The Peter G. Dodge Foundation (PGDF) is pleased to announce seven new grant awards for non-profit organizations in the field of alcohol addiction research, advocacy, and treatment. These grants comprise PGDF’s Mission Grants Program for 2014.

“The Mission Grants Program is a central part of what we do as an organization,” states Elizabeth Cairns, PGDF’s Executive Director. “These grants are specifically designated for projects that support our mission. This year, a number of exemplary organizations were invited to submit proposals for funding. Each of the accepted projects will have an immediate positive impact on the treatment community, through prevention, advocacy, or direct service. We are very excited to see them come to fruition in 2015.”

PGDF Board Chairman Peter Dodge states: “I started The Peter G. Dodge Foundation to be a driving force for improving the lives of people with alcohol-use disorder. AUD causes incalculable amounts of human misery and economic expense, yet despite the enormity of the problem, diagnosis and treatment can be haphazard and largely ineffective. We hope to change that by funding research for new treatments, sharing information, and supporting programs and organizations that are making a difference.”

The following organizations will receive funding through PGDF’s Mission Grants Program in 2014:

Faces and Voices of Recovery, Washington, DC: PGDF funds will support two projects: The Executive Directors’ Leadership Academy (EDLA) and the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Education Project.

EDLA is a two-day seminar for directors of organizations who are members of Faces and Voices’ Association of Recovery Community Organizations, offering leadership training, technical support, and education in best practices. The CARA Education Project seeks to educate the public about the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act currently before Congress. This act, if passed, would dramatically improve the landscape for people suffering from AUD by expanding access to community-based support services and prohibiting discriminatory practices that disproportionately affect those with AUD.

McLean Research Hospital, Boston, MA: Renowned addiction psychiatrist Dr. Kevin Hill will modify his popular and effective series of talks on marijuana dependence to focus on alcohol. (The marijuana talks were youth-focused and delivered to all 9th and 10th graders in Boston’s 33 high schools). Proposal includes salary support for Dr. Hill as he develops the series and delivers them to youths and adults in Massachusetts on a minimum of eight occasions.

Oxford House, Silver Spring, MD: PGDF funds will support the establishment of four new Oxford Houses through a loan fund administered by the central organization—funds are dispersed to help establish the house and are paid back by residents in monthly installments. Though the grant will directly support the establishment of four houses, the fund will continue to exist and potentially fund many more new houses as the loans are repaid.

White Bison, Inc, Colorado Springs, CO: PGDF funds will support a pilot test for a culturally-adapted version of the Celebrating Families program (non-adapted version already recognized by the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs) with Native American populations in Sacramento, Albequerque, and Minneapolis. Proposal includes facilitator training, 16-week program run, and post-program assessment. Goals of the program include: improving communication and problem solving, avoiding relapse and recidivism, improving parenting skills, instilling a sense of connection to cultural traditions, reuniting families whose children are in foster care or whose family members are in treatment or incarcerated, and assisting foster parents in learning culturally relevant care for Native American children.

Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD: PGDF funds will be used to fund an art therapy program at Tuerk House, a live-in residential program for men in addiction recovery. The 50-week program consists of ceramics classes taught by Clayworks instructors and will serve approximately 60 participants. Funding will support materials, personnel, program expansion, outcomes assessment, and further curriculum development.

C Three Foundation, Fort Myers, FL: PGDF is providing a general support grant to offset administrative and program costs for the C Three Foundation, a proponent of the Sinclair Method of treatment for AUD.

Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, St Paul, MN: PGDF funds will benefit the Hazelden Patient Aid Fund, which reduces costs for individuals who seek treatment at Hazelden’s residential clinic. This gift is designated to help patients with a dual diagnosis of alcohol-use disorder with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder.

Other organizations supported by PGDF in 2014, outside of the scope of the Mission Grants Program, include: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Achieve Kids Triathlon, Christ School of Arden, NC, The Washington Animal Rescue League, Paws2Care, The City Lights Project at the Telluride Film Festival, and the Pinhead Institute.