Bright futures, big gifts and more of the news worth noting in local nonprofits.
Bright Futures
The Museum of Discovery launched a new partnership with the Central Arkansas Library System and Park Plaza to provide free, interactive educational programming for kids on the mall campus.
“We love creating opportunities for families to learn and come together in meaningful ways,” says Camilo Varela, co-founder and managing partner of mall owner Second Horizon Capital. “We are delighted to partner with CALS and the Museum of Discovery to host these events at Park Plaza as part of our continued commitment to serve Little Rock and central Arkansas as a community hub, providing new experiences and ways for the community to connect.”
The Arkansas division of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library reached a milestone this summer as the nonprofit surpassed five million books mailed to the homes of Arkansas children age 5 and younger.
Civic Arkansas, an initiative from the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, is setting out across the state to increase civic involvement and “[empower] communities to practice collaborative problem-solving at the local level.” The project has already hosted a number of listening sessions and will continue to encourage conversations to improve the civic health of the state.
Big Moves
Home for Healing added Angie Davis and Cory Gray to its list of board members.
Jamie Higgins is the new executive director of The Centers Foundation.
Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas, which just celebrated its 35th anniversary, appointed seven new board members: David Michael, Amy Pierce, Marshall Schuster,
JJ Slayton, AJ Thomas, Greg Taylor and Tricia Wilson.
Gifts & Grants
Diamond Hog pitcher and Bryant native Will McEntire presented a $12,250 donation to CARTI, the result of his “Strikeouts for a Cause” campaign that pledged $5 per strikeout to the center’s Patient Assistance Program in honor of his father’s own cancer journey.
The University of Arkansas system in central Arkansas has obtained a number of notable health grants in recent months:
- UA Little Rock received $969,200 from the Arkansas Department of Commerce and the Arkansas Linking Industry to Growing Nurses to combat the state’s nursing shortage.
- The National Institutes of Health awarded $31.7 million to the UAMS Translational Research Institute and $3.7 million toward Dr. Shengyu Mu’s hypertension research.
- The UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute received five new grants from the National Cancer Institute totaling $4.6 million.
With the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Stella Boyle Smith Music Center set to open this fall, the ASO has received a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that will support a one-year anniversary community celebration in 2025. Likewise, the Arkansas Cinema Society received a $20,000 NEA grant to support its annual Filmland festival this month.
A grant from the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Arkansas Department of Education will allow 11 Arkansas schools to join the STEM-focused EAST Initiative, including the Friendship Aspire Academy in Little Rock.
The Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation awarded $50,000 in grants to 16 projects and nonprofits leading efforts to support minority and under-served communities across the state. Local recipients include the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, City Connections, Girls on the Run, Goodwill Arkansas, Life Skills for Youth, Little Rock Diamond Foundation and Village Place.
Recent numbers indicate the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals raised $5.4 million for Arkansas Children’s in 2023. Meanwhile, the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Auxiliary raised a record-breaking $1.55 million over the past year, the largest in its 57-year history.