The grants will support organizations working to expand opportunities for at-risk youth.
FALLS CHURCH, VA, UNITED STATES, April 17, 2024 – The ViaPath Foundation today announced the recipients of its 2023 grant awards. Each of the eleven recipients promotes the Foundation’s mission of providing at-risk youth with the hope and meaningful opportunities that translate into real world success.
ViaPath Technologies, a leading technology firm, established the ViaPath Foundation in 2022 to advance its mission of ensuring equal opportunities for the incarcerated and justice involved. The Foundation grants will fund new and existing programs working to support and protect at-risk children and youth.
“Incarceration of loved ones has a heartbreaking effect on the lives of young people across the nation,” said Shirley Moore Smeal, Board Chair of the ViaPath Foundation. “These eleven non-profits are doing incredible work to help these youths find stability and hope so that they can break free from the incarceration cycle.”
The ViaPath Foundation exists to care for incarceration’s “hidden victims.” About half of all incarcerated individuals are parents to minors, with more than 5 million children missing parents to incarceration. These children can suffer hampered brain development, worse grades and lower overall health because of the trauma of losing a parent to incarceration. Additionally, they are more likely to become incarcerated themselves.
The grantees are Amachi, Rehabilitation Enables Dreams, Reading Legacy, Foster Love, U.S. Dream Academy, Big Brothers Big Sisters DC, Comfort Cases, Hope House DC, Osborne Association, DC Family & Youth Initiative and Wonderseed Foundation. These organizations span the nation, giving children from coast to coast the opportunity to heal and grow. Grants range from $5,000 to $25,000.
