NEW BUFFALO — The Pokagon Fund recently announced the award by the Fund’s Board of Directors of $547,810 in grants to the following nine organizations serving Harbor Country, Dowagiac, and South Bend:

• $10,000 to Five Star Life to support an after-school program for Dowagiac Middle School students that focuses on at-risk and character education, workforce readiness, mentoring, experiential learning, and academic support.

• $5,000 to Busy Hands of Michiana to support programming, which uses recycled, donated yarn, thread, fabric, buttons, and other materials to create therapeutic and comforting items for those in need throughout Dowagiac and South Bend.

• $500,000 to New Buffalo Township to fund the renovation of the New Buffalo Township Hall (this amount represents the third installment from the original $2 million grant award).

• $9,810 to Feeding American West Michigan to meet the need for food assistance for Harbor Country families through the food bank monthly mobile pantries.

• $1,500 to the Harbor Country Rotary to purchase hats and mittens for distribution to River Valley and New Buffalo students in December, 2017.

• $5,000 to New Buffalo Sports to support community baseball for Harbor Country children 5 – 14 years of age.

• $1,500 to the Three Oaks American Legion Post 204 to support summer baseball for high school players in the Southwest Michigan area.

• $5,000 to Reading for Life Transitions to support a mentoring program for juvenile offenders at the St. Joseph Country Juvenile Justice Center that combines literature with a personal study of seven virtues.  The program provides an alternative to prosecution for non-violent offenses.

• $10,000 to the Upper Room Recovery Center to provide rental assistance to pay for transitional housing for those moving out of drug and alcohol addiction in St. Joseph County.

The Pokagon Fund is a nonprofit private foundation located in New Buffalo. It is funded by revenue from The Four Winds Casino Resort. Grants are awarded to nonprofit and governmental organizations in southwest Michigan, as well as South Bend.

Since the organization’s inception in 2007, The Pokagon Fund has provided over $22 million in grant awards and scholarships to enhance the lives of the families in their service area.