The Poshard Foundation Announcing $107,500 in Grant Awards to Southern Illinois Agencies Serving Abused, Abandoned and Neglected Children
(Carterville, IL | April 25, 2025)
As part of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Jo Poshard, Director of The Poshard Foundation for Abused Children, will announce grants of $107,500 at a press conference on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 1:00 p.m. in the Board Conference Room at John A. Logan College. Agency representatives will be available to the press for comment.
A total of 27 grants will be given to Southern Illinois agencies to be used specifically for services directly dealing with abused, abandoned and neglected children in our region. Those organizations are:
Arrowleaf, Vienna
Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services, Carmi
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Illinois
Brightpoint, Herrin
Cairo Women’s Shelter, Inc.
Caritas Family Solutions, Carterville
CASA for Kids, Benton
CASA of Jefferson County, Mt. Vernon
CASA of Southeastern Illinois, Harrisburg
CASA of Southern Illinois, Marion
Centerstone, West Frankfort
Children’s Medical and Mental Health Resource Network, Anna
Clarity Women’s Care, Carbondale
Franklin-Williamson Child Advocacy Center, Herrin
Hoyleton Youth & Family Services
Illinois Department of Children & Family Services – Southern Region
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois - Southern Region, Marion
Perry-Jackson Child Advocacy Center, Pinckneyville
Shawnee Health – Healthy Families Program, Carterville
Southern Illinois Coalition for the Homeless, Marion
Southern Illinois Resource and Advocacy Center, Shawneetown
Spero Family Services, Mt. Vernon
Stress and Trauma Treatment Center, Inc., Eldorado
Survivor Empowerment Center, Carbondale
The Amy Center, Mt. Vernon
The Night’s Shield, West Frankfort
Two Rivers Child Advocacy Center, Anna
Jo Poshard noted, "April is state and national Child Abuse Prevention Month. Our Foundation distributes these grants in April to draw attention to the plight of abused children in Southern Illinois and to remind the public that child abuse exists twelve months a year...not only in April. We must be vigilant year-round."
"It has been our mission for twenty-five years to help the abandoned, neglected and abused children of Southern Illinois to overcome their abuse and return to a more normal childhood through counseling, medical intervention, food security and recreational activities. These grants, administered by our committed social service workers, serve that purpose." - Glenn Poshard
Glenn and Jo Poshard, co-founders of the Poshard Foundation, believe every child deserves a safe person, a safe place, and a safe community. Unfortunately, that is not the reality for many of our children in Southern Illinois. The abused, neglected, and abandoned ones are those the Poshard Foundation seeks to help. Whether it is by providing counseling, cribs, therapeutic camps, supplies for college-bound foster children, or training for the prevention of violence against children, the Foundation strives to make a difference in young lives.
The Poshard Foundation Announcing $111,000 in Donations to 59 Southern Illinois Food Pantries
(Carterville, IL | April 15, 2025)
At this time of the year area food pantries are struggling, especially to provide nutritious food for the children they serve. In the past the Poshard Foundation has distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to food pantries with the condition the money be used to purchase fresh, highly nutritious food for children. This year the Foundation is providing 59 food pantries throughout our region with a total of $111,000 for food for children.
"In working with vulnerable children for over twenty-five years, we know that good nutrition is part of the healing process. We ask participating pantries to give us their strategies for getting the food into the hands of children," said Jo Poshard.
"Very soon we will be distributing our annual grants to social service agencies that are working to heal the emotional and psychological damage inflicted on many southern Illinois children, but our first step is to help heal the hunger," said Glenn Poshard.
"A two or three thousand dollar grant to a local pantry may not sound like much, but often the pantry can use that money to leverage greater purchasing power with federal food banks and other organizations with whom they work," added Jo Poshard.
Area food pantries receiving grants from the Poshard Foundation include:
Arrowleaf’s Client Choice Food Pantry, Cairo and Vienna
Ava-Trico Area Food Pantry
Benton/West City Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry
Bethel Temple Evangelistic Ministries, Mounds
Blessings in a Backpack, Johnson County
Cambria Food Pantry
Caring for Kids, Harrisburg
Centralia Community Benevolent Association
Cherry Street Food Pantry, Carmi
Chester Area Christian Food Pantry
Christian Community Compassion Center, Harrisburg
Community United Pantry, Carterville
COPE – Christian Outreach Program Emergency Food Pantry, Metropolis
Du Quoin Food Pantry
Emmanuel Temple Ministries, Metropolis
Faith Liberty Mission Church Food Pantry, Du Quoin
Friends of Jesus Food Pantry, Eldorado
Gallatin County Food Pantry, Shawneetown
God’s Pantry, Olmsted
Good Samaritan Ministries, Carbondale
Grace Baptist Fellowship Food Pantry, Benton
Grand Tower Food Pantry
Greater Galatia Food Pantry
Harvest Deliverance Center Pantry, Harrisburg
Herrin Community Pantry
Herrin House of Hope
Hope’s Entourage, Mt. Vernon
Hurst Community Food Bank
JC Manna Mission, Johnston City
Jesus es el Senor UMC – Joe’s Mall Food Pantry, Cobden
Jesus Helping Hands Mobile Food Market, Tamaroa
K-Lees Food Pantry NFP, Goreville
Landmark House of Praise, Carrier Mills
Least of the Brethren Food Pantry, Pinckneyville
Loaves and Fishes at Anna United Methodist Church
Marion Ministerial Alliance
Murphysboro Food Pantry, Inc.
Park Avenue Baptist Church Food Pantry, Mt. Vernon
Purpose House – Love Goes, Colp
Refuge Temple, Marion
Roads Food Pantry, Norris City
St. Kateri Weekend Snackpack Program, Ridgway
Salem Lutheran Church Food Pantry, Jonesboro
Sesser Valier Area Lifeline
724 Ministries NFP, Murphysboro
Shawnee Development Council, Inc., Karnak
Southern Illinois Resource and Advocacy Center Neighborhood Food Pantry, Shawneetown
Sparta Area Food Pantry
Table and Grace, Olive Branch
The Promise Mission, Marion
Thebes Food Pantry
Victory Dream Center, Carbondale
Vienna Food Pantry
Wabash Area Development, Inc., Fairfield
Waltonville Free Will Baptist Church
Weekend Blessings, 1st Methodist Church, Metropolis
We Love White County, Carmi
Whiteash Food Bank, Marion
Williamson Baptist Association, Marion
Thank you! Thank you!
For 25 years you have partnered with us to help care for thousands of vulnerable children throughout Southern Illinois. You’ve helped us raise millions of dollars to provide special medical care and counseling; build shelters; train hundreds of social workers, teachers and child care professionals to work with traumatized children; collaboration with the SIU School of Medicine, Harvard University and Prevent Child Abuse Illinois in supporting resilient children who, despite their trauma, are succeeding in school; a bed ministry which has provided hundreds of beds for children who had no place to sleep; hundreds of thousands of dollars to area food pantries for the purchase of nutritional food for deprived children; the renovation of facilities that house abused, bandoned and neglected children; one of the biggest Christmas toy giveaways in all of Southern Illinois; as well as scholarships for students who have suffered abuse. And so much more…
Please help us raise money for abused, abandoned, and neglected children in Southern Illinois, with a secure credit/debit card donation.