Sheridan Youth Assistance, Inc. has received a grant of $350,700 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish Blackhawks Building Bridges.
The program is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s initiative, Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana. The aim of the competitive initiative is to help youth-serving organizations working throughout Indiana improve their abilities to promote the academic, physical, and social well-being of young people, ages 5 through 18.
This grant will fund programs that directly impact the significant needs of at-risk youth in the Sheridan community. Blackhawks Building Bridges includes two essential programming elements for youth success, which are tutoring and mentoring. Tutoring will take place at all three Sheridan schools Monday through Thursday, and transportation will be provided. The mentoring program will include evidence-based practices for mentor selection, training for the Sheridan community, and peer mentoring.
Sheridan Youth Assistance President Jason Ells expressed appreciation to Lilly Endowment: “We are grateful to be able to continue this important work for at-risk youth in Sheridan,” he said. “Lilly Endowment’s investment in Sheridan is an investment in our youth and whole community.”
Sheridan Youth Assistance is one of 187 organizations receiving grants through Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana.
“Indiana’s youth-serving organizations are crucial to the healthy development of children and youth across the state,’ said Ted Maple, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for education. “The challenges these organizations have faced in meeting the needs of young people in recent years have made their work increasingly difficult. Lilly Endowment is pleased to support their efforts to strengthen programs and serve more youth more effectively.”
Lilly Endowment launched Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana Initiative in 2022 with an invitational round of grants to nine national youth-serving organizations to help them expand and enhance the work of their Indiana affiliates or chapters.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
