An academic exercise in Grove City College Professor Lisa Hosack’s Administration in Social Work class helped a local prison ministry secure several thousands of dollars in grant funding.
This fall, Hosack taught students about grant-writing and the class volunteered their services to Reaching Up & Reaching Out, a Mercer County ministry supporting those who are on a “journey from jail to a new life in Christ.”
Two student-penned proposals seeking funding to buy much-needed Celebrate Recovery materials for inmates in the Mercer County Jail netted the non-profit organization a total of $6,000 -- $5,000 from the Bob Barker Foundation and $1,000 from the Grove City Foundation.
Reaching Up & Reaching Out primarily works with inmates and those who have been paroled or put on probation, but also serves wherever there is a need, Linda Porter, ministry spokesperson, said. Their limited funds are used to help with rent, utilities, groceries, clothing, prescriptions and anything else that can help families in need, so “the money goes quickly.”
“It was a mutually beneficial relationship,” Hosack said. “It helped my students to learn, and we were privileged to partner with a local organization that needs resources.”