Northwestern Donates Funds to Area Youth Groups

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University will donate more than $229,000 to area agencies that provide services and protection to children.

For the second year in a row, Northwestern will donate funds that would have been Penn State University’s football bowl revenues from the past season but instead were relinquished to Big Ten Conference members. Each Big Ten school will distribute those funds to youth-focused organizations selected by the universities.

Northwestern will provide funding to seven youth protection and service agencies located in Evanston and Chicago. The organizations and Northwestern’s corresponding donation are:

Evanston

• Connections for the Homeless, which provides housing, employment and support services to individuals and families ($36,000).

• The Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, which acts as an advocate for children in the courts and in the community ($36,000).

• YWCA Evanston/North Shore, which provides a comprehensive domestic violence program that serves approximately 1,000 women and children annually ($36,000).

• Youth Organizations Umbrella (Y.O.U.), which offers after-school and summer enrichment programs for youth, counseling and crisis intervention programs ($36,000).

Chicago

• Metropolitan Family Services, which empowers families to heal through services that address family conflict, children’s mental health and the prevention of abuse and violence ($45,000).

• The Night Ministry, which provides services to homeless youths, including a youth shelter program and street outreach efforts ($17,500).

• Northwestern Settlement, which serves children and families in the West Town area of Chicago with preschool and after-school programs, summer camps and an award-winning children’s theater program ($25,000).

“All of these organizations help protect and assist children in our home communities,” President Morton Schapiro said. “Northwestern is pleased to be able to provide this financial support to help them carry out their important missions.”

Northwestern made similar donations in 2013 to six of the seven groups listed above. Connections for the Homeless was added to this year’s recipient list. The organization targets homeless families with children as a priority of its latest strategic plan. More than 400 Evanston children from school districts 65 and 200 are reported as homeless by their families.

Last year Northwestern provided funds to Metropolitan Family Services in the Evanston/Skokie area. However, this year’s funds will go to the organization’s main service area in Chicago.