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Safe & Sound, a non-profit organization that fosters community improvement projects in Milwaukee neighborhoods, was announced as Potawatomi Hotel & Casino’s 2017 Charity of Choice. The $100,000 grant is part of Potawatomi’s Heart of Canal Street charity program, supporting organizations in southeastern Wisconsin that improve the lives of children.
Safe & Sound has received large grants in the past, but this one is different, according to Katie Sanders, executive director. The funding will primarily go to scaling up youth-driven community projects — something the organization holds to the core of its mission.
“We work with residents and young people all the time, but this is an opportunity that will expand our capacity to do improvement projects in a way that we haven’t been able to do before because of funding limitations,” Sanders said.
Currently, the organization focuses on smaller community projects, such as rehabilitating an empty lot and building a bench out of recycled materials in the Harambee neighborhood, to teach young people art and ecology.
Safe & Sound will spend the rest of 2017 planning eight to 12 projects to implement during 2018. According to Sanders, these will take place in the organization’s ten priority neighborhoods.
Sanders said the funding will help make these projects larger and give the community more leeway to envision what they want to do to improve their neighborhood.
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“It’s really exciting because it’s a great opportunity for young people to take the lead,” Sanders said.
Potawatomi’s 2016 Charity of Choice, MKE Plays, wrapped up its grant with today’s opening of the Witkowiak Park playground.
