ROCKFORD, IL – At its recent board meeting, the Board of Directors of The Blazer Foundation approved grants totaling over $116,000. Agencies that received grants at this grant cycle included but are not limited to: GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford, Milestone, and Walter Lawson Children’s Home.

The Blazer Foundation supports local initiatives in research and development as well as programs designed to directly support individuals with disabilities. While both areas of support are vital in helping the disabled community, Board members agree that funding in the area of research and development is critical in helping to generate new and more effective ways to prevent or mitigate impairments, depending on the nature of the disability.

This year, The Blazer Foundation will focus funding efforts to assist work that aides in the prevention of disabilities. The Blazer Foundation Board has taken measures to ensure that finding better ways of prevention and understanding of a disability is top priority in improving the future for individuals living with a disability. Board Chair Pat Shaw shared “If we can help to prevent a disability or improve the level of impairment from a disability based on a better understanding from the research and development being done, then that is where we need to keep our focus.” The Board will also continue to support local programs in support of individuals with disabilities.

Grant applications are accepted through the Foundation’s website on an ongoing basis. The web-based application as well as more information about The Blazer Foundation can be found on our website at theblazerfoundation.org.

The Blazer Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established by Cedric Blazer in 1986. Its mission is to support local initiatives in research and development as well as programs designed to directly support those individuals with disabilities.