Notable Gifts for Aug. 7

The Rotary Club of Innsbrook recently awarded more than $27,000 in grants to local charitable organizations, including the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls, FeedMore, READ Center, the YMCA and others. The club's largest single donation of $10,000 went to Connor's Heroes, a Richmond-based organization supporting families of children diagnosed with pediatric cancer.

So far this year, the club has donated more than $25,000 to other groups, including the Coal Pit Learning Center in Henrico County, which provides preschool education to low-income families; the World Pediatric Project's Healing Hearts program, which supports life-saving heart surgeries for children performed at VCU Medical Center; and the Rotary International Bridges to Prosperity program.

Funds to assist school-readiness efforts

Three new grants from the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation will aid school-readiness initiatives in central Virginia.

Smart Beginnings Heartland — which includes Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties — will receive $100,000 to offer the Virginia Star Quality Initiative program to childcare centers in the area.

Smart Beginnings Northumberland Lancaster will receive $95,000, and Smart Beginnings Fluvanna Louisa will receive $100,000 for screening programs to make sure that young children are developmentally moving forward to be ready for school, said Scott Hippert, president of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation.

Each of the Smart Beginnings programs has done a community-needs assessment and developed a long-range strategic plan. The grants began July 1 and will extend through June 30, 2013.

Richmond Memorial helps nonprofits

Richmond Memorial Health Foundation awarded nearly $1.4 million in its most recent grant cycle: $783,400 to seven nonprofit organizations, $525,000 for the Patient Centered Medical Home Collaborative and $75,000 in matching funds for the Promise Neighborhood project.

Recipients are:

Challenge Discovery Projects: $16,000 to create a Youth Technology and Healing Center.

Legal Aid Justice Center: $30,000 for a medical-legal partnership between the Center and the VCU Health Systems to help pediatric patients qualify for benefits from Supplemental Security Income.

Alzheimer's Association of Greater Richmond: $60,000 for respite programs for family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or other dementia diseases.

Love of Jesus Health Clinic: $150,000 to augment bilingual training and hire a full-time bilingual registered nurse.

Senior Navigator: $117,500 to create a Health Reform Solution Center at www.seniornavigator.org.

The Virginia Treatment Center for Children: $393,900 to develop the Children's Mental Health Resource Center, which will help pediatric medical practices with behavioral-health evaluations, help arrange appointments with qualified mental-health providers and provide short-term medical-management consultations. .

United Way of Greater Richmond: $16,000 to continue developing the Greater Richmond Age Wave Plan to prepare for an aging community.

Greater Richmond Patient Centered Medical Home Initiative: $525,000 to support the medical-home program of the region's health safety-net providers — Capital Area Health Network, CrossOver Ministry, Daily Planet, Fan Free Clinic, Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services, Love of Jesus Clinic and Virginia League for Planned Parenthood.

Richmond Promise Neighborhood: $75,000 in matching funds to address health and health-care disparities confronting children in Richmond's East End.

Richmond SCAN entities receive $105,000

Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) has received gifts from the Robins Foundation and Heartbeat of Hope Inc.

The Robins Foundation awarded $75,000 to support Richmond CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), one of five SCAN programs. Working within the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court system, CASA volunteers helped 427 children affected by abuse or neglect to be placed in safe, permanent homes.

Heartbeat of Hope awarded $30,000 in proceeds from its "Revival" presentation in February to SCAN's new Circle Preschool Program for children who have experienced trauma as a result of abuse or neglect. The preschool integrates intensive mental-health treatment with preschool education to prepare the children for success in school and improve overall family functioning.