The Peter G. Dodge Foundation (PGDF) is pleased to announce our 2016 Mission Grant recipients. Mission Grants fund work that aligns with our primary objective: helping people lead lives free from the effects of alcohol addiction.

Pinhead Institute*  PGDF renews its support of Pinhead Institute with a three-year commitment to its ‘Pintern’ program. Each year, two exemplary high school students will work alongside expert scientific researchers in a laboratory setting on projects in alcohol addiction. Previous PGDF-sponsored interns were placed at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), an internationally recognized biomedical research organization.

Pinhead Institute is a Smithsonian Affiliate based in Telluride, Colorado that promotes STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education locally and globally. An international network of the world’s leading scientists supports their many programs, providing unparalleled opportunity for high-level STEM inquiry in rural Colorado. Pinhead Institute educates and inspires children and adults about the wonders of science and technology.

Miriam’s Kitchen  PGDF funds will provide case management services for clients who struggle with alcohol addiction, to help them obtain housing, mental health support, and substance abuse treatment.

Miriam’s Kitchen (MK) was founded in 1983 to meet the urgent needs of people experiencing homelessness in downtown Washington, DC. They began by serving breakfast and evolved over the years to provide case management, advocacy, health care, and many other services. In 2012, Miriam’s Kitchen adopted a new mission: to end chronic homelessness in Washington, DC. Since this change, chronic homelessness in DC has declined 19.7% (between 2012 and 2016), MK and its partners have helped house more than 1,570 veterans since 2013, and the city is on track to end all veteran homelessness by the end of 2016.

National Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse- St. Louis Area*  PGDF renews its support of NCADA-St. Louis’s groundbreaking Ask A Counselor program, which utilizes deep local knowledge and detailed individual assessments to refer clients to the most appropriate care. PGDF funds are used to reduce client assessment fees, which increased the number of people who were able to receive assessments by 20% in 2016.

The National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse (NCADA) is a community health agency serving the St. Louis area that works to reduce or prevent the harms associated with alcohol and other drug use through education, intervention, and advocacy. They provide crisis counseling to approximately 2,500 individuals, and prevention and education services to over 100,000 people annually. One of NCADA’s primary goals is to teach young people the skills needed to resist the pressures to use and misuse substances. They offer youth leadership programs, community service projects, drug-free alternative activities, and a wide range of school-based prevention services.

New Day Campaign*  PGDF will sponsor a three-part Speaker Series hosted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health exploring myths, problems, and solutions surrounding alcohol addiction. Presentations by experts in the field will be complemented by artistic presentations and community dialogue.

The New Day Campaign uses art-based programming and public engagement to challenge stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and substance use, making the world a more healing place. The New Day Campaign began in 2015 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Samaritan House*  PGDF renews its support of an exercise-based wellness program for residents of Samaritan House, a non-profit supportive sober-living facility located in Annapolis, Maryland. Residents who participate in this program report improved physical and mental health, renewed optimism, and reduced substance cravings.

One of only two certified residential programs in the area, Samaritan House has been in operation in Anne Arundel County since 1971. Its mission is to reintegrate its clients back into the local community and society at large as fully functioning members, free from the use of alcohol and/or illicit drugs.

Jewish Community Services  PGDF funds will support alcohol use awareness and prevention education programs in public and independent schools in the Baltimore, Maryland area.

Jewish Community Services (JCS) is a comprehensive non-profit human service agency of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. Through the programs and services of JCS, families and individuals throughout Central Maryland are supported in meeting basic needs for economic sufficiency; in living independently; in achieving mental health and competence; and in feeling supported by and connected to the Jewish community in ways that are meaningful to them.

 

Previously announced 2016 Mission Grant recipients:

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)  This scientific research grant will support the laboratory of Dr. Lorenzo Leggio in investigating the effect of alcohol abstinence and alcohol administration on human gut microbiota, seeking to determine whether microbial profiles play a role in craving for alcohol and relapse in AUD individuals.

New York Academy of Sciences  PGDF sponsored The Addicted Brain and New Treatment Frontiers: Sixth Annual Aspen Brain Forum, presented by the New York Academy of Sciences, Science Translational Medicine, and The Aspen Brain Forum Foundation, held in New York City May 18-20, 2016

Faces and Voices of Recovery*  PGDF sponsored America Honors Recovery 2016, the signature gala event of Faces and Voices of Recovery, held on July 11 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. America Honors Recovery is the largest and most prestigious gathering of nonpartisan, public and private sector leaders in the nation who convene to network while celebrating the achievements of the recovery community.

* indicates renewed support