divide, $5,000 (support to children).
- Greccio Housing, $2,000 (housing support).
- Help the Needy, Woodland Park, $6,000 (emergency lodging).
- Little Chapel Food Pantry, Divide, $8,000 (food products).
- Multiple Sclerosis Alliance, $8,000 (medication and exercise).
- REACH Pikes Peak (formerly Pikes Peak Community Action Agency), $5,000 (emergency support).
- Reading Success Move-ment, $1,000 (children's literacy).
- Teller Senior Coalition, $2,000 (food for seniors).
- TLC Pharmacy, $1,500 (medicine to needy). A first-time recipient, TLC operates pharmacy south of the Colorado Springs downtown. Started by a Christian pastor, it provides donated medicines, dispensed by volunteers.
Those applying to the Osborne Trust must show how they will provide their services within an area west of I-25, north to the El Paso County line, south across part of the Broadmoor area and west into Teller County.
Bill Osborne was an Old Colorado City businessman. He and his wife Betty died within a month of each other in 1985, leaving a sizable sum (officially called the William and Betty Osborne Trust Fund) and directions to the club on how to manage it.
Westside Pioneer article