MLK Day of Service - Keeping Children Safe: MI Masks+ Project
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Your Organization
MI Masks+ for Children Project
To honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. the Michigan Community Service Commission is offering MLK Day service grants to support volunteer projects and community needs during the pandemic.
The MCSC has partnered with Michigan's Applied Textiles Corporation to offer organizations ready to sew mask kits for children and adults supporting them. Children are having to attend childcare, before and after school programs, foster care, and other support organizations. These organizations need help to keep our children safe. We are asking nonprofits across the state to recruit volunteers to sew the masks and help deliver them to local agencies that serve children and adults. Resiliency and grit are true Michigan values and this project demonstrates the amazing gift our residents embrace in helping each other in times of need.
Steps to take in designing your project:
Identify Agencies You Will Support
Identify agencies in your region to distribute the finished masks and care packages. Contact them to determine if they are interested in receiving masks and additional items needed to combat the spread of COVID-19. Ideal recipients for the child size masks include childcare agencies, foster care organizations, before and after school programs, and other child serving organizations. Get the contact person’s name, direct phone number and email to follow up and confirm the details prior to delivering the items.
Create the Project Plan
Decide what you want to put in the care kits. Organizations may select to only sew masks or sew masks and create care packages to accompany the sewn masks. Donations to agencies must include child sized masks, but can also include thank you letters to staff, cleaning products, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes. Determine how many masks you will order. Kits come in 100 and 500 mask quantities. Identify a plan to recruit volunteers to sew the masks and get other needed items for the care packages. Decide if you will ask local partners to help with the project and ask for their help. Ideally the project will involve youth as volunteers.
Create the Distribution Plan
Develop a plan to collect the masks from sewers and distribute, package the care packages, and deliver them to organizations. Safety guidelines need to be followed to ensure all involved in the project are safe. Those who are delivering the care packages must be wearing a mask and follow all Center for Disease Control and State of Michigan safety guidelines.
Design Project Budget
Develop a list of all supplies needed and the costs. Awarded funds are reimbursed upon satisfactorily reporting of expenses. Organizations awarded funds will need to register as a vendor of the state to receive payment. The link to register as a vendor will be sent with the award letter. Funds must be used to support elements of implementing a service project.
Grant Award and Implementation
Completed grant applications for round 1 should be received by December 18, 2020. The MCSC will offer a more competitive second round of grants which should be submitted by January 8, 2021. Projects should be held between January 8, 2021 and January 24, 2021. Grant awards will be in the range of $100 to $1,000 with no matching requirements. However, partnering with local businesses and other sponsorships for your MLK project is recommended. Reviewers will evaluate applications based on community need and design, use of partnerships, number of volunteers engaged, equitable geographic representation and adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines. Funds requested should be commensurate with the number of volunteers engaged. Additional consideration will be made for projects with youth involvement (up to age 25). Applicants can request funding for more than one or more of the three ML
To honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. the Michigan Community Service Commission is offering MLK Day service grants to support volunteer projects and community needs during the pandemic.
The MCSC has partnered with Michigan's Applied Textiles Corporation to offer organizations ready to sew mask kits for children and adults supporting them. Children are having to attend childcare, before and after school programs, foster care, and other support organizations. These organizations need help to keep our children safe. We are asking nonprofits across the state to recruit volunteers to sew the masks and help deliver them to local agencies that serve children and adults. Resiliency and grit are true Michigan values and this project demonstrates the amazing gift our residents embrace in helping each other in times of need.
Steps to take in designing your project:
Identify Agencies You Will Support
Identify agencies in your region to distribute the finished masks and care packages. Contact them to determine if they are interested in receiving masks and additional items needed to combat the spread of COVID-19. Ideal recipients for the child size masks include childcare agencies, foster care organizations, before and after school programs, and other child serving organizations. Get the contact person’s name, direct phone number and email to follow up and confirm the details prior to delivering the items.
Create the Project Plan
Decide what you want to put in the care kits. Organizations may select to only sew masks or sew masks and create care packages to accompany the sewn masks. Donations to agencies must include child sized masks, but can also include thank you letters to staff, cleaning products, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes. Determine how many masks you will order. Kits come in 100 and 500 mask quantities. Identify a plan to recruit volunteers to sew the masks and get other needed items for the care packages. Decide if you will ask local partners to help with the project and ask for their help. Ideally the project will involve youth as volunteers.
Create the Distribution Plan
Develop a plan to collect the masks from sewers and distribute, package the care packages, and deliver them to organizations. Safety guidelines need to be followed to ensure all involved in the project are safe. Those who are delivering the care packages must be wearing a mask and follow all Center for Disease Control and State of Michigan safety guidelines.
Design Project Budget
Develop a list of all supplies needed and the costs. Awarded funds are reimbursed upon satisfactorily reporting of expenses. Organizations awarded funds will need to register as a vendor of the state to receive payment. The link to register as a vendor will be sent with the award letter. Funds must be used to support elements of implementing a service project.
Grant Award and Implementation
Completed grant applications for round 1 should be received by December 18, 2020. The MCSC will offer a more competitive second round of grants which should be submitted by January 8, 2021. Projects should be held between January 8, 2021 and January 24, 2021. Grant awards will be in the range of $100 to $1,000 with no matching requirements. However, partnering with local businesses and other sponsorships for your MLK project is recommended. Reviewers will evaluate applications based on community need and design, use of partnerships, number of volunteers engaged, equitable geographic representation and adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines. Funds requested should be commensurate with the number of volunteers engaged. Additional consideration will be made for projects with youth involvement (up to age 25). Applicants can request funding for more than one or more of the three ML