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Forgotten Harvest

Mobile Pantry Program
2024

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation has awarded a $240,000 grant to Forgotten Harvest to increase access to food for youth and families in southeast Michigan.

Details
Inflation has increased food insecurity for those in southeast Michigan, resulting in a greater number of people seeking food at Forgotten Harvest’s mobile pantry sites. In 2024, Forgotten Harvest will distribute approximately 25 million pounds of food to 80 Mobile Pantry sites in high-need neighborhoods.

Learn more about Forgotten Harvest.

Accounting Aid Society

Oakland County Tax Center A/V Technology
2023

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation has awarded Accounting Aid Society a $59,317 grant to support in-person and remote training, conferencing, and programs, as well as digital signage that connect families to community services.

Details
Accounting Aid Society will maximize the functionality of its new Oakland County Tax Center by equipping it with audio/visual technology that will support volunteer training and other programming. This will help Accounting Aid Society strengthen its volunteer corps and ultimately serve more low- to moderate-income workers, seniors, and families.

Learn more about Accounting Aid Society.

Prodigy Ventures

Prodigy Apprenticeship Program
2023

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation awarded Prodigy Ventures $48,000 to provide professional development training and apprenticeships for young adults.

Details
Prodigy Ventures offers apprenticeships for disconnected young adults who are not finding success in traditional work or school settings. Funding from the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation will support the paid apprenticeship program at Prodigy Coffeehouse.

Learn more about Prodigy Ventures.

Samaritas

TEFAP Freezer Condenser Replacement
2023

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation has awarded Samaritas $50,000 to replace three failed freezer condensers at a food storage facility.

Details
Samaritas is one of three providers in Wayne County that receives food from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), a federally funded program. Through TEFAP, Samaritas distributes nutritious bulk food and frozen foods to 32 community food pantries, houses of worship, and neighborhood centers that collectively serve 23,000 low-income households a year in Wayne County.

Learn more about Samaritas.

PlatteForum

ArtLab: Supporting Under-Resourced Youth and Building Diverse Pipelines for a More Inclusive Future
2023

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation has awarded PlatteFoum a $49,500 grant to provide stipends for Denver students participating in an educational and hands-on creative youth development program.

Details
ArtLab integrates art-based learning with academic, personal, social, emotional, leadership, and professional skills development. PlatteForum is expanding its ArtLab program to serve 50 youth and will increase its hourly stipend, to ensure students are able to receive high-quality youth programming and wrap-around services.

Learn more about PlatteForum.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Dissecting the Contribution of Mutated T Cells to Inflammation in Clonal Hematopoiesis and Myelodysplastic Syndromes
2023

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation granted Brigham and Women’s Hospital a $250,000 grant over two years for early career investigator Dr. Peter van Galen.

Details
Dr. van Galen with the support of his mentor, Dr. Nancy Berliner, seeks to gain a better understanding of the role that DNMT3A-mutated T cells play in the pathophysiology of myelodysplastic syndromes.

Learn more about Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Interrogation of germline genetic risk of clonal hematopoiesis
2023

Overview
Albert Einstein College of Medicine was awarded a $250,000 grant over two years to support early career researcher Dr. Satish Nandakumar.

Details
Dr. Nandakumar will conduct this research with the support of his mentor Dr. Amit Verma to identify regulatory elements and target genes underlying germline genetic risk of clonal hematopoiesis, a precursor state that precedes myelodysplastic syndromes. The studies will determine how germline risk variants interact with somatic driver mutations in hematopoietic stem cells during development of clonal hematopoiesis.

Learn more about Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

University of Washington

The role of EBIs in the pathogenesis of MDS anemia
2023

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation granted the University of Washington a $500,000 grant over two years for established investigator Dr. Janis Abkowitz.

Details
The goal of Dr. Abkowitz’s project is to understand the role of the erythroblastic island macrophage in the pathogenesis of MDS anemia and to test a novel therapy.

Learn more about University of Washington.

Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County

Culturally Appropriate Food for Refugee Communities
2023

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation has awarded Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County $65,045 to purchase culturally tailored food for newly arrived refugee families in and around Washtenaw County.

Details
Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County will provide culturally appropriate food such as pita, halal meats, and specialty Latino and African foods to approximately 500 recently arrived refugees in the region. Foundation support will be used to purchase food, as well as support a driver who delivers food to refugee families and individuals without transportation.

Learn more about Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County.

Food Bank of the Rockies

Refrigerated Trailer for Truck Deliveries to Hunger Relief Partners on Colorado’s Western Slope
2023

Overview
The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation has awarded Food Bank of the Rockies $77,000 to procure a refrigerated trailer to better serve people facing hunger across Colorado’s Western Slope region.

Details
Support from the Foundation will help Food Bank of the Rockies purchase a 53-foot refrigerated trailer with insulated walls, a refrigeration unit, and rail lift gate. With this grant, Food Bank of the Rockies will be able to expand its capacity and increase access of fresh produce for youth, families, and individuals.

Learn more about Food Bank of the Rockies.

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HIGHLIGHTS
Health
Youth And Family
Animal Welfare
  • Dumb Friends League

    The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation has awarded Dumb Friends League a $150,000 grant for direct care costs associated with veterinary care for underserved, low-income families.