Tipp City Foundation
Who is the Tipp City Foundation?
The Tipp City Foundation, founded in 1943, is based in Tipp City Ohio and supports grant requests from 501(c)(3) organizations that benefit Tipp City, Monroe Township, and Bethel Township communities. The organization relies on local nonprofits to identify the needs of citizens in their area and visualize new ways to improve the community. Grants support Arts & Culture, recreation, health & safety, social services, education, environment, and COVID response. The organization started with a $1,300 gift; the organization is now giving over $130,000 in grants yearly.
How is the Tipp City Foundation involved in the Miami Valley?
The Tipp City Foundation funded Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor Tipp City Project with a 2022 grant.
Mental health struggles don’t discriminate when it comes to race, gender, or age. Just like adults, children are often affected by the pain of anxiety, and stress. Most often stemming from trauma, more than 90% of the youth we serve through our youth mentorship programs enter our program having experienced mental health symptoms, such as anxiety or depression. Trauma, of course, can have lifelong impacts.
In addition to harmful psychological and physical health impacts, trauma impacts a child’s relationships with their parents, peers, and teachers, making academic success much more difficult to achieve. Since the pandemic, there has been a significant uptick in youth mental health issues. The local mental health crisis is so great that it prompted Dayton Children’s Hospital to expand its mental health services, with plans to break ground on a new facility, which is expected to open in Spring 2025. Dayton Children’s, as well as countless other mental health specialists, are currently on waitlists for services.
Children facing mental health struggles often just need someone they can spend time with and talk to. Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami Valley’s mentoring programs provide just that. Whether going to community events, doing homework together, or just hanging out and talking, over time, our Bigs (volunteer mentors) and Littles (local youth) build valuable and meaningful relationships that last a lifetime. According to a Prevention Science study, mentored youth who have been in a mentoring relationship lasting twelve or more months, report significantly fewer behavioral problems and fewer symptoms of depression and social anxiety than non-mentored youth. In turn, mentored youths are more likely to improve in school and their relationships with family and friends and are less likely to skip school or use illegal drugs or alcohol.
Because so many of our Littles enter our program with challenges of emotional regulation and cognitive processing, our agency takes the additional steps needed to support their mental health and well-being. Our staff, Bigs, and guardians are trained in Trauma-Informed Care, learning how to identify the challenges and behaviors that result from trauma and how to properly support the development of the child’s coping and life skills. In turn, our mentoring programs serve as a primary and secondary prevention strategy and are proven to have a significant impact on reducing mental health symptoms associated with trauma, anxiety, and depression in youth. Last year, based on our Youth & Child Outcomes Survey results, 92% of our Littles had depressive symptoms that either improved or did not worsen after one year of mentoring.
Our MENTOR Tipp City Project will impact approximately 30 Tipp City residents (ten adult volunteer mentors, ten youths, and their parents/caregivers). Youth in our programs will achieve positive outcomes including school attendance, grade promotions, improved reading skills, healthier relationships and lifestyle choices, enhanced self-confidence, reduced reports of depressive symptoms, and improved behavior at home and school. The cost for each new mentoring match, for one full year, is $1,500, and $1,325 for existing matches.
How do you apply for a Tipp City Foundation Grant?
The Tipp City Foundation reviews grant requests quarterly. The grant application can be found on the foundations website. Proposals should be mailed to the provided address.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami Valley
Since 1958, the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters Miami Valley is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. Big Brothers Big Sisters operates under the belief that inherent in every child is incredible potential. We make meaningful, monitored mentoring matches between adult volunteers (Bigs) and local youth (Littles), ages 7 through 18, across Montgomery, Miami, Greene, and Preble counties. As the leading evidence-based mentoring organization in the Miami Valley, currently serving 344 local youth, we help children realize their full potential and build strong futures.
In addition to one-to-one mentoring, we provide group match activities focused on STEM to build confidence and self-efficacy around science, technology, engineering, and math subjects and to expose them to various related career paths to help break the cycle of generational poverty. We also provide family care packages which include nonperishable food, personal care items and cleaning supplies to the youth who are in most need.
How Can You Get Involved in the Miami Valley?
We are always looking for volunteer mentors to match with youth in the Miami Valley. If you think you would make a great mentor to a child, sign up today!