Torch Helps Announces Q1 & Q2 2024 Grant Recipients

Torch Helps, a non-profit corporation established and administered by the employee-owners of Torch Technologies and its affiliated companies, today announced grant recipients for the first two quarters of 2024. Each of the grant recipients was chosen based on a vote of the employee owners following a detailed grant application and vetting process. Each of the organizations will receive a $10,000 grant to use as outlined by their grant application.

“We congratulate each of the grant recipients recognized today. They are the unsung heroes of our communities – those standing in the gap meeting the needs of some of our most vulnerable citizens. It is a privilege to support their efforts,” said Allison Rhen, President, Torch Helps.

Q1 Grant Recipients
The Caring Link
Huntsville, Alabama

The Caring Link works to ensure that students who lack basic needs can succeed and grow alongside their peers by establishing in-school Care Closets to supply essential items. When students feel prepared for the day–when they feel truly cared for –they can become the best version of themselves. The $10,000 Torch Helps grant will establish a Care Closet at Sonnie Hereford Elementary, providing new clothing, toiletries, school supplies, and food to students in need.

Ithaka Housing
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Ithaka houses some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, supporting them on their journey from homelessness toward stability and growth. The $10,000 Torch Helps grant will assist with the needs of the Ithaka’s Senior Program. This program serves homeless or low-income seniors and disabled adults in Colorado Springs looking to move toward improved health and quality of life, connecting to resources, and long-term housing stability. It provides intensive case management and transitional housing to help seniors connect with healthcare resources, qualify for benefits, and pursue permanent housing options that will meet their needs in the future.

Locker #505
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The mission of Locker #505 is to provide appropriate school clothing to K-12 greater Albuquerque Metro students in need. The clothing bank has established a student-focused facility where children can try on and choose outfits that they feel good about wearing. Having appropriate school clothing allows children to concentrate on their schoolwork, not their clothing. It also keeps children, who might not go to class because of their clothes, in school. Last semester, Locker #505 served more than 2,700 students, allowing them to attend school in comfort and with dignity while focusing on their education. The $10,000 Torch Helps grant will be used to purchase new shoes and underwear for K-12 students in need in a four-county region.

Village of Promise
Huntsville, Alabama
The mission of Village of Promise is empowering families to break the cycle of poverty. Village of Promise uses a targeted multigenerational approach that provides age-based and need-related programming that enables families to conquer challenges, achieve dreams, and contribute to their community. The $10,000 Torch Helps grant will be used to reduce food insecurity and instill healthy eating habits while serving as a foundation for healthy choices in the lives of its clients.


Q2 2024 Recipients

A Bed 4 Me
Valparaiso, Florida

A Bed 4 Me has a mission to ensure that children have a place of their own to sleep each night. They understand the critical role of sleep in a child’s development, health, academic performance, and self-esteem. A Bed 4 Me provides each child a twin size bed frame, twin size mattress, sheet set, comforter and pillow. Funds from the Torch Helps $10,000 grant will be used to purchase a bed frame and mattress for 70 children in Okaloosa County.

Children in Crisis
Ft. Walton Beach, Florida
Children in Crisis is a local, non-profit charity committed to “Providing Homes - Keeping Brothers and Sisters Together." The Torch Helps $10,000 grant will be used to provide food, utilities, and clothing for The Children’s Neighborhood.

Lawton Mobile Meals
Lawton, Oklahoma
The sole mission of Lawton Mobile Meals is to counteract malnutrition among the elderly and/or disabled homebound persons by delivering one nutritious meal a day, five days per week, to qualified recipients. The $10,000 Torch Helps grant will be used to provide over 2,200 meals to qualified recipients.

Children’s Advocacy Center of the Coastal Bend
Corpus Christi, Texas
The organization’s mission statement is to minimize the trauma to abused children and their families by uniting the efforts of public agencies and enlisting the support of the community, and to protect, restore, and transform the lives and futures of these children and their families. The Torch Helps Grant will be used to administer a support group for physically and sexually abused teens. This group will provide emotional support and lessen trauma to teenagers who have been the victims of severe physical and sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

About the Torch Helps
Torch Helps, Inc., is a non-profit corporation with the mission to carry the torch for others in our communities by providing financial support to non-profit organizations that aid individuals and families who lack access to basic health and human services, or who require assistance to meet their fundamental needs for food, clothing, shelter, medical care, mental health, safety and enrichment opportunities for the underserved, as well as non-profits that provide benefits to underserved populations. For more information, including grant guidelines and applications, visit torchhelps.org.