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Therapeutic Programs

The Genesis Foundation for Children is proud to provide grant funding to local New England area therapeutic programs.

APPLY FOR A GRANT

Grant Proposal Guidelines

The Genesis Foundation for Children is pleased to offer a limited number of grants to fund clinical, educational, and therapy programs for children and young adults with genetic disorders, rare diseases, and intellectual and physical disabilities.

Please keep your proposal to 3 pages maximum, single-spaced. Please submit your application via email to nbongiovanni@thegenfound.org with Grant Proposal in the subject line.

2023 Grant Cycle:

  • All grant applications will be accepted between July 1, 2022 and September 2, 2022
  • 2023 funding decision notifications will be delivered by Dec. 31, 2022

 

Click for the 2023 Genesis Foundation for Children Grant Application

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

Our Grantees

The therapeutic programs we fund allow children and young adults with rare diseases or genetic disorders the opportunity to participate in various arts and recreational programs. In addition to receiving therapeutic benefits from these fun activities, children also gain new and rewarding experiences from which they develop self-confidence.

Therapeutic Programs

3-21 Foundation

Educational Program

The 3-21 Foundation promotes advances in education and cognition, improving life outcomes so people with Down syndrome can be empowered to pursue their dreams. Our family program, the Learning Program, provides educational information and support for parents and students. We also work with schools, offering program consultation and professional development for educators on best practices for instructing and including students with Down syndrome.

LEARN MORE ABOUT 3-21 FOUNDATION

Therapeutic Programs

amplifi Adaptive Music Programs

Music Therapy Program

amplifi is a unique music and performance based program developed through the lens of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to allow individuals with extended support needs to learn and express themselves through music. In 2015, amplifi was designed with the knowledge that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities learn differently than do neurotypical learners. The program is comprised of themed curricular units to be delivered through a series of one hour sessions. The amplifi curriculum incorporates a wide variety of educational and recreational topics, life skills, and other musical themes, all centered around music and performance.

LEARN MORE ABOUT amplifi

Therapeutic Programs

Bournedale Elementary School’s Integrated Preschool

Music Therapy Program

Bournedale Elementary School’s Integrated Preschool Music Therapy program creates an inclusive classroom for preschoolers ages 3-5, with diagnoses such as autism, cerebral palsy, and emotional difficulties. The program focuses on improving verbal response, language development, social interaction skills, and academic development through dance and movement activities, singing, repetition, and rhyming. The Genesis Foundation was able to fund the purchase of 50 new musical instruments to be used in the Music Therapy Program. This program is, in part, funded by the Cape Cod Fall Classic golf tournament and the Jack Sewell Music Therapy Scholarship.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BOURNEDALE

Therapeutic Programs

Adaptive Sports at Franciscan Children’s

Sports Program

Franciscan Children’s (FC) Adaptive Sports Program provides a recreational and therapeutic outlet for youth, ages four to 22, in the Boston area. Our participants are children with medical complexity who have previously faced barriers to recreational activities due to a lack of accessible facilities, medically-focused staff, and specialized equipment. Physical, occupational, and speech therapists lead basketball, soccer, baseball, hockey, skating, biking, boating, hiking, and skiing sessions, allowing our participants to participate in sports, often for the first time in their lives.

LEARN MORE ABOUT Adaptive Sports at Franciscan Children’s

Therapeutic Programs

Lovelane

Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program

Lovelane is a pediatric, therapeutic horseback riding program that has a dramatic impact on the physical and cognitive development of children with special needs. For 31 years, Lovelane has been committed to providing an individualized program for children with a wide range of special needs that integrates the pure joy and freedom of riding a horse with beneficial and productive therapy to achieve the child’s specific therapeutic goals. Lovelane provides services to 130 students a week with the help of 197 volunteers. Sessions take place seven days a week, year-round for over 4,500 individual therapeutic sessions annually. Lovelane is recognized and regularly recommended by the Boston pediatric medical community for therapy for a wide variety of special needs diagnoses. Lovelane has a waitlist of 263 students (June 2020), demonstrating both the need for this unique therapeutic approach and the value parents and their physicians place in its outcomes. Once in our program, children stay for an average of 10 years. This high rate of re-enrollment each semester demonstrates the significance that this particular therapy has in the lives of our clients and their families.

LEARN MORE ABOUT LOVELANE

Therapeutic Programs

Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Courageous Kids

Medical Care

The Center for Courageous Kids at MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) provides the finest multidisciplinary and compassionate care to children with complex medical needs and life-limiting illnesses. The program’s goal is to improve the quality of life for these children and their families. The Center for Courageous Kids (CCK) is a pilot program within MGHfC that aims to foster close collaboration between its Coordinated Care Clinic (CCC) and Palliative Care Service (PCS), two distinct services that care for approximately 235 children per year. Patients served include children who have serious illnesses resulting from known or undefined genetic problems, those who are unable to breathe without assistance, children with disorders that require feeding tubes, and children impacted by seizure disorders or severe brain injuries.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CENTER FOR CORAGEOUS KIDS

Therapeutic Programs

The Professional Center for Child Development

Educational Program

The mission of the Professional Center for Child Development (PCCD) is nurturing the growth and potential of EVERY child. PCCD is an agency for children, families, and educators focused on childhood development and well-being. We offer a wide variety of programs to ensure that children of all abilities reach their full potential. For more than 45 years, The Professional Center for Child Development has been committed to serving children with special needs and their families throughout the Merrimack Valley and Northeast Massachusetts. What began in 1973 as a respite program for four children with complex medical conditions, grew into an accredited day school and pediatric therapy program.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL CENTER FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Therapeutic Programs

TimberNook Sensational Experiences

Educational Program

Minute Man Arc’s TimberNook Outdoor Classroom provides nature-based play programs for children with disabilities and their typically developing peers that challenge the senses and inspire creativity, independence, and imagination in the great outdoors. It is not a camp but rather an outdoor classroom that runs throughout the year – even in the winter. Founded by occupational therapist Angela Hanscom, TimberNook-style educational programs have been carefully researched and designed by experts in the field of child development and compliment Minute Man Arc’s mission for improving the lives of children with disabilities.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TIMBERNOOK

The following program is funded by a donation made by the
Christmas Charitable Trust

Therapeutic Programs

Horse SenseAbility

Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program

Horse SenseAbility grew out of founder Polly Kornblith’s passions for working with kids at-risk and for being with animals. Polly decided to combine her love of horses with her interest in the healing power of horses for those who have experienced trauma. In 2018, Polly took this vision to the next level and launched Horse SenseAbility in a brand new facility specifically designed and built for therapeutic riding and horsemanship activities. Horse SenseAbility is proud to be a member center of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH). Therapeutic riding and horsemanship lessons are available for children and adults with one or more of the following characteristics: autism spectrum disorder; emotional, behavioral, or mental health issues; experience with violence, abuse or trauma; or are at-risk. When participants can steer or lead a horse independently, lessons may include exploring our outdoor, wooded, interactive Discovery Trail.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HORSE SENSEABILITY

Questions About Our Programs?

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We are eager to increase the number of programs and are appreciative of additional support from our corporate community.

DONATE TODAY Become a sponsor

We are thrilled to be awarded a grant from the Genesis Foundation to further our work in providing evidence-based educational programs and services for children and youth with Down syndrome. Genesis has been a supporter of community-based programs for years and we are grateful for their support as it will allow us to serve even more families.

Julie Messina, President, 3-21 Foundation

I could see the fear in my wife’s eyes. Dr. Feingold took a lot of time to explain everything to us that day. The most important thing he said was that it would be a journey, but one that he would take WITH us. In that moment, I saw the fear in my wife’s face disappear.

Michael Murphy, father of Zachary, a patient of The Feingold Center for Children

When I learned that my child had problems, I was sick with worry. It is an indescribable feeling of helplessness and powerlessness, fear and anxiety. I don’t know if those feeling ever went away completely. I will always worry. But I now know I don’t have to go it alone. We have the team of professionals at the Feingold Center for Children to thank for that.

Denise Porcello

Our gratitude to The Feingold Center for Children & The Genesis Foundation is immeasurable. Because of their assistance, we have been able to spend more time focused on loving Daniel and his younger brother Brendan. By providing and facilitating optimal care for Daniel, he has reached his true potential and our family has been transformed.

The O’Donnell Family

Bella would need many specialists and we wanted the top ones. The Feingold Center stepped in immediately to help with that and still organizes Bella’s yearly visits with her team. It takes a huge amount of stress off of us as the parents to schedule everything, which is extremely important since Morquio is a progressive disorder.

The Burton Family