The Council for Drug Free Youth (CDFY) has received the Drug Free Communities Grant worth $1.25 million.
The organizatgion will receive $125,000 a year for the next decade. For the first seven years, the organization is required to contribute a 50 percent match of funds from the community in terms of donations of money or time.
The organization is already making that much of a contribution, and that is why it was able to qualify for the grant, said Joy Sweeney, CDFY executive director. The value of time donated to the organization to help with its projects is roughly $18 per hour of volunteering.
For years eight to 10, the organization is expected to receive additional contributions to ensure sustainability within the community. The approximately $60,000 a year the CDFY receives from the United Way, plus additional funding from the schools that pay for the teachers to facilitate the program, will cover the needed additional funds, Sweeney said.
"They (CDFY) have various programs that are specific and appropriate for different age groups," said Amy Berendzen, assistant to the superintendent for Jefferson City Public Schools and community relations. "What they do is help the district or public schools system reach out to our kiddos in establishing a positive school environment. With their programs we can hopefully alleviate other potential issues that go hand-in-hand with some of these less-than-healthy behaviors like substance abuse."
The programs range from elementary to high schools. Last year the CDFY sponsored a speaker who talked about how his problems with drugs had affected his life when he was doing them and even now that he is older and sober.
The process to apply for the grant took several months. The CDFY applied for the grant last year, but was rejected after falling short on some of the requirements, Sweeney said, so getting the grant this year has been more than a two-year process.
"It is awesome, it is very exciting," Sweeney said.
"It is going to allow us to double our efforts in the community ... and the education and information we are able to share and the activities we are going to be able to do."
The grant funds will go toward programs like the life skills classes the CDFY teaches to high school seniors and the parent-to-parent program.
The parent-to-parent program is a early onset intervention program in which a counselor and parents work together to empower children to make drug-free healthier choices, Sweeney said.