Filling the Gap, Inc., has announced its 2019 grants, awarding $93,065 to support people with disabilities and other socioeconomic challenges.

Filling the Gap is a Jamestown-based not-for-profit that works with The Resource Center and other organizations to support Chautauqua County residents who are poor, distressed and underprivileged, especially people with disabilities. Each year, Filling the Gap solicits grant requests from TRC and other organizations within the Filling the Gap network.

This year’s funding requests totaled $134,297.   Members of Filling the Gap’s grants committee reviewed the requests and recommended which ones to fund, and FTG’s board of directors agreed with the committee’s recommendations.

The amount awarded this year brings to $1,262,058 the total awarded by Filling the Gap since 1995. This year’s grant awards were as follows:

• $20,000 for the development of an art studio at The Resource Center’s building on Eighth Street in Jamestown
• $20,000 for the Chautauqua Connections Children’s Coalition
• $11,000 for transportation vouchers
• $10,000 for marketing initiatives for TEAM Services’ Medicaid transportation program
• $5,000 for a wheelchair-accessible exam table at The Resource Center’s primary care clinic
• $5,000 to assist in starting the “Help Me Grow” program in Chautauqua County
• $3,500 for the Sprout film festival
• $3,000 for The Resource Center’s annual Educational Symposium
• $3,000 for a wheelchair-accessible work table at TRC’s Occupational Therapy Department in Jamestown
• $2,665 for self-advocacy and outreach initiatives
• $2,500 for TRC staff training initiatives
• $2,000 for supplies and testing materials for TRC’s Speech Therapy Department in Dunkirk
• $1,900 for evaluation and treatment materials for TRC’s Occupational Therapy Department in Dunkirk
• $1,500 for supplies for TRC’s Creations Art Program
• $1,000 for behavioral support items for The Resource Center
• $1,000 for materials for TRC’s Respite Program

“Filling the Gap is happy to once again award grants to The Resource Center and the FTG network,” said Cindy Phillips, vice president of business and finance.  “It is always heart-warming to be able to fund the unmet needs for the various programs.”

Money for the grants comes from six fund-raising events that Filling the Gap facilitates each year in partnership with The Resource Center: the TRC Golf Classic; Laurel Memorial Run and Walk; Step Up for Autism walk ; Mark Pacheco WOW Fund Lip Sync Battle; Shake, Rumble and Roll motorcycle poker run; and Sassy Baggs and Beyond Blingo. Proceeds from these events are transferred to the various TRC endowment funds at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.  The income from these endowment funds is used to fulfill the grant requests.

Filling the Gap officials are proud they could provide money to support a variety of initiatives.

For more information about Filling the Gap, phone 661-1519.