Grace Hill Settlement House is one of three organizations – innovators that strengthen families and communities – honored this year by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as part of its prestigious Families Count: The National Honors Program. Each organization receives an unrestricted award of $500,000, unusual because foundations usually restrict the use of the funding they provide.
“The Families Count honor is a tribute not only to the tireless commitment of Grace Hill’s board and staff, but also to the neighbors who deliver help and hope to their neighbors every day,” says president & CEO Theresa Mayberry-Dunn. “The award will strengthen the quality of these relationships, as well as our capacity to help many more families achieve self-sufficiency.”
Grace Hill, serving more than 28,000 families a year, is guided by the credo, “neighbors helping neighbors.” Its innovative Member Organized Resource Exchange (MORE) engages community members in designing courses for their own Neighborhood College to build the skills that help them succeed as parents and earners. Community members can also earn “time dollars” by putting a skill – whether house painting or babysitting – to work for a neighbor. They can then barter their “time dollars” for other services, purchase health care at a Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Center or redeem them for household items at a MORE store.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private, charitable organization dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children and families in the United States. It was established in 1948 by Jim Casey, one of the founders of United Parcel Service, and his siblings, who named the Foundation in honor of their mother.
