ROCK ISLAND, Illinois – Twenty-seven area nonprofit organizations will be awarded $338,950 on Wednesday, April 24th during The Amy Helpenstell Foundation’s Spring Grant Reception at 8:30 a.m. at the Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island. This is the largest amount of funding awarded by the Foundation in a single grant cycle.

The Amy Helpenstell Foundation promotes awareness, understanding, diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders in the greater Quad Cities area. Amy Helpenstell passed away in 2003 from complications related to an eating disorder. Ms. Helpenstell created the Foundation through her estate to support causes related to health, education, youth development, community development and cultural activities within a 60-mile radius of Rock Island, where she lived and worked.

“Amy’s Foundation has given nearly $4 million back to the community since 2005, all to causes that she cared about very much,” said Franz “Bud” Helpenstell, Amy’s father and President of The Amy Helpenstell Foundation. “With the full impact of state cutbacks to nonprofits being especially noticeable now, we are happy to support these organizations in every way we can. The important work they do can be felt in the lives of real people every day.”

The Spring Grant recipients and the programs that received funding include:

• Aldridge Early Learning Center - Parent Education, $2,000

• Arrowhead Ranch - Computer Based Learning Program for Arrowhead Academy, $10,750
• Augustana College - Amy Helpenstell Student Interns Program, $20,000
• Bethany for Children and Families - Youth Transitional Housing for Homeless Youth (Rock Island), $8,000
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley - One-to-One Mentoring, $15,000
• Black Hawk College Foundation - Nursing Education: Extending Simulation into the Classroom and Beyond, $3,000
• Black Hawk College Optional Education Program - Adult Education English as a Second Language Coordination, $20,000
• Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley - Core Mission Grant, $16,000
• Child Abuse Council - Building Capacity for the Future, $10,000
• Children's Therapy Center of the Quad Cities - Enhanced Feeding Therapy Program, $16,000
• Community Housing Services - JumpStart After School Program, $10,000
• Community Resource and Learning Center, Inc. - Preschool Project, $5,000
• Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities - Children in Need Continuation and Expansion, $15,000
• Hand in Hand - Adapted Enrichment Programs for Children With Disabilities, $4,200
• Henry County Youth Services Bureau - Free Home-Based and School-Based Counseling, $12,000
• Junior Achievement of the Heartland - Building a Stronger Community-Junior Achievement Core-Mission Programs, $15,000
• Junior High Drop-In Center / South Park Presbyterian Church - Healthy Eating Program, $3,000
• Marriage and Family Counseling Service - Spanish Family Therapy Program, $10,000
• National Alliance on Mental Illness, Scott County - NAMI Scott County Office Expansion; Bringing NAMI’s Signature Education Classes In-House, $5,000
• New Kingdom Trail Riders - 2012-2014 Horse Care Project, $10,000
• Rick's House of Hope - Ongoing Training of Volunteers and Staff, $4,000
• Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health - Quad Cities Eating Disorders Consortium, $50,000
• School Health LINK, Inc. - Behavioral Health Specialist, $15,000
• Spring Forward Learning Center - After-School Tutoring and Mentoring, $15,000
• St. Ambrose University - The Amy Helpenstell Scholars Program at St. Ambrose University, $10,000
• theplace2b - theplace2b Community Outreach Project, $15,000
• Vera French Foundation - School-Based Mental Health Therapy Program, $20,000

For more information about The Amy Helpenstell Foundation, visit www.amyhelpenstell.org orcall 563-326-2840. The Amy Helpenstell Foundation is administered by the CommunityFoundation of the Great River Bend.