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The arts have much to say about community and, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation, they have the chance to speak out loud and clear on the significance of the 50th anniversary of 1963, Birmingham’s  seminal year in the nation’s civil rights movement.

The Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, a longtime partner of the Community Foundation, received the grant and will work with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond and Urban Bush Women.  According to Cultural Alliance Executive Director Buddy Palmer, the project is designed to help cultural organizations and working artists work in close collaboration with neighborhood-centered institutions to create artistic expressions focused on themes of human and civil rights, race, class and power.

Coming up later will be a week-long institute, organized by the Cultural Alliance. If you want to be part of that future institute, sign up now to attend a free introductory forum next weekend – May 18-19.  Space is limited, so reserve your spot by contacting Nicole Goetsch by e-mail or by phone at 205-458-1393.

• Friday, May 18, 3-5 p.m. at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
• Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m.-noon at ArchitectureWorks or 2-4 p.m. at West End Public Library

Another special event – Dance for Every Body Workshop by Urban Bush Women – is set for May 19 from 5-7 p.m. at the Children’s Dance Foundation in Homewood.

Volunteers hard at work on a rainy "build" day

It may be raining, but volunteers are on the job right now in Pratt City, putting together custom-designed pieces to create a new Kaboom! Playground. Funding comes from tornado funds of the Community Foundation, from the Junior League of Birmingham and area Rotary clubs.

The Junior League helped organize the volunteers who make all this possible, creating a playground in just six hours. Workers are already on the job from the community and the sponsoring organizations, but all are welcome to join the wet-weather fun today, May 3, at Antioch Baptist Church, 1210 Hattie Street in the Pratt City neighborhood of Birmingham.

We are proud to be partners in supporting this effort, which will make it easier for children to enjoy safe outdoor fun in their own neighborhood. In the middle of a community where many structures are still damaged after the 2011 tornadoes, the new playground will be a sign of hope.

Whether you can spare the time today or not, you can still give to help tornado survivors in Pratt City and the Birmingham area through our Emergency Response Fund.

UPDATE: The playground was finished as promised and now stands as a sign of hope for so many in Pratt City and other tornado-damaged areas of our community. MANY THANKS to all who participated!

Tom Crawford with Sierra Barham-Upshaw and Brian Glaze

Three students at Birmingham City Schools are getting help with college costs, thanks to donors who support scholarship funds at the Community Foundation.  Tom and Julia Crawford take particular pleasure in supporting outstanding graduates of their alma mater, Ramsay High School, through the Award for Excellence Scholarship.  Tom went to the high school on April 30 to meet seniors Sierra Barham-Upshaw and Brian Glaze, each of whom will receive $5,000 per year for four years of college through this scholarship fund of the Community Foundation.

James Deese of Huffman High School also will receive support from Community Foundation donors — in his case, $1,500 per year for four years of college through the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Scholarship.  Funding for this scholarship comes through the I have a Dream Foundation Fund, Herman E. & Eva E. Sellers Helping Hand Fund and Bessie Estell Fund, all funds of the Community Foundation.

For 2011, the Community Foundation awarded $445,750 to support college costs for 119 students through scholarships established by individuals, families and businesses. Since the scholarship program began, donors have supported almost $3 million total in college costs for students through the Community Foundation.

If you are interested in finding out more about how to support college scholarships through the Community Foundation, contact Erin Stephenson. Or give on-line to support the Community Foundation Scholarship for students in all Birmingham City Schools.  Students seeking scholarships can find out more here.

The Hoar Construction Fund of the Community Foundation is touching the lives of tornado survivors in a special way that speaks to the expertise of Hoar Construction, a nationwide general contractor headquartered in Birmingham. Thanks to almost $55,000  from the Hoar Construction Fund, construction coordinators and estimators can continue and expand their efforts in Calhoun, Choctaw, Cullman, Franklin and Marion counties, all among the hardest-hit in April 2011 tornadoes.

Workers supported by these grants will provide coordination for volunteers, estimates needed for work to begin and inspection of repairs once complete. According to Long-Term Recovery Committees in these counties, their involvement is vital in helping families return to a secure, well-built home and in stretching recovery funds to help as many families as possible.

“Using the Hoar Construction Fund to support construction coordinators is a great opportunity for us to support a need that we understand so well from our own experience,” said Doug Eckert, Executive Vice President of Hoar Construction. “The supervision of a construction coordinator can make everything go more smoothly and amplify the efforts of volunteer and professional crews. With these grants, we know we are truly helping people get back in their homes.”

The Hoar Construction Fund was established as an Advised Fund at the Community Foundation.  Contact Erin Stephenson to find out more about how you can drive positive change through an Advised Fund. Or make your own gift on-line to statewide recovery through the Alabama Tornado Recovery Fund of the Community Foundation.

Brownell Travel volunteers spent the weekend of April 27-28 in the Pratt City area of Birmingham, working on homes under construction by Habitat for Humanity and joining others in remembering the destructive tornadoes of one year ago.  Representatives from the Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel group will join them in this hands-on effort to be part of Alabama’s recovery.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to our call for help from our vendor partners. Their generous donations and creative partnerships are allowing us to stay engaged in the recovery effort,” said Troy Haas, President and CEO of Brownell, in comments made before the workdays. “We’re very grateful that Ritz-Carlton is coming to Birmingham to work side-by-side with us.”

In January of 2012, Brownell leveraged their 125^th Anniversary Celebration into a fundraiser for relief, bringing in more than $160,000 and establishing the Brownell Tornado Recovery Fund – World Travel for Relief at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. We thank them for this gift, which will benefit tornado recovery efforts in Jefferson, Walker, Tuscaloosa and Marshall counties.

You can join so many generous people, including the employees and partners of Brownell. by supporting the unmet needs that still exist across our state through a gift to the Community Foundation. Choose  the Alabama Tornado Recovery Fund for statewide efforts or the Emergency Response Fund for unmet needs in the Birmingham area.

The family of James M. Sims chose to establish a scholarship to honor his memory and his service in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. At his retirement from USMCR in September 1981, he had achieved the rank of Colonel and attended every scheduled drill during almost 30 years of service, primarily as a member of the 4^th Battalion, 14^th Marines, 4^th Marine Division.

Today, thanks to the generosity of friends and family, his legacy continues to support this Battalion and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve by awarding the Colonel James M. Sims Memorial Scholarship for college study. The application below provides complete information about how you can apply for this annual scholarship. You must be a member of the Marine Corps Reserve, 4^th Marine Division, Antiterrorism Battalion, and meet other qualifying requirements.

For more information about the Sims Scholarship, read the application information: SimsScholarship2012

If you want to help a deserving student in Birmingham City Schools, you can support the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Scholarship Fund by making a gift on-line. Or learn more about how to establish a new scholarship fund at the Community Foundation.

Alabama is leading the way with the number of strong, new smokefree laws enacted in 2011 and, with that distinction, is tied with California to receive the annual Smokefree Indoor Air Challenge Award from Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR).  This is the first time Alabama has won the ANR crystal award and represents the work of many organizations and individuals across the state.

Congratulations to Fultondale, Midfield and Warrior, which have already passed their own ordinances. Good luck to supporters who are in front of Birmingham City Council this morning as they consider their own smokefree air ordinance.  We also are watching with interest as Alabama legislators look into ways to accomplish this on a statewide level.

Across the country, more than 500 cities and counties have strong local laws to ensure smokefree air in workplaces, restaurants and bars, compared to fewer than 50 a decade ago.  As one smoker said, this is a public health issue, as we try to protect people from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, especially in the workplace.

Find out more about our work with the Health Action Partnership, a leading force in making our community a place where people can lead healthy lives.

Tuesday, April 17, at 9:30 a.m., Birmingham City Council will move forward with a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to protect workers across the city from the effects of smoke in their place of work. Birmingham also will show once more its leadership in improving community health.

As a longtime member of the Health Action Partnership, the Community Foundation has been glad to see the support of city officials in examples such as “complete streets,” including bike lanes in repaving projects downtown. We thank the City also for supporting Railroad Park and neighborhood parks across Birmingham which give people a chance to get outdoors and get active. We’re glad, too, that City Hall itself is already a smoke-free workplace.

Bike lanes and parks are important steps to improving community health, and so is the proposed ordinance to ensure smoke-free workplaces for everyone.

As Dr. Edward Partridge, director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, said in his commentary Sunday, research shows that laws like these help to fight cancer, heart disease and lung disease, all linked to secondhand smoke. They also have been shown to help people quit smoking and keep young people from starting. And they can save thousands of lives in Alabama alone.

Contact Ashley Lyerly of the American Lung Association to find out more about how you can influence your local representatives and let your voice be heard.  Find out more about how the Community Foundation supports the Health Action Partnership and one of our key Results: People can lead healthy lives.

Alabama is No. 1 in more than football as, once again, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) gave Alabama a perfect score in its quality rating for state-funded, voluntary First Class pre-kindergarten programs. The NIEER report, released April 10, 2012 (The State of Preschool 2011: State Preschool Yearbook) shows a perfect 10 out of 10 quality rating for the program which only reaches 6 percent of our 4-year-olds right now.

We are proud of the progress in how state funding grew and then maintained even during tough economic times, and recent surveys show that our citizens want to see the program expand.  Even though Alabama ranks 33^rd in the nation for program access, NIEER gives Alabama credit for holding pre-k investments steady in comparison to some other states.

Congratulations to all the hard-working teachers, administrators and program directors who are carrying out this work at the highest level and to state officials who have increased and maintained funding.  Whatever the cost today and in future years, research shows that every $1 invested in high-quality pre-k saves taxpayers about $7 later when students can finish high school and pursue college or a good career.

We continue our support of efforts such as the Alabama School Readiness Alliance, which we helped to found in 2006 and that continues to work with business leaders, policy makers and children’s advocates to expand this program to all students who can benefit. Find out more about the report on the ASRA website.

If you want to be a partner with the Community Foundation in supporting this and other efforts to make children successful along the education pipeline, contact Erin Stephenson or make a gift on line to support this Result.

In grants announced in April 2012, the Bama Rising Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham is awarding an additional $270,885 to assist 48 families in repairing, rebuilding and furnishing homes destroyed in April 2011 tornadoes. The fourth round of grants from this Advised Fund of the Community Foundation includes the following grants in Cherokee, Dekalb, Jackson, Limestone, Madison and Walker counties.

• $25,000 to purchase building materials for volunteer groups building homes for Walker County families, through Walker Area Community Foundation
• $25,000 to help families in Jackson and DeKalb counties with final repair and appliance purchases to complete their homes, through Upper Sand Mountain Parish
• $20,885 to help Cherokee County families with needs such as household goods and furnishings, through the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama
• $100,000 to help Madison County families with construction materials, appliances and furnishing through United Way of Madison County
• $100,000 to help Limestone County families with repair, rebuilding and relocation costs, through United Way of Athens-Limestone County

As of March 2012, the Bama Rising Fund of the Community Foundation has provided assistance for 424 families and their communities through a total of more than $2 million in grants across 25 counties that were among the hardest hit in the 2011 tornadoes. Support for these grants comes from $2.1 million raised in a June 2011 benefit concert organized and headlined by the band ALABAMA, as well as related text-to-give and on-line giving efforts.

 “We are so pleased to connect these talented artists from the band Alabama with people and communities across our state so that they have had the opportunity to help in very specific ways,” said Kate Nielsen, president of the Community Foundation.

“The focus of the Bama Rising Advisory Committee has always been on people who are hurting and on communities struggling to recover,” said Gus Heard-Hughes, Director of Initiatives for the Community Foundation. “As the long-term effort continues, community leaders are seeing people who have worked hard, hoping to do it all themselves, now asking for help to fill the gaps they cannot do alone. They see volunteer workers ready to build homes, but unable to purchase the materials needed. With these grants, the many partners in the Bama Rising concert are truly making a difference.”

From all tornado-related funds of the Community Foundation, grants totaling $3 million have been made as of April 2012. You can learn more about how we are working on continued needs for tornado recovery or you can join so many others by making a gift to support survivors of tornadoes in 2011 and 2012.