By Sheila Vilvens
Lockland Local School District
Lockland Local School District announced it is the recipient of a $30,000 Do Good Grant from the Joe Burrow Foundation.
The grant dollars will empower the district to address mental health and wellness for children and their caregivers through Parent/Family Education Nights, a Mental Health-focused fair, and improved student engagement through extracurricular programming.
Lockland Student Wellness Supervisor Jenny Bole authored the successful grant proposal. The grant proposal was the first Bole had ever written. She expressed her gratitude to the Burrow Foundation.
“We are small, and we don’t have many resources. Receiving this grant is a huge win for our district. The money will enable us to prioritize programs to address mental health and food insecurity for our students and families,” Jenny Bole said.
Superintendent Bob Longworth also expressed gratitude.
“We appreciate this significant support from the Joe Burrow Foundation that will allow our newly formed Student Wellness Department to provide additional support targeted to address mental health and food security needs for our students, families and community. Under the leadership of Jenny Bole, our Student Wellness Department in Lockland Schools is already making a significant and positive impact in the lives of those that we serve. This award will allow us to do even more to improve outcomes for our students and families.”
“The purpose of the Do Good Grants was to provide resources and opportunities to the underprivileged and underserved. We received 170 applications, and it was inspiring to see all the great work in all three communities that Joe has called home,” wrote Amy Floyd, Foundation executive director in a letter to Lockland.
“Your application really spoke to the committee and we are excited to share that your organization has been selected for funding for this round. Thanks to your great work, the foundation will send funding in the amount of $30,000 for the Lockland Local School District, Family & Community Engagement: Mental Health & Wellness.”
Lockland, located in the Village of Lockland, is the smallest public school district in Hamilton County with less than 500 students. It’s also one of the poorest in the state of Ohio. The district is 100 percent free-and-reduced lunch.
“Children living in poverty are more likely to lack basics including food, clothing, and adequate housing,” Bole said. “Many of our students’ health and wellness needs are also underserved.”
Bole said the district has been on a steady trajectory toward improvement in all areas but has recently made student wellness a district priority. The Do Good Grant will allow Lockland to make an impact on not only students and families but also the staff.
“Supporting the mental health and basic needs of students will have a direct positive impact on student achievement and behavior at school. In a poverty-stricken neighborhood, a local school district is a place where students and families can find support and resources to lessen the implications poverty has on health and wellness,” Bole wrote in the grant proposal.
In the coming weeks, the district will announce to its students, families, and community more details about programs made possible by the Do Good Grant.
The Joe Burrow Foundation launched the Do Good Grant program in October 2022. For details about the foundation and the Do Good Grant, visit https://joeburrow.org/programs/grant-application/