(Natchitoches, LA) – United Way of Northwest Louisiana and community partners have a lot to celebrate in Natchitoches. The nonprofit agency announced Friday the allocation of $41,500 in grants. These grants will be reinvested into six nonprofit programs in Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Winn Parishes. Those dollars are part of the grand $1.1 million reinvested by United Way NWLA into ten parishes throughout northwest Louisiana.
The six area nonprofits to receive a United Way NWLA grant include:
• Campti Community Development Center $4,000
• City of Natchitoches – Community Programs $1,500
• Natchitoches Parish Council on Aging $10,000
• Sabine Council on Aging $5,000
• The Food Bank of Central Louisiana $12,500
• Women’s Resource Center $8,500
The announcement at William Ross Park also celebrated the installation of the parishes first Born Learning Trail. The Born Learning Trail is a series of learning activities that any adult can play with young children. The trail, sponsored by the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center Foundation, is designed to help adults interact with children to boost language and literacy development. It also aims to help caregivers understand how to best support early learning in outdoor everyday moments.
For the 2018-2019 grant cycle, United Way of Northwest Louisiana will invest a total of $1.1M into 58 nonprofit programs. This amount is spread across their ten parish service area. The first grant announcement of 2018 presented checks to nonprofit programs serving Caddo, Bossier and DeSoto Parishes on Tuesday, June 5. The second celebrated the allocation of grants to Webster, Bienville and Claiborne Parishes as well as the launch of the Imagination Library program – one that has been a part of Natchitoches since 2016.
Other nonprofit agencies to receive a grant that also service Natchitoches, Red River, Sabine and Winn Parishes include:
• American Red Cross
• Career Compass of Louisiana
• Catholic Charities of North Louisiana
• Evergreen Life Services
• Gingerbread House Children’s Advocacy Center
• Girl Scouts – Pines to the Gulf
• Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling
• Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
• Norwela Council, Boy Scouts of America
• The Philadelphia Center
• Training, Education and Mediation for Students (TEAMS)