Wheat Ridge Ministries Awards $10,000 Emerging Leader Grant

Wheat Ridge Ministries recently awarded a $10,000 Emerging Leader Grant to Ms. Lauren Bortnem, Impact 29:11, Magnolia, Texas. Emerging Leader grants are offered at $5,000 for one year or $10,000 over two years for a new health or human care program led by young adult leaders in the Lutheran community.

In addition to the grant, Lauren also receives additional funds for capacity building or professional development expenses; an invitation to attend the annual Emerging Leader Convening, hosted and paid for by Wheat Ridge Ministries; professional program development consultation from Wheat Ridge staff; free attendance for all Wheat Ridge webinars; and promotion and networking within the Wheat Ridge community.

Leader Profile:
Lauren’s path to medical school was interrupted when she started a part-time job serving students with autism. Her love for her students and a desire to serve whole families changed her life forever. Now, Lauren has achieved her board certified behavior analyst certification with a master’s degree in special education and specialization in applied behavior analysis. With over 16 years in the field of behavior analysis, she has provided a wide range of clinical and school-based services for students with autism, ADHD, ODD, or related diagnoses. Upon seeing the increasing need for behavioral and mental health services in local private schools and churches, Lauren founded Impact 29:11 as way to equip schools and families for hope.

Project Description:
Impact 29:11 is a Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to providing therapeutic and educational programs to students with developmental disabilities and their families. Equipped for Hope is an initiative that focuses on providing parents and educators with training opportunities on evidence-based best practices so they can more effectively meet the needs of students with autism and related developmental disabilities. Impact 29:11 will provide workshops to parents and educators and offer follow-up consultations to families of students with urgent or severe needs and educational teams who work with these students.

Proposals for the Emerging Leader Grant Program are accepted year-round with grants awarded quarterly. The next deadline is November 30, 2017 with grants awarded in January 2018. For more information regarding grant requests, please visit the website at weraise.org/emerging-leader-grants/.