MAYOR ANNOUNCES $99,600 IN GRANTS FOR 12 SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAMS

Mayor Greg Ballard today announced the City of
Indianapolis is awarding $99,600 in community block grants to 12 local
agencies that provide enrichment opportunities for youth. Recipients of
this year's Summer Youth Program Fund will provide a total of more than
1,800 youth between the ages of 4 and 19 with the opportunity to
participate in recreational, cultural and educational activities.

"The programs offered by the award recipients add value to traditional
summer youth programs by providing important educational and cultural
enrichment activities such as the arts, literacy, community service, and
college and career exploration," said Mayor Ballard. "The City of
Indianapolis awards these agencies this funding to continue and expand
their unique offerings that encourage growth and improve the quality of
life for children and teenagers in our community."

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the grants
to the Department of Metropolitan Development. The Summer Youth Program
Fund was established in Marion County in 1995 by the Indianapolis
Foundation and Lilly Endowment Inc. This is the 15th year that the City
of Indianapolis is participating in the Summer Youth Program Fund.

The city's 12 award recipients are:
1. Coburn Place Safe Haven - $3,900
Summer camp for 30 children, ages 5 to 17, living in a domestic violence
transition shelter. Offers a broad spectrum of educational, cultural,
and physical activities meant to encourage growth and coping techniques
for underprivileged youth.

2. Damar Services Inc. - $9,000
An academic enrichment program for 230 children facing developmental and
behavioral challenges. Academic lessons, recreation activities, art and
music classes and community service opportunities will be provided with
the goal of developing adaptive living skills and promoting social
integration.

3. La Plaza - $13,500
A summer enrichment program designed for 120 elementary students to
further develop critical reading and math skills while simultaneously
integrating physical education, arts and culture, community service,
career exploration and technology.

4. John H. Boner Community Center - $4,500
A neighborhood summer enrichment camp that partners with local service
providers to offer 230 youth ages 4 to 13 educational, cultural,
physical, recreational and community service opportunities.

5. Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center - $13,500
A summer camp that reinforces school learning and addresses summer
learning loss for 180 children and youth ages 4 to 16. Hands-on
academic, science, arts, cultural, and college/career exploration
activities are led by professional staff and AmeriCorps members.

6. Southeast Community Services - $2,200
A math, science and literacy summer enrichment program for 15 youth,
ages 9 to 16, using environmental issues-based projects as learning
tools.

7. Hawthorne Social Service Assn Inc. - $6,500
A summer enrichment camp addressing the social and economic barriers to
academic achievement facing 230 low-income youth, ages 9 to 16.

8. Concord Neighborhood Center - $5,500
A summer enrichment camp with the goal of increasing the math, science
and literacy skills of 140 youth, ages 4 to 16. Key focus areas are
reading for grades K-3, math skills by grade 5, and writing skills for
those in grades 6 and above.

9. Community Alliance of the Far Eastside Inc. - $12,000
A reading and math enrichment program with a focus on exposure to the
arts, physical activity and career exploration for 105 youth, ages 4 to
13.

10. Young Audiences of Indiana - $12,000
Summer arts camp for 350 youth ages 4 to 16. Professional artists engage
underprivileged children in self-expression and performing arts
training, while reinforcing literacy skills.

11. East 10th United Methodist Children & Youth Center - $12,000
Licensed teachers focus on programs heavy in reading comprehension,
vocabulary and problem solving through a cultural education project for
85 youth, ages 6 to 18.

12. Flanner House of Indianapolis Inc. - $5,000
A summer enrichment program with a focus on increasing ISTEP scores for
90 youth, ages 4 to 13. Includes an educational program designed to
expose low-income, urban youth to environmentally focused careers,
issues, and remediation.

In addition to DMD's annual allocation to the Summer Youth Program Fund,
the City recently awarded a $302,000 Community Crime Prevention Grant
that funds support staff for summer youth programs throughout
Indianapolis.

Through this teen jobs initiative known as "Youth Working for Indy," 28
organizations will collectively hire 150 teens ages 15-19 from socially
and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The program teaches
at-risk youth to earn summer income and develop a work history, while
also increasing the capacity of the agencies' summer programs.

The Central Indiana Community Foundation administers the "Youth Working
for Indy" program by distributing mini-awards to host sites of summer
youth programs. The City-County Council approved the funding for "Youth
Working for Indy" following recommendations by Mayor Ballard and the
Community Crime Prevention Advisory Board. Councilors Vernon Brown and
Monroe Gray, along with Council President Ryan Vaughn, led the
bipartisan effort to secure the $302,000 for the grant, the largest
award of any 2010 Community Crime Prevention Grant, to fund summer jobs
for at-risk youth.