Whole Kids Foundation Awards Bee Hive Grants to Three Chicago Schools
Grants support school bee hives, children’s education and awareness about the vital role that bees play in food systems
AUSTIN, Texas, December 14, 2018 /3BL Media/ - Whole Kids Foundation announced today that it has awarded Bee Hive Grants to three schools in Chicago with money raised from the inaugural Give Bees a Chance campaign this past summer. Grant recipients include Smyth IB World School, Genevieve Melody STEM Elementary School and Community Christian Alternative Academy. Each school will receive support for an educational bee hive on campus, providing students with learning opportunities around science, ecology, nutrition, business and agriculture.
As a central element of the Give Bees a Chance fundraising campaign this past June, five top chefs from across the country joined forces with Whole Kids Foundation to host fundraising dinners in their respective cities. In Chicago, Chef Rick Bayless, winner of Top Chef Masters and a nine-time James Beard Award winner, hosted a dinner with Evan Robinson, a 12-year-old Hyde Park resident and finalist on MasterChef Junior Season 5, Chicago. In total, the month-long fundraising campaign raised $60,000 to fund 30 new educational bee programs at K-12 schools and non-profits in 23 states.
“One of the best ways we can teach kids about bees is through educational hives at their schools, where they get an up-close, but safe look into the world of pollination,” said Nona Evans, president and executive director, Whole Kids Foundation. “We already have an active school garden network in Chicago, a community that embraces learning about food, as well as a small but growing number of schools with beehives. We are excited to increase our support at these three new schools as a result of this campaign.”
Whole Kids Foundation’s Bee Hive Grant program provides support for grant recipients in a variety of ways. All grant recipients receive consultation on safety and use of the hive from The Bee Cause Project and each recipient must have a ‘bee mentor,’ or a certified beekeeper that provides onging consultation and assistance.
Over the past three years, 270 hives have been awarded by Whole Kids Foundation, at a cost of $488,000 and impacting 226,317 students in the U.S. and Canada. The hives also support the health of bee populations, as an unprecedented amount of honey bees are perishing each year due to colony collapse disorder (CCD). The phenomenon occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear due to loss of habitat, immune system decline and attack of pest, mites and diseases.
Whole Foods Market covers all of the foundation’s operational costs to allow 100 percent of every dollar donated to directly support Whole Kids Foundation programs, including the Bee Hive Grant program.
For more information on Whole Kids Foundation Bee Hive Grants and how to apply, visit wholekidsfoundation.org/schools/honey-bee-grant. Additionally, those interested can sign up for the Whole Kids Foundation newsletter to get up-to-date information on all of the foundation’s initiatives.
About Whole Kids Foundation®
Whole Kids Foundation, a Whole Foods Market foundation, is based in Austin, Texas, and operates as an independent, nonprofit organization. By empowering schools and inspiring families, the Foundation aims to help children reach optimal health through the strength of a healthy body fueled by nutritious food. For more information on the Foundation’s programs including school gardens, salad bars and nutrition education for teachers, visit wholekidsfoundation.org.
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