Child Advocates of Fort Bend Receives Grant from Ecolab Foundation

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Child Advocates of Fort Bend was thrilled to be recognized by the Ecolab Foundation for their work with abused and neglected children in Fort Bend County. Executive Director Ruthanne Mefford accepted a $10,000 grant from Nell Ciancarelli, Community Relations Manager of Nalco Champion, an Ecolab Company, to support two initiatives developed by Child Advocates for children ages 6 to 18 years old in foster care.  Seventy percent of the children and youth served by Child Advocates of Fort Bend fall within this age group.

Nalco Champion’s inaugural year of the Ecolab Foundation grant process started out with great success. More than twenty Fort Bend nonprofit 501 © 3 organizations benefitted from grants received from the foundation, which strives to improve the lives of those in need.

The two initiatives that the grant will support are N.E.S.T., a specialized program for foster children in the primary grades, to build solid foundations in educational achievement, social skills/extracurricular involvement and health at an early age.  As these children enter middle school and high school, the second initiative, WINGS, prepares youth ages 14 to 18 years old for independent living after “aging out” of the foster care system. WINGS focuses on increasing high school graduation rates, enrollment in college or vocational school and having life skills for independent living.  Over the six years since the introduction of WINGS, high school graduation rates have increased dramatically and reached 100% in 2012 for foster youth in the WINGS program. “This is an exceptional outcome for our children and youth,” said Executive Director Ruthanne Mefford. The national norm for youth in foster care is oftentimes homelessness, involvement in criminal activity, imprisonment, drug and alcohol use, teen pregnancy and unemployment if these children are not provided with support and the necessary resources to help them be successful. Children in our N.E.S.T. and WINGS programs have proven that this doesn’t have to be the case in Fort Bend County.”

Child Advocates of Fort Bend provides a voice, heals the hurt and breaks the cycle of abuse and neglect for children in Fort Bend County. Through its Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program and Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) and more than 200 trained community volunteer advocates, Child Advocates touches the lives or more than 400 children each month. To become a volunteer, contact Brandy Knudson at bknudson@cafb.org or 281-344-5146. For more information on Child Advocates of Fort Bend, visit www.cafb.org.