Current Grant Recipients
The King’s Daughters Organization (KDO) mission is to support the well-being of and to charitably aid seniors in Sangamon County.
In 2007, the KDO established a donor advised fund through the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln with assets from the closure of the King’s Daughters Home in Springfield, Illinois.
A collection of the previous grants given by year and more information on each program awarded can be found here.
2024 TOTAL
* including 30K for Blackstock Fund
$260,000*
$10,000
AgeLinc - Area Agency on Aging for Lincolnland
To pay for glasses, hearing aids, and dental care for seniors.
$5,250
Animal Protective League of Springfield and Sangamon County
To provide surrender prevention services to seniors, such as veterinary care and food for companion dogs and cats.
$5,000
Catholic Charities Diocese of Springfield in IL
To support seniors experiencing financial hardship and challenges with paying their utility bills.
$21,000
Contact Ministries
To support seniors with payment/co-payment on prescription meds, exams and eyeglasses, rent including deposit and first month and/or utility assistance, and adaptive equipment.
$25,000
Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County
Critical home repairs that include roof, HVAC work, interior accessibility aides, foundation works, and insulation
$9,250
Educational Center for the Visually Impaired
To support the Health & Wellness and Cooking with Confidence workshops for visually impaired seniors.
$3,500
Grace Lutheran Food Pantry
To offer senior clients an extra protein-rich item.
$13,500
Greater All Nations Tabernacle Church
To support the cost of the meals served at the monthly community senior luncheons.
$15,000
Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County
To support the wheelchair ramp installation program, allowing seniors to age-in-place.
$20,000
Helping Hands of Springfield
To support and expand the medical respite services for senior clients.
$10,000
Sangamon County Community Resources
To assist seniors who need help with their utility bills but do not meet the guidelines for the federal poverty level.
$5,000
Senior Services of Central Illinois
To support the Emergency Fund Program, which assists seniors in paying rent or utility payments to avoid eviction/shut-off.
$6,500
The Salvation Army Clearlake
To support seniors raising their grandchildren by offering financial assistance for housing, utilities, food, medication, school supplies, school uniforms, etc.
$15,000
The James Project
To provide supplemental, bi-quarterly grocery expenditures for grandparents and other seniors fostering children.
When Mary applied to have a wheel chair ramp installed, she hoped it would be done quickly. Mary had not been able to safely leave her home for 12 months! Her world was looking out her window and watching life go by.
Mary’s first trip leaving her home safely for the first time in a year was to visit her granddaughter, in her granddaughters home.
Senior isolation is one of the most deadly impacts we face today. Having accessibility to get in and out of your home safely makes all the difference…thanks to King’s Daughters Organization.
Habitat for Humanity Colleen Stone, Executive Director
In the United States, 3 million children are being raised by 2.7 million grandparents. These grandparents are being asked to step up to raise these children due to substance abuse (especially meth abuse), incarceration, unemployment, mental and physical illness, abuse and neglect, abandonment, suicide, or death. In Sangamon County, the latest statistics show that 36% of the foster children in the system are currently with caregivers that are over the age of 55.
The responsibility of caregiving is draining in numerous ways to senior citizens in our community. It affects their opportunity to retire due to the new financial, physical, mental, and emotional burdens. This population faces challenges of inadequate support, family discord, disrupted leisure, unattainable retirement plans, health issues, depression, social stigma, and isolation. Sometimes, these parents do not know where to go for support and are embarrassed to share their family dysfunction with friends. The James Project has been able to ease some of this pain by offering grocery packages to senior citizen led foster families through our partnership with the King's Daughters Organization.
This past month, we were able to provide grocery packages to over 25 senior citizen led foster families through partnering with KDO and many volunteer groups, including groups from the National Guard and UIS. All of the grandparents whom we served expressed immense gratitude. One grandmother said that the grocery package was 'heaven-sent', for due to budget constraints, she was going to have to choose between buying food for her family or buying medicine for her grandchild. We are so grateful for the funds that were given to us by KDO so that we can meet the physical necessities for families in our community
Olivia Hayse, The James Project
$15,000
Senior Services of Central Illinois
To support the Senior Transport Program.
$6,000
Sparc
To support three, one-hour classes per week, taught by a Certified Recreational Therapy Specialist.
$7,500
Springfield Municipal Opera
To support the Senior Bus Program for the four Senior Nights, providing bus transportation from Sangamon County senior residences.
$15,000
St. Martin DePorres
To purchase fruits, vegetables, proteins, and other food items as well as hygiene products for senior clients.
$4,000
The Joy of Movement
To support the weekly, adapted group dance classes for seniors with Parkinson's disease and their care partners.
$15,000
The Parent Place
To provide support to grandparents raising grandchildren, including guardianship assistance, emergency food assistance, monthly support meetings, and four workshops focusing on healthy family relationships.
“We assisted one particular client who is a single female in her late 60s with her utilities. She had some unexpected health issues, which resulted in unexpected medical bill. Being on a fixed income making sure that her all of her bills were paid on time was becoming a challenge. Thankfully through the assistance of KDO we were able to pay her CWLP bill so she didn’t get disconnected. Her appreciation was so great that she was moved to tears and later mailed us a thank you card. So many of our senior clients are like this individual in that they are living on a fixed income, their dollar isn’t going as far, they face unexpected bills, but don’t have the money to fall back on.”
Catholic Charities
Patrick McConnell, Area Director
